How Do I Make My Dance Resume Look Better?
December 24, 2009 by career
Filed under Resume Questions
I have been a dancer since I was 3. I trained for 15 years and then went to college and stopped for a while. Now I’m 21 and I really want to pursue dance again. I would love to go out to some big auditions in NYC but there is only one problem. My resume is not at all impressive, especially compared to the many dancers out there. I had impeccable training but I have no professional credits in theatre, film, commercial etc. What can I do to add to my resume and/or make it look more impressive? What activities can I do that look impressive/legitimate?
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Relax, castings aren’t based on resumes but on auditions. Even when open auditions ask for resumes at sign-in times, nobody looks at them until after the first series of cuts. Then they might get looked at before setting up call-backs. However, with these auditions being “cattle calls,” it’s pointless for them to even collect resumes up front. Too much wasted paper. And since most dancers print their resumes on the back of their head shot or composites, it’s also too expensive for the dancers to give out resumes when there’s a good chance they’ll be cut.
If you’re going to NYC anyway, you can kill two birds with one stone by taking open classes at the big places (BDC, Steps, etc) where you will be seen by bigwigs in the biz and adding to your resume with top training. They also have postings of auditions there. Work hard in the classes, get seen, and network like crazy. You’ll find that there are many other aspiring dancers there who are doing the same thing and who are in the same boat as you.
At the top make sure you have your name in big bold letters.
Then you want to put your contact info. Age range, height, weight, eye color, vocal range (if you know it)
Since you don’t have a lot of experience you will want to emphasize your education.
List your dance schools and any teachers you’ve worked under. The years which you’ve attended those schools. Any awards you’ve earned. Any solos you’ve done.
You can even put your College and High School.
At the bottom you want to put your special skills like:
List your Dance styles. Special activities like horseback riding, drivers license, etc.
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On a professional note you should start taking dancing/voice/acting lessons. The more skills you have the more desirable you will be fore casting directors.
Good luck!!
You can make any resume look better by impressing more people with your work. Take small opportunities to show off and use those to your advantage. Nobody ever started at the top!!
Good Luck!