First-Ever National Master Audition Was a Success!

On December 28th and 29th, 2021, dancers from all across the globe gathered at Lauridsen Ballet Centre, located in Torrance, California, to partake in the first-ever National Master Audition. Company directors from some of the finest ballet companies in the United States carefully observed the dancers’ strengths, weaknesses, and abilities to determine who would be the best fit for their company. In a room full of immense talent, all seeking to acquire the highly-coveted professional contract, the 2021 National Master Audition, hosted by Ballet California, provided a rare opportunity for dancers to be seen by 9 companies all at once. With the typical dancer having to spend thousands of dollars to travel from city to city, state to state, to attend auditions for individual companies, the National Master Audition increased accessibility for many to achieve their dreams.

The event was an enormous success in that many dancers were extended contracts from participating companies. Even those who weren’t extended contracts benefited from the experience of partaking in modern, ballet, repertory, and partnering classes taught by highly-renowned directors and instructors.

Dancers and company directors alike can all attest to the unparalleled opportunity offered by the National Master Audition.

“I think it was a really good opportunity to sort of break the ice in getting back into the audition realm in hindsight of Covid,” said participating dancer Sophia Schwinghammer, from North Carolina.

Zara Anwar, from Maryland, felt particularly attracted to the prospect of being seen by multiple companies all at one time. “I’ve never been to anything like this before. Usually you’re only seen by one company at a time, so it was a really great experience to attend one audition and be seen by so many companies and have a lot of options and opportunities available, and also being able to meet a lot of new people along the way.”

Ariela Alvarez, from Costa Rica, found the National Master Audition to be an extraordinary chance to take the next big leap in her dance career. “In Costa Rica we don’t have many ballet companies; none that are as big as the ones here, so I was extremely interested to take this experience to be seen by these amazing companies.”

Charmaine Hunter, Director of Community Enrichment with the Orlando Ballet, is a former principal dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem, resident dance supervisor with the Disney musical The Lion King, and casting coach with Cirque du Soleil. In evaluating dancers, Hunter expressed that there is a “certain look, style, and technical level that the artistic director of Orlando Ballet is looking for. Strong technique, versatility, a warm personality as a human being, being open to criticism but being open also to adapting different styles and the different changes that teachers, choreographers, and everyone needs in order to create new works. These are all qualities that I am looking for in a dancer.” Hunter, with expansive experience in the realm of dance, feels that the National Master Audition provides a unique platform for dancers seeking to take the next steps in their careers. Hunter further added:

“Normally dancers have to fly here, fly there, fly all over, and right now with this pandemic, flights are more expensive, gasoline is more expensive, and the prices of everything are really inflated. Dancers don’t make a lot of money. So if you fly every weekend to find an audition, where are you going to get those funds to find a job? This way, the directors meet the dancers halfway by coming together over a weekend, so it’s as though that dancer is auditioning for 9 different companies in one weekend. That’s the advantage of this audition and I think it’s absolutely wonderful.”

Ballet California’s National Master Audition will continue to offer this wonderful advantage for dancers all around the world in years to come. The 2022 National Master Audition will take place over the course of three days from Wednesday, December 28th through Friday, December 30th. Registration will open July 1st, 2022. You won’t want to miss your chance to take the next big leap in your dance career.