Ballet Audition Tips

Hello, dancers. It’s Luke, the Ballet Physio here. You might have some auditions coming up soon.

Now, whilst I’m not a psychologist, I’m often asked, “What should I do? I get nervous before an audition.” And I think that there are a few things to mention about nerves from my experience as a house parent, nerves before a performance, for example, and an audition is another performance, of course.

First of all, the thing to say about nerves is that nerves are good. It means that your body is prepared, and your nerves are firing, and that your muscles are twitching, and that you’re ready to go, you’re ready to work.

So do enjoy that, that sensation of the butterflies. Butterflies are a positive thing.

It helps us as part of our fight or flight response for when we are nervous or when we’re stressed about something. It helps us to get more out of our bodies. That’s why that nervous feeling is there. So enjoy it, look forward to it.

Secondly, I would say that something that’s useful to focus on ways that you can shine in your audition. So if you know that you are very strong at your Adage, really enjoy the Adage section and really show them what you’ve got. If you’re a natural jumper or a natural turner, same thing. If you’re really strong at your barre work, really make sure that they know, the audition panel knows that you know exactly what you’re doing. And you can show all of the work that you’ve put in and you can show all of the enjoyment that you get from your dance.

And my final point is that, if you fall, literally or figuratively, if something goes wrong, just keep going.

I always say, don’t make two mistakes. You make the one mistake and you don’t then make the second mistake because you lost your concentration. If you make a mistake, let it happen. It’s gone. And then, all you can do is control what comes next. And so, you can focus on that and focus on continuing to shine for the rest of it.

So if you have auditions coming up, all the best, look forward to the butterflies. And let me know how you get on.

Learn more about Luke

Luke developed his passion for helping ballet dancers achieve their greatest physical potential during his six years at the Royal Ballet School in Covent Garden, London. Learn more about his extensive experience in the ballet field.