Audition

Ack, so I've sort of been sleeping off my audition for the past few days, my bad guys! I think I need to get in shape if I get this, haha. An hour of dancing totally kicked my butt.

So, here's my audition experience:

I had to get up really early to get my brother on his bus, so I got up even earlier to shower, eat, etc. Turns out I waste a lot of time in the morning, so I ended up missing the bus I wanted to take, but there was another one at 8:25.... it said it would get me to the Red Line around 8:40. Well, there was no traffic, and then I made really good connections, so I ended up getting to Central Station around 8:45. Wow! Keep in mind the audition starts at 11, haha.

So I realized on the train that I was swaying, I was totally a bundle of nerves, it was awful. I finally realized that I'm going to Disney no matter what, and I practiced as much as I could (I was watching little kid dance videos up until I needed to catch my bus, which may have been why I was late...), and that I was going to give my best, and it's all I can do.

My mouth was still dry, so I stopped off at a Walgreens and got the biggest bottle of water I have ever seen, haha. And it was somehow cheaper than the little bottles I usually get? Weird. But great. It seriously must have been at least a half-gallon, it was crazy... I didn't have to worry about running out.

Anyway! So I walked down Mass Ave and found the dance studio.. it's now 8:50, and the studio wasn't supposed to open until 9, so I waited outside for a few minutes, until I saw someone going in - I went up to them, and was like "Good morning!" - turns out they were a real dancer, and not someone going to the Disney audition - haha. As in, they had been there before, and were sort of taken aback by my "wow, look at this! It's so weird!" when I walked in... oops.

I was the second person there, Brittany (Hi Brittany!) was first, so we met and chatted before Liz showed up, and then we were the only ones for a little while. Keep in mind, it's just about 9 - we still have two hours before it officially starts. Haha. We talked, got into our dance shoes, talked, etc, before the person at the front desk told us to head up to Studio 4. The three of us were the first ones up the stairs, so we were in the back of the room, which was unfortunate when they sent us up to Studio 6 a few minutes later - this meant that we were in the back of the line up there.

When we got up to Studio 6 (this GIANT room on the top floor of the place), it turns out my presenter from Northeastern was there, Margo! It was great to see her again, and so we chatted later for a bit. First though, she handed out paperwork to fill out. Luckily, I had brought my pen, so I speed-filled it out, and was the first one done, meaning I was #1! Yayyy! What a loser, haha.

This meant that I was the first one to get measured, and the first to get my photo taken as well. After my photo was taken, they measured me at 5'4.25. Huh? I didn't say anything, but that's about an inch shorter than I actually am. Unfortunately for a lot of people who are 5'5, they are getting cut almost immediately at bigger auditions, so I'm wondering if there was a reason I was measured down? I guess I'll find out, won't I?

So after I was measured, I went over and warmed up and stretched while waiting for the other 74 people to get all set.

The Disney people then went over what will happen, and told us that we were going to have two things to do - animation (miming) and dancing. They said the animation matters a lot more than the dancing, and as long as you can kinda follow along, you'd be okay if you were just going for meet-n-greet, which is what I want- and thank god! haha.

I think I was great with the animations - there were two, which was different, apparently! We had to meet our favorite character, and then get something to eat at the park, and then do our dance.

Did I mention we learned this dance in about 30 minutes? And it was 40 counts? And it was HARD!?!??! Oh man. I could not do it for the life of me.

We all learned together (all 75 of us), and then performed it 25 at a time, doing our "Character, Food, Dance - a few seconds to breathe - Character, Food, Dance, stand back for the next group" thing. After that, we all had to line up going down the stairs, and went in 6 at a time to perform again for the Casting Director.

My group was first, which meant that I had no time to practice.. which sucked. It was really hard, and I totally messed up my dance. No one in my group was kept for advanced dance, needless to say. I was out of there pretty fast, and I didn't feel badly about how I did. I know I tried my hardest, and considering I've never really danced before, I feel that I didn't do too badly (even though I stunk, I could have done worse!), and I think my animation was definitely better than other peoples' - when watching others, I couldn't tell who they were meeting, but I know I picked a really distinguishable character - there aren't many you can have a hula contest with. I know that might sound kinda egotistical, but I really felt good about my animation - that was the one thing I had prepared for really well.

Speaking of preparing, if anyone hasn't danced, I suggest the Tinkerbell Dance Studio Jazz and Ballet movies. If I had watched them sooner than the morning of the audition, I think they might have helped a little more. I also used the Dance-Along High School Musical things - that helped me learn how to watch someone and copy what they are doing. Those are on Youtube, or get them from your library.

I hear back in 2-3 weeks about my results, but either way, I'm really happy I did the audition - it was fun, after I calmed my nerves down, and I know I'll be happy with Entertainment or Attractions. :)

Thank you for reading, everyone!

And by the way - less two months until I go to Disney for my May vacation! I'm excited! And almost 5 months until I check in for the College Program!!!!