i got a job

Now it's official. I have a new job, and I'm really happy about it.

I was not invited to Heidelberg, which was a shame but it obviously all worked out anyway. I heard that she was just looking for a tall guy to replace. T did go to the audition, but was cut at the end of the first day. 

So I did the audition in Osnabrück on the Friday with T, and we were expecting more people there. Turns out we were just doing class with the company. There were only 3 of us auditioning, to our surprise. The other was Dutch guy (with the same hairstyle as me) named Niels. The class atmosphere was very warm and relaxed, and the ballet master was really sweet and told us not to be nervous. It was a nice class, and it was really strange because I was the most 'classical' one there. One could see that the dancers were good movers, but ballet was not high on the priority list. Mauro, the director, came in halfway through barre to watch us, but it was hard to see what he was thinking. 

Corpo D Anima

After class, he and 3 dancers taught us some repertoire from their latest show Corpo D Anima. I felt like it fit my style, and he was very interested in the quality of the movement, which I was very impressed about. He himself was an amazing mover and was showing us all the floorwork and everything. He was so clear about what he wanted, so for me it was easy to execute it, though the movement was by no means technically easy. After we did the combination a few times, we did some solo improvisation based on the phrase we just learned.

We got showered and changed, and then went in for the interviews. Niels went in first, and it seemed to go for a while. I went in after and he said straight away that he would 90% offer me the contract, but that I had to wait till Sunday after the open audition. He also said that he really liked my audition video, and was hoping that I would be the same as the video. Then he explained what the plan was for the next season, which sounded really exciting, but really busy. I came out feeling really happy, because someone finally saw something in me. T went in and was told that she would be called on Monday, but nothing else.

After that, I made my way on the long journey to Darmstadt, and T went to Heidelberg. I didn't really know what to expect. I stayed overnight with an ex-colleague of mine, C, who is now dancing in the company so it was really nice to catch up.

The audition started at 11am, and there were many people there. A little over 70 dancers in one space, and I was number 34 (my first audition with numbers). They had to divide us into two groups, because we couldn't fit altogether, even though the studio is pretty huge. There were lots of people I knew there from other auditions, and also 2 ex-colleagues, and a guy that I danced with in New York when I was 17, whom I haven't seen since. Such a small world.

Staatstheater Darmstadt

The class was really fast (and full), and the director, Mei Hong, walked around to look at us. After it was over, they made the first cut. I was relieved when my number was called, so I had to wait an hour for the second group, so I had some lunch with my ex-colleague, Cm. In the next round, she wanted to see how quickly we could pick up a phrase, which was a little difficult because it wasn't a set phrase and it somehow kept changing. We had to dance in groups of 5, and were given 2 chances. Then they made another cut. Cm and I made it through again.

The selected few (there were probably about 20 of us left) then had to put together our own choreography, and show it in 5 different emotions: scared, happy, confused and aggressive. It was not such a difficult task, but it took about 2 hours to get through everyone, and they played the same Philip Glass music the whole time, so it was very tiring in this sense. There were some very beautiful dancers, and some really strange ones. Then they made the final cut, and I made through to the final round with Cm. 

We had three themes to choose from: 'My Favourite Meal', 'A Dangerous Affair' and 'Addicted'. We could only choose one and make a structured improvisation with it. I was running on the last bit of my energy at that point, but I think I did quite a good improv. I chose 'A Dangerous Affair'. 

We were all at the point of collapsing while we waited for the interviews. I was one of the last few to go in. There were some who came out looking disappointed, and some who were offered a contract straight away (there were 10 available contracts). Cm was told to wait a week, so they could think about it. My interview was really nice, but in the back of my head I was still hoping that Osnabrück would call me with good news the next day. Mei Hong said that I did a really good job, and asked me the usual questions and some unusual questions as well. She told me to wait a week and think about it, so I was relieved. 

We were in the theatre for almost 12 hours, so I was ready to crawl into bed. Instead, we went to the house of one of the dancers and partied (I didn't, really) till 3am, I didn't really have a choice. We met a lot of the auditionees there (including Niels from the day before), so it was nice to be able to exchange views about the audition.

Theater Osnabrück

We did go to bed in the end, and when I woke up the whole house was still asleep, so I took a shower and made pancakes for everyone. After everyone was up, and after we were finished with breakfast (around 11.30am), my phone started to ring. It was not S calling me, because he has a different ringtone. It was the assistant from Osnabrück, letting me know that they wanted to offer me the contract. It was a good day, and not just for me. T called me that afternoon and she was also offered a job. We both went back to Osnabrück the next day to take photos for the next season's programme. A few days later, I wrote to Mei Hong and told her that I decided to take a contract somewhere else, and got a very warm and encouraging reply.

I have just signed my new contract and I can't wait to start fresh. I will be sad to be separated from S for a while, but these are the sacrifices that dancers have to make. I can't believe how easy it was this time, but I've really been working hard and I think it has finally paid off.