As with most of my others, this post is being written much later that the audition occurred. On January 25 I went to New York City to audition for the Marymount Manhattan College dance program. Here's how it went down:
After seven hours of driving, my parents and I arrived in Manhattan the night before the audition. We crashed at our hotel for a little bit, then walked over to Bryant Park to check out an event called Frost Fest that was going on. We watched ice skaters from novice to pro either struggle to stand or speed past others for a while, then made our way over to Central Park for a little bit and just observed our surroundings. City skylines at night always mesmerize me, and it served as motivation for doing well in my audition the next day.
The next morning, I got up bright and early to get ready for the audition. Check-in started at 9:20AM, so I gave myself enough time to arrive there by 9:00AM. After signing in, turning in my resume and head shot, and receiving my name tag, our audition began at 10:15AM. It was one of the most intense auditions I've ever been to. With approximately 100 applicants in the room we had to do an hour and a half of Ballet, half and hour of Modern, then half an hour of Jazz. And that was just round one.
At the end of this portion, we had to sit in the hallway and wait for a list to be posted denoting who would advance to the next round. I was shocked to the point I started shaking when I saw my name on the list of 40 people that had made it to the second round of the day. Since they were going in alphabetical order, I was up first. I walked in alone and stood in front of the panel of five judges. There was an interview portion and then I had to perform a 1-2 minute solo of my choice. They stopped my solo before I was finished, which didn't surprise me because we had been warned they would do this, but scared me none the less. At this point, they asked me if I had any questions for them. The first thing that came to mind was "Do you have any corrections for me?", so that's what I said. They actually seemed impressed and surprised by the question and gave me some useful advice, which I thanked them for.
Now, all that was left to do was wait to receive my results. Advancing to the next round doesn't guarantee admission; there are multiple auditions held by the College and this was only one of them. Out of over 250 applicants, they told us they only take about 40. I headed back to the hotel super happy, just excited and proud I had made it past the first round of cuts.
In the course of my excitement, however, I made a very dumb mistake on my way back. I accidentally got off the Subway ten blocks earlier than I had meant to, so I had to walk that distance back to the hotel. In the pouring rain. Luckily it was relatively warm out, so I wasn't cold, just very soaked by the time I reached my destination. I sat down on the bed (in dry clothes now, of course) and fell asleep almost immediately. I was completely drained, but in the best way possible.
Just a few days later, on January 29, I received an email from Marymount Manhattan College. I got in!! I was actually walking into dance class when I read the message. I texted my parents right away and could hardly contain my shock and excitement. After the past rejections I had received, this was exactly the encouragement I needed to assure me that I am doing the right thing. It goes to show that just because one program doesn't want you it doesn't mean you should quit. It showed me that the hard work my parents, teachers, and I had all put into my training thus far had been worth it.