I am a freelance dancer and choreographer (among other things) in Salt Lake City. I’m curious about dance casting in a world where our only options seem to be outdated audition systems or limiting ourselves to asking performers we already know. I took to Instagram to ask some of the freelance community about this, and here are the results.

Auditions have been around for a gazillion years and the model has remained unchanged since Louis XIV said, “Let’s make ballet a thing.” The model was also made when racism, misogyny, and queerphobia ran freely throughout society. The dance world has evolved since then, but like many artforms, the impacts of dance’s racist and misogynist histories are keenly felt even today. Adjusting the auditioning and casting process is a step towards breaking down that harmful hierarchy and empowering dancers.

Nowadays, freelance auditions cast dancers in a single short-term project, often with the hope of networking, so that your next job may be offered audition-free. In an ideal world where space, money, and safety were no issue, this could work great. The current audition model makes this an unrealistic process. But by structuring auditions differently, dancers will feel more secure and empowered.

Auditions, both for freelance projects and company roles, are already few and far between. The COVID-19 pandemic has limited these numbers even further. In 2021, you could count the number of freelance project auditions in Salt Lake City on one hand. In those auditions, some dancers who had attended speculated that the projects were most likely already pre-cast, and that the audition was more for filling holes than for building a cast directly from the audition pool. Clarity around these auditions tended to be lacking. Often, choreographers were not up front about how many dancers they were looking for, whether the dancers would be compensated at all, rehearsal times, or even the specific style of dance they were looking for, further than the catch-all term: “contemporary.”

When asked if choreographers preferred hosting an audition as opposed to inviting people, it seemed to be the general consensus that auditions were a great way to connect with new dancers. I agree with this completely. Particularly while navigating the pandemic, it has been hard to connect with new people and foster relationships. When it becomes safe to gather again, auditions will be a great way to see other dancers and reconnect to the community.

Although there is general consensus that meeting new dancers is the perk of the audition process, in my experience, often “who you know” seems to play a larger part in casting. Some dance makers are up front about this; one told me “I just want to dance with my friends. I don’t want strangers in my process.” Another dance maker said “auditions make me feel pretentious and unwelcoming.” Hosting auditions, to younger dance makers, feels like a version of gate-keeping and exclusivity. I would counter that working with the same group of people for every project can also come across as gatekeeping and exclusive, and can limit the inspiration for a project. And around in the circular argument we go.

The main feedback I received from dancers was that auditions are scary. In most auditions, a few people hold all of the information and power, and the other people in the room have only questions and no outlet to ask. This relationship inside of auditions is often interpreted as being more “professional,” however I think what’s really going on is intimidation. The lack of clarity feeds an unhealthy power dynamic where many dancers said they feel they can’t perform their best. Some people may expect pay from an auditioned project, and some choreographers expect that the project be everyone’s top priority, despite the potential unknown pay, schedule, and location. I think it’s important to acknowledge that tangible feeling of being scrutinized and judged on everything about you from your hair style to your body type to your actual movement performance to the clothes you're wearing — it goes on and on. It’s a lot to worry about even without the power dynamic. The intimidation and withholding of information also fosters an environment where biases (both conscious and unconscious) are prevalent. The more information a choreographer can give before an audition the more a dancer can prepare to pander to the dance maker’s preferences.

For some programs/companies, one is required to travel, pay at least one fee, and sometimes attend a multi-day workshop to be considered as an audition participant. There are mass audition events, where the workshop is also an audition for several different companies and choreographers, however these events are usually expensive and limited by dance style, locations, and number of projects.

So for those who might be thinking, “what would you have me do?” My manifesto is this:

Clear specifications for gender and gender expression preferences.

Choreographers should be honest about what they’re looking for in their dancers. For example, If a choreographer wants a femme dancer to dance in a heteronormative dynamic and wear a skirt, then I (a transmasculine nonbinary dancer) will not be auditioning for that. When such a choreographer says “all genders welcome and encouraged to audition” then we both end up wasting my time and my money, and they have put me in a potentially unsafe environment.

Clear specifications about compensation.

If the audition holder doesn’t have a lot of information, I want to know that. If the audition holder is waiting to hear back about a grant, I want to know that. And when I do get cast, I want it to be clearly described in the first rehearsal.

Clear specifications about rehearsal availability and expectations.

I have received several rejection emails with feedback that included comments along the lines of “your availability didn’t work for us” after the audition holder had said casting wouldn't be affected by availability. I know I’m not alone in this. Rehearsal time is one of the many conundrums of freelance dance because almost everyone involved is underpaid and overworked, however there is almost no conversation between dancers and audition holders about this. I want to know what an audition holder is looking for in availability, even if it’s as vague as “evenings”.

Clear specifications on how many dancers an audition holder is looking for.

I want to know my chances in this audition setting. Are you looking for a duet? Or eight people? Are you looking for different specific types of people? Are you not sure yet what size group you’re looking for? When auditions cost time and money, it means the world to know the possibility of actually getting cast.

I want a pitch.

For any funded project, the choreographer has likely had to write an application describing the project and the inspirations behind it. When choosing to commit time to projects, having an idea beforehand is the most respectful to everyone’s time and effort. Even if all the necessary information can’t be collected by the start of the project, I believe a pitch is still important. It could be as simple as “I’m interested in physical effort.”

Lastly, Let’s combine forces.

When everyone shares the cost of space and the authority load, it makes all of it less stressful and less expensive. I would like to see mass audition events that have many different choreographers who are in varying degrees of “success” in their careers and who specialize in different styles, possibly even casting for multiple projects over the course of a year. There could be a social component where dancers are encouraged to mingle and get to know each other in a setting where they are not seeing each other as “the competition”. If enough people band together, the cost could be dramatically less for each individual. And I would be much more willing to pay a pay-what-you-can audition fee if I knew it were going towards helping the entire dance community of Salt Lake rather than giving money to a project I may or may not actually have a part in.

The common audition model is clearly not working for the way dance performance is evolving. I firmly believe auditioning — or something adjacent — still has a role to play in dance making. I believe there is an invaluable benefit to being able to cast from a pool of interested dancers and make something entirely new. Being in a room with people who share a common vision or goal is a very exciting prospect. I am always excited to meet new people and get to work on a project we all care about, but I think we need to work on communication between the auditioners and the auditionees. We are still playing into a power dynamic that should have been updated a long time ago. If I had to put it in a single word: transparency. I want more transparency from auditions.

arin lynn is an artist and stage tech in Salt Lake City.