Auditioning on the Sly: Job-Hunting Around Your Company Schedule

Many dancers do face that reality as they consider switching to another company. But seeking another job while fulfilling your obligations to your current company—and without potentially jeopardizing your place there if another offer doesn’t materialize—can be stressful to navigate discreetly.

So, what are the best practices for auditioning on the sly?

The Logistics of Secrecy

It’s perfectly normal to want to try for a company that might be a better fit. Yet many dancers feel compelled to keep their job search secret for fear of being seen as disloyal or unappreciative of their current position. Biasucci was luckily able to arrange auditions during a layoff period, but for lots of dancers, attending open calls or accepting an invitation to take a company class means quietly squeezing in travel on weekends or days off.

“Audrey,” a dancer with a midsized Midwestern company, has switched companies several times (she did not want to be named because she may be job-hunting again). Although it meant packed weekends, early mornings, and late-night flights, she didn’t want to risk being penalized for missing work to audition, and calling in sick didn’t feel right. “I never missed a single class or rehearsal,” she says. “I didn’t want the artistic staff to see me negatively, and I never felt comfortable lying. So I kept it under the rug, but it did take a toll on me financially and in terms of sleep and physical health.”      

While it might be tempting to use sick days for audition purposes, ethically it’s not a great idea. Steven Melendez, director of New York Theatre Ballet, points out the implications of a last-minute absence. “Worst-case scenario is when someone lies about why they’re not there—calls in sick when they’re not— and they do it at the last minute,” he says. “I’d much rather a dancer say ‘I need to take a personal day in x number of weeks,’ so everyone can plan around it.”

Audrey’s nonunion company contract didn’t provide for any personal days, but dancers should always check their agreements to see what they might be entitled to, says Griff Braun, national organizing director at the American Guild of Musical Artists. “Many of our dance contracts have personal days that can be used for any reason, although there may be advance-notice terms.” If there’s nothing in your contract about time off, you could always just ask, he adds. “Depending on their circumstances, a dancer might want to just go talk to the director and ask for a couple of personal days, even if you don’t tell them that you are going to audition. Sometimes just going to the decision-maker can be helpful,” he says.

Melendez says he welcomes a conversation. “Given that, in a dance company, our relationships are not quite personal but more than strictly professional, it’s really critical that everyone is happy,” he says. “If a dancer is looking for a better situation for themselves, I’d rather they tell me that. If it’s for some personal or professional ambition, usually there is a way for me as a director to offer some concessions or compromise. I don’t think, however difficult it may be, that holding the cards close to the chest does anybody any good.”

Some dancers, particularly those early in their careers, may not feel safe or have the confidence to speak openly about their plans, though. Audrey says she had concerns about being seen at an audition and word traveling through the grapevine. “I was reassured that directors at auditions often seemed to understand our predicament and that we had other jobs we wanted to protect,” she says, “but I worried about other dancers in my company talking. Sometimes I’d see photos taken at auditions appear on social media. I never heard of negative fallout from that, but it worried me.”

A Better Way?

Video auditioning has become a more common vetting method for directors, making it much easier for dancers to job-hunt without taking time off at home. But it wasn’t a practical tool for Audrey, who points out that she didn’t want to be seen filming in her company’s studios and didn’t have access to off-site studio space.

But Biasucci thinks increased reliance on video could be helpful for various reasons, especially if practices like coaching a variation in real time via video conferencing could be used, for example. “Having that interface would really help dancers before they put in the financial and emotional investment of traveling to another city. The way it works now puts a lot of strain on dancers looking to maximize their career, which is already so short.” 

In an ideal world, what might make the structure around switching companies feel less risky? Braun speculates about coordination between companies for a contract-renewal notification timeline, or more allowances in employment agreements for personal days off. “Either of these suggestions would require artistic directors across the country to acknowledge the dancers’ right to guide their own careers and not take it personally when they choose to move to another company. This would be a significant shift in the culture of the dance world in the U.S.,” he says. That said, he continues, “I think you could drive yourself crazy trying to have a dance career, seek employment, and never have anyone know about it. I know it’s easier said than done.”

Ultimately, when looking to move from one company to another, the line between forthrightness and covering your bases is deeply personal. “It’s a tricky question, and the answer is not the same for everyone because it requires such individual weighing of priorities and obligations,” says Biasucci. “Finding a balance is hard, but I also think each person has an obligation to themselves to find the best fit they can for their career.”