The first time Jessica Tong auditioned for Hubbard Street’s second company, she made it to the end of the call but didn’t get the job. The next time she auditioned, six months later, she also didn’t get the job, but she did get a note from then-artistic director Julie Nakagawa telling her to keep in touch. Tong eventually joined Hubbard Street 2, moved to the main company, and became rehearsal director and associate artistic director of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.
Although frustrating, those two unsuccessful auditions played a role in guiding Tong, then at a transitional moment in her career, from ballet to contemporary dance. Watching Hubbard Street onstage had helped spark her curiosity about a new direction, and the auditions helped her realize she needed more training in different styles of dance. “There was a missing link that I needed to figure out,” says Tong, now rehearsal director for A.I.M by Kyle Abraham (and often on the other side of the audition table). “That was my takeaway.”
Auditions are an inescapable part of most dancers’ paths, as are rejections. The nos can be crushing. But these experiences can also yield insights dancers might carry with them to the next audition, class, or performance—and use to inform and shape their trajectories.
Insight Through Experience
Auditions can be revealing, pointing out gaps and areas for growth. “I have learned that I need to get out of my comfort zone,” says Caitlin Bond, a New York City–based dancer whose transparent, relatable audition recaps have gained her a following on social media. Like Tong, she began in ballet before broadening her interests and landing the role of Victoria in the CATS national tour.
Going through dozens of auditions in 2024 has been instructive for Bond. “The more I do, the more I notice little things,” she says, adding that how dancers conduct themselves matters—sometimes more than technique. Bond recalls one memorable audition in which she accidentally kicked a table while striking a final pose, caught it as it toppled, stayed composed, and got a callback. Her experiences have taught her that decision-makers are watching—from the moment dancers walk in—observing the energy they bring and how they interact with others.
Auditions are also an opportunity for performers to make their own observations. “You should notice how you feel in the room,” says Jess Spinner, a health, nutrition, and lifestyle coach and former professional dancer. “If you don’t feel safe or comfortable in that environment, odds are, if you were to work for them, it would be a similar feeling.”
Reflecting on Rejection
It can be tempting for performers to leave an audition that didn’t go their way and try to push it out of their mind, Spinner says. She advises her clients to resist that urge. “I encourage dancers after every single audition to write down what they feel went well, what they would like to improve upon or do differently, and then how they’ll take both of those thoughts into their next audition experience.” Spinner recommends asking questions like: What do I feel happy about? Where did I feel confident? Did I get stuck on anything that influenced the rest of the audition? Were there corrections that feel useful? What drew the attention of the people running the audition? “Writing all of this down is going to help you get a little deeper into your brain to have some true, constructive takeaways,” she says.
The answers to these questions can point to actionable steps. For example, if a hard petit allégro combination felt overwhelming, Spinner recommends looking for tricky petit allégro combinations online to tackle after every class until the next audition. While this may not magically advance technique overnight, Spinner says, it can help build confidence.
This type of self-reflection isn’t easy. “You’re in a vulnerable space,” Tong explains. “It’s very, very taxing.” Before reflecting on the audition experience and drawing insights, she advises, “it’s okay to take a beat.”
Honing Auditioning Skills
Bond was surprised that, even after about 450 performances of CATS, she was still stressed at auditions. “I’ve gotten a lot better with performing well under pressure, the more auditions I’ve gone to,” she says. “Literally, the best way to improve your auditioning is to do more auditions.” From her experiences, Bond decided to take more hip-hop and tap classes, learned she needs to be ready to improvise, and realized adaptability and versatility are key. “You really never know what you’re going to walk into,” she says, in terms of what style—or mix of styles—dancers will be expected to nail in the studio.
Practice can help hone skills important to auditioning well, like picking up choreography quickly enough that the focus can extend beyond the actual steps. Tong says she doesn’t necessarily look at who gets the combination the fastest, though others might. But knowing the steps is foundational, she says: “From there you can really personalize it and give it a little bit more of your groove.”
When dancers are walking into an unknown situation, it’s natural to shrink, Tong says. It takes time to learn how to be authentic with new people quickly in an unfamiliar setting, especially when the stakes feel high. “To be able to let yourself truly be seen is a skill,” Tong says. And that is something that “really just takes practice.”
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