Hi Everyone,
I'm looking for some advice from the people I know who would give the best and most honest! I have a couple of students (one mainly in particular) who really has the itch to get more "out there"- possibly trying for commercials, etc. My question is, I know everyone says to avoid the cattle calls and get them an agent, but how do you go about doing that? This is the first student who's really had the interest AND ability to do it and I want to help her out. What steps do I need to take to seek out an agent or find auditions and where do I go from here? She is 12 going on 13.
Any advice is great- thanks!!!

In my experience the cattle calls are the first step, if your face is seen a few times then you start to get the invites. Having said that it might be different in the US, I did my dancing in Europe and thats how it works there.

Where are you located? I have a fair share of experience in NYC...but its different depending on where you are.

It's about a quarter century since I had any experience with this when my DD wanted to get launched, but at that time the most important factor was (like they say about opening a business) location, location and location. The real work was in New York, Los Angeles and, to a certain extent Florida. My daughter had gone on a summer trip to New York with her dance school, who had connections there, and wanted to move to NY. However my son was in the Air Force at the time, stationed in Riverside, close enough to LA that she could visit and go to an upcoming ballet intensive/scholarship audition in that city, plus take the time to check out the LA scene. She went, didn't make it into the ballet intensive, but didn't care as she was by then determined to go back a bit later to audition for a scholarship at Roland Dupree's school. (This was way back when he had a studio, not just a dance competition.) She loved LA which she described as New York with sunshine and lots of beaches.

Well, she did get the Dupree scholarship and at the end of that became the assistant to a popular teacher who had a lot of show biz connections, including an agent at the Bobby Ball agency. The agent found her dancers by viewing classes taught by this teacher and other leading instructors. So my daughter ended up with the Bobby Ball agency.

If you are in an area where there is not much of an entertainment industry then, let's face it, your students will have to move in order to advance. Unfortunately, this can be difficult and expensive.

If the student doesn't have anything else to do there's nothing wrong with going to a cattle call just for the experience of auditioning. And, who knows, she might make some contacts or pick up some leads from the other people auditioning. One book on show biz which I read at the time said that if anyone will let you audition -- anytime, anywhere, for anything, even if the part is totally wrong for you -- do it!

dancingdiva83 wrote:

Where are you located? I have a fair share of experience in NYC...but its different depending on where you are.

Also depends on what genre she wants to explore. Commercial Hip-Hoppers are going to seek out a different course than Musical Theatre.

Some agencies have open auditions to get you seen. Headshots/portfolios are needed. Some agencies scout classes, depending on your location.

There are also big Comps that offer scholarships and get you some exposure like NYCDA. That kind of scholarship puts you in the scene with other up and comings and begins the networking process.

More info and I'm sure one of us can help you.

toroandbruin is correct when she says that if your not in a prime hiring hotspot, the chances of work/representation are much less.