I am currently sitting in the grey and sleepy town of Den Haag in the Netherlands –coffee and stroopwafels in hand. Over the course of winter break, I have had my feet in five countries, three states, eight cities, seven airports, eight beds (and/or couch pillows on the floor), six planes, and more restaurants than I can count. For the record: I am exhausted, but exhilarated, by the adventures of travel.
I, along with many of my classmates, participated in the ‘European Tour’, in which we coordinated auditions with various companies throughout Europe. Approaching the end of this journey, I am not quick to forget the effort it took to set this plan in motion. It started during an unseasonably warm November, when we all began our travel research, and pondered over which companies interested us, where we could see ourselves in the future, and what kind of dancer we might want to be. The next step was reaching out to these companies, and setting up a day or two that we could spend auditioning with them – often resulting in varying degrees of response or success. Then finally, booking myriad train tickets and Airbnb’s, planning day trips with one another, and trying to envision whether I really could fit all my clothing into a carry on suitcase. (I was unsuccessful in this endeavor.)
Flash forward to January, and I rather suddenly found myself in my first audition, and acutely aware of how long it had been since my last ballet class. New dancers, who seemed sage and refined, in a new studio, with a teacher I was unaccustomed to, surrounded me. All I could think to do was to take a deep breath, and stick to the movements at hand. The majority of the auditions consisted of a ballet class with the company, a period of time to learn a piece of repertory, and then showing a solo we prepared ahead of time. It was incredible to have such an intimate experience with each company – to see how their dancers move and work – as well as witnessing my classmate’s grace and aplomb.
As time hurtles into second semester, this tour was a tender reminder of the things I would love to work on, and a tweaked vision of where I can see myself beyond graduation. While this trip did not come without some stress, and a few flubs along the way, (such as showing up to an audition only to find the company had a free day, getting on trains going in the wrong direction, checking Google Maps again, and again, and that one horrible sandwich on the train from Saarbrucken to Amsterdam) overall I am entirely grateful for the opportunity to push myself into unknown, and somewhat intimidating, situations. All these minor mishaps were smoothed over in the end. We returned the following day to do the audition, quickly got on the train heading the right way, and as far as the sandwich is concerned, we made up for it with a massive falafel sandwich in Amsterdam in which pigeons strutted around the floor of the restaurant. I am proud of myself for not only navigating through foreign cities, but also successfully coping with the anxiety of auditioning – and enjoying the challenge. When in doubt, I thought back to those nuggets of information that have resonated with me from teachers at school: to root my feet into the floor, fulfill the music, breathe, and forgo the pursuit of perfection to instead show each company
what I am striving toward as an artist. Perhaps the best part of it all though was the chance to experience these adventures alongside my classmates, and to see the beautiful growth in alumni dancing abroad. For now, I look forward to returning to the familiarity of New York and starting rehearsals for Senior Production!
Written by: Zoë McNeil
I, along with many of my classmates, participated in the ‘European Tour’, in which we coordinated auditions with various companies throughout Europe. Approaching the end of this journey, I am not quick to forget the effort it took to set this plan in motion. It started during an unseasonably warm November, when we all began our travel research, and pondered over which companies interested us, where we could see ourselves in the future, and what kind of dancer we might want to be. The next step was reaching out to these companies, and setting up a day or two that we could spend auditioning with them – often resulting in varying degrees of response or success. Then finally, booking myriad train tickets and Airbnb’s, planning day trips with one another, and trying to envision whether I really could fit all my clothing into a carry on suitcase. (I was unsuccessful in this endeavor.)
Flash forward to January, and I rather suddenly found myself in my first audition, and acutely aware of how long it had been since my last ballet class. New dancers, who seemed sage and refined, in a new studio, with a teacher I was unaccustomed to, surrounded me. All I could think to do was to take a deep breath, and stick to the movements at hand. The majority of the auditions consisted of a ballet class with the company, a period of time to learn a piece of repertory, and then showing a solo we prepared ahead of time. It was incredible to have such an intimate experience with each company – to see how their dancers move and work – as well as witnessing my classmate’s grace and aplomb.
As time hurtles into second semester, this tour was a tender reminder of the things I would love to work on, and a tweaked vision of where I can see myself beyond graduation. While this trip did not come without some stress, and a few flubs along the way, (such as showing up to an audition only to find the company had a free day, getting on trains going in the wrong direction, checking Google Maps again, and again, and that one horrible sandwich on the train from Saarbrucken to Amsterdam) overall I am entirely grateful for the opportunity to push myself into unknown, and somewhat intimidating, situations. All these minor mishaps were smoothed over in the end. We returned the following day to do the audition, quickly got on the train heading the right way, and as far as the sandwich is concerned, we made up for it with a massive falafel sandwich in Amsterdam in which pigeons strutted around the floor of the restaurant. I am proud of myself for not only navigating through foreign cities, but also successfully coping with the anxiety of auditioning – and enjoying the challenge. When in doubt, I thought back to those nuggets of information that have resonated with me from teachers at school: to root my feet into the floor, fulfill the music, breathe, and forgo the pursuit of perfection to instead show each company
what I am striving toward as an artist. Perhaps the best part of it all though was the chance to experience these adventures alongside my classmates, and to see the beautiful growth in alumni dancing abroad. For now, I look forward to returning to the familiarity of New York and starting rehearsals for Senior Production!
Written by: Zoë McNeil