I am super delayed in writing this post! I auditioned for the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati on January 18, but am just getting around to writing about it now. Also, this post includes some throw-back photos of me in middle school!
Car Ride Concerts
Friday after school it was time, once again, to hit the road for an audition. This time I was prepared though: I created an extensive playlist of all the best country jams from the 90's to now. To some, this alone may sound like torture. It only gets worse once you realize... I knew every word... to every song. Thankfully, my dad is patient enough to endure (and participate in) my car ride concerts. Once we arrived in Cincinnati that evening, we went to our hotel and I rested in preparation for the audition day to come.
Superstitious Oatmeal
The next morning, I got up and completed the usual audition rituals of layering on an excessive amount of warm-ups over my leotard and tights and putting way too much hairspray in my hair. Then, my dad took me to Panera to get breakfast. I'm pretty specific about what I eat on audition days, so I requested we go somewhere that I could eat my go-to breakfast: Oatmeal. I really like to eat oatmeal as breakfast on audition days because it helps keep me full and focused. It's also just kind of become an audition tradition over the years and comforts me. I don't like to feel weighed down by my food, but I need to eat enough to be energized, so I'll usually also eat some fruit or a granola bar closer to the start time of the audition.
It's a Small World
After my superstitious oatmeal, my dad drove me the short distance to the college and dropped me off at the door. I registered and then two other girsl and I began the search for the warm-up studio. We began to talk and realized we each had mutual friends, though we had never met each other- crazy! It just goes to show how small the world (especially the dance world) really is.
Audition Time
We got about an hour to warm up, and then the audition started! Just like any audition, we took our numerical spots at the barre. However, there was one major difference between this audition and any I had done before: The judges weren't walking around the room with clip-boards, they were sitting in an observation room. It was a little intimidating, but I actually kind of liked it because I was easier to focus on just the teacher.
How Things Went Down
The barre included a lot of balancing at the end of combinations, especially in fifth position ( I think they were really looking for those tight sous-sous). When we went to center we did some standard tendus and pirouettes. There was an en dehors attitude pirouette in one of the combos, which stuck out to me as unique for an audition. We moved into jumps pretty quick, which disappointed me a little bit because they asked us not to add beats in petite allegro and we didn't really do a grande allegro. Then, we put on our pointe shoes and the first combo was fast! It was probably the most advanced pointe work I had been asked to do in an audition, including fouette turns en pointe. After ballet, there was about half an hour of modern that included some across the floor and a quick combo. Then, they took a picture of us standing with our numbers and the audition was over!
Honestly, it was one of the most fun auditions I had ever gone to; I felt great after! It was challenging, but I was smiling the entire time and just enjoying myself.I n fact, I was so focused I didn't take a single picture while I was there (hence the lack of related photos on this post) On the ride home I felt optimistic and hopeful. Even if I don't get in, I know I put it all out there and did my best!
Thank you so much for reading my post about my audition at the University of Cincinnati! Be sure to check back for updates on other auditions I am attending. If you have any questions about college auditions or the application process, feel free to email me at enpointewithemma@gmail.com.