first audition weekend

What a weekend I've had.

We caught a train in the afternoon and arrived safely and on time in Saarbrücken. After grabbing some food to eat we headed over to the huge Saarländisches Staatstheater to watch Liebe in Schwarz-Weiss. Many of the dancers were really amazing movers and had great technique. There were some very beautiful moments in the piece and really nice images. I really liked the concept, but I think it was something that could have been developed further.

T was not sure if she would fit in. I was not sure if my technique would be enough to work alongside these dancers, who are obviously talented and naturally gifted, as well as older and experienced. An ex-colleague was also performing, but he was not used very much in the piece as he is still quite new in the company. We stayed with him that evening, and said that we would just go to the audition anyway and give our best. We had come this far already. 

I had brioche for breakfast, since we were so close to France. Then we headed over to the theatre to put ourselves on the line. There were about 30 people there, all wanting the same thing. We did a short ballet warm-up with the ballet master and the director, Marguerite Donlon, came in halfway to watch us. The class was good, but the jumps were a little tricky. I know because I was not the only one struggling to execute them. After the class was over, Ms. Donlon introduced herself and divided us into 2 groups. One for the people auditioning for the academy program, which is like an apprenticeship, and one for the people who had already more than 2 years professional experience.

Then she made the first cut. She came round and touched those people she wanted to stay on the arm. I was not sure if she would touch mine, but to my surprise she did. I didn't feel like I did so well in the class so I wasn't particularly confident. I was happy that I got a chance. T, unfortunately, was cut. Some of the company came in at this point to watch us, but they were not intimidating or threatening and were quite good-humoured and supportive.

After a 15 minute break, we started learning some repertoire from her version of Swan Lake. It was not extremely difficult, but she could see how quickly we picked up steps and how musical we were. Then we also learned a fast arm phrase and had to use our voices, so she could see how courageous we were to show our personalities. I think I did better in repertoire than I did in class. After that, we took a short break and then had to do some improvisation in pairs. I was put together with a young man auditioning for the academy. I tried to stay to the Swan Lake theme, which seemed to be entertaining to the other auditionees. The director said it was very nice. Some of the other improvisations were quite breathtaking, especially this one Taiwanese woman, who was just amazing. 

I thought it was time for us to finish, but she wanted to see 4 boys one more time, and I was one of them. I tried to have a bit of fun with this one. The audition finished at about 2pm, which was really early. I was expecting to go till about 6 or 7pm. She thanked everyone for coming, and asked to speak with we and several others. I had a short interview with her, and she had quite a positive reaction to me, which I was happy about. Maybe hard work was paying off after all. She said she would let me know in a few days, so I hope it will be good news. 

I left the theatre and went straight to Mainz to meet S. On the train I sat with one of the other auditionees, a really funny Italian guy. It was good to have company on the 2-hour train trip. He was also auditioning for Balletmainz the next day. I was so happy to be able to spend the night with S and feel warm and loved before my next audition. 

We had a nice and relaxed breakfast at the hotel before S walked me to the theatre. As soon as I walked in, I saw a long line of men waiting to register. I didn't realise it was going to be a cattle call. There were so many guys there, that they had to have 3 classes. I was put in the second group, so I had some time to kill before I got changed and warmed up. I sat with the funny Italian, two Russians and two other guys I met at the Saarbrücken audition and we had a good laugh to lighten the stiff audition atmosphere.

Soon enough it was our turn to present ourselves. The feeling in the studio was a bit schoolish and uncomfortable. Perhaps I felt a bit out of place surrounded by men in their tights and unitards, and me in my baggy pants and singlet. The director, Pascal Touzeau, told us he's only looking for apprentices and 2 short term contracts, neither of which I could actually apply to. I wondered what I was doing there, but did the class anyway. I actually enjoyed it quite a lot, and to my surprise the boys were not very impressive. He chose 5 or 6 boys out of the 50 or so, and I was not one of them. I'm glad I didn't have to waste my time. I went straight home to Gießen feeling content and satisfied with how the weekend went. 

I'm happy it's over now, and I have no regrets going. We will see what news I get in a few days. Fingers crossed!