Audition Solos

[anondancer_15]

hi, I'm currently in the process of applying for vocational training and university and I was really surprised at how little the websites give away as to what the auditions actually involve? in most cases it's not even clear whether a solo is needed or not so I've had to email around.

 

anyway, obviously I will need a solo at some stage and I really don't know where to start at all, material or music wise!

 

also, one school said no longer than a minute and a half, another one said no longer than 3 minutes and there's just about every length in between. can I just use the same one and a half minute solo?

 

any tips

[anondancer_15]

* this posted before I was finished - sorry!!

 

any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated thank you

[taxi4ballet]

The solo needed for Tring is a minute long.

 

At all the schools dd auditioned for, the audtion took the form of a normal ballet class with a bit of stretching, some with an extra jazz class, and/or physio and short interview. 

 

Hope this helps, and good luck!

[dramascientist]

I would advise choose music which means something to you and inspires you, this will show when you are performing and this is the kind of thing audition panels look for.

[invisiblecircus]

anyway, obviously I will need a solo at some stage and I really don't know where to start at all, material or music wise!

 

also, one school said no longer than a minute and a half, another one said no longer than 3 minutes and there's just about every length in between. can I just use the same one and a half minute solo?

 

any tips

 

You can use the same solo. If all the courses you are going for are contemporary based then use a contemporary solo. If there is some variety in the focus of your courses you might want to think about using a different solo for the courses that aren't contemporary based. Sounds obvious but when I auditioned for university, a couple of people had musical theatre style solos when the degree was contemporary based.

 

Be prepared to talk about your solo in an interview. What inspired the piece, and what choreographic processes did you use?

 

Also, not directly related to solos but make sure you're going to see professional performances in the style of dance you're applying for and be prepared to talk about them in interview too.

 

Good luck!