Finally! Audition Results.

For a week (or weeks) now you’ve been waiting for that email. You check your inbox every hour and constantly hit refresh—did I get in or not? Summer intensive audition season is coming to an end, and the results are finally being released.

Recall the day of your audition: How did you feel? Were you confident that you had it in the bag? When I auditioned for the ABT Collegiate intensive two weeks ago, I was pretty sure that they weren’t going to take me. As I lined up to hand in my registration form, I looked around the room at the other dancers and thought Yep! I am definitely not going to get in. I don’t even want to be reminded of how I did on the pointe component of the audition—my technique was definitely not on par with the others.

But surprisingly when I left ABT that day, I was proud of myself. Proud to have come to the audition and given it my best shot. I also changed my perspective on the process: I’d just had the grand opportunity of taking a class from the ABT instructors. I got a sense of what they were looking for, so even if I didn’t get in this year, I can know what to work towards.

My eyes were fixed on my inbox every day for a week, but when an email from ABT Summer Intensives finally popped up I hesitated to open it. I hadn’t auditioned for any other programs, so it was collegiate or nothing. Although I’d told myself a million times that it wouldn’t be the end of the world if I didn’t get in, opening that email was almost as nerve-wracking as the audition itself.

I opened it on my Blackberry, expecting to be directed to an online portal where I could log in and see the results. But you can imagine how shocked I was to see the word “Congratulations!” I honestly couldn’t believe it so I darted for the nearest computer and read the entire message. It finally registered for me once I saw the “Accepted” status next to my name.

It goes to show that you can’t know what directors are thinking, for they might see something in you that you can’t see yourself. I’ve had my share of rejections, so it felt good to finally receive some affirmation. Now that I’m finished being pleasantly surprised, I am determined to work as hard as ever before the summer intensive. This acceptance gave me confidence, and I approach ballet class now with a new “can-do” but humble attitude.

Auditions might be a means to an end, but really they are valuable learning experiences. Whether you’ve received good news or bad news, you should be proud of giving it all you’ve got and also be glad that you now have a better knowledge of what you can work on.