AUDITION

Virtual audition

Mutual Dance Theatre seeks skilled and creative Modern Dancers

Mutual Dance Theatre is formerly known as MamLuft&Co. Dance and Contemporary Dance Theater.

Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis, but contracts are made in the spring for the following season.

Preferred submission deadline: March 31.

Company Members will be expected to attend in-person orientation at end of July in Cincinnati. Rehearsals begin in August.

ABOUT MUTUAL DANCE THEATRE (briefly)

Mutual Dance Theatre is formerly known as MamLuft&Co. Dance and Contemporary Dance Theater. MDT is the resident company of the organization, which also presents outside artists from across the country (see mutualdance.org/season). The resident company works with local artists and national artists commissioned by the organization. The Artistic Director is Jeanne Mam-Luft.

We invite you to explore the rest of this website, the information below following the audition instructions, as well as our social media platforms, to learn more about us. (Facebook and Instagram)

VIRTUAL AUDITION GUIDELINES

Mutual Dance Theatre strives for an equitable audition process with minimal financial strain on the applicant.

Thus, we invite audition materials to be submitted virtually. Please feel free to upload your videos through any platform that is convenient for you (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.).

Recommended, but not required, dancers may also attend an in-person class. See “Open MDT classes” here and notify jeanne@mutualarts.org prior to your participation. Please make sure to choose an “MDT Modern” class that is noted as an open company class and one that lasts 75 minutes long.

The earlier we can receive your video materials, the better!

— We regret that we are unable to provide specific feedback to each dancer. —

To audition, please send the following...

…in a single email to jeanne@mutualarts.org with the subject line “Audition submission”

  1. Video of phrasework/choreography demonstrating your performance and technical range. Think of range in all its meanings: physical range of motion, performance range, dynamic range, nuance, range of levels (ground vs high), etc. You may either use a reel/video you already have OR you may learn the provided phrase below.
  2. Simple and quick video of you demonstrating a grande battement in devant and seconde (front view), as well as a leap (side view), and an arabesque (side view).
  3. OPTIONAL: Video of you in partnering work.

Please be clear as to who you are in the videos.

Thank you!

1) VIDEO

You can submit any video of you demonstrating strong range as described above. If you do not have a video ready, you may learn this phrase, choreographed and demonstrated by Ana Hart, Company Member.

Music for the provided phrase:

“Sylplh”
by COUCOU CHLOE, KABLAM

 

HELPFUL NOTE: You begin the phrase in silence before the track begins. You could set the song to loop and scrub to the end of the track before setting up.

Important Information to Consider

Are Company Members paid positions?

Yes, Company Members are paid for performances, either as a lump sum or through a monthly honorarium. While these fees are not yet at a full-time, living wage level, our rehearsal schedule is designed to allow dancers to maintain other work.

(Rehearsals are 3 days a week for 12 hours total including Company Class. While we maintain professional expectations for rehearsal attendance and timeliness, we are very sensitive to work arrangements.)

Our goal from the formation of our company has always been to create paid opportunities for dancers, as well as stable, regular training and artistic practice. One of our current top priorities is to build to sustainably fund wages. We do have many teaching positions available and pay our teachers well. We never charge our Company Members for training (this is NOT a pay-to-play arrangement). We continue to work on our financial capabilities.

What is Mutual looking for in a Company Member?

RACIALLY DIVERSE.
The ideal vision of this company is very racially diverse. We fully recognize the conflict this value has in respect to the section above regarding pay. The Director is a person of color: she has (and continues) to experience the extreme difficulty of being a part of a dance company whose funding does not yet support living wages. Her life experiences in facing barriers to dance fuels this organization’s priority to advance opportunities for people of color in the field. We work to create as many paid opportunities as possible.

THOROUGHLY ENJOYS THE REHEARSAL PROCESS. CREATIVE AND COLLABORATIVE.
We believe strong work (especially new work!) most often demands a long process of discovery. Company artists must love process work and understand that our mode of working is usually not to come in with 5, 6, 7, 8 choreographed and ready-to-go.

Our creative process always involves each ensemble member in a collaborative sense. We prefer to work with dancers who are not asking for what exactly to do, but interested in offering their own explorations.

ADAPTABLE. QUICK LEARNERS.
Things can change in just moments. We prefer to work with dancers who deal with change well.

And while we love process, we often have to learn quickly, particularly because of limited rehearsal time. (That rehearsal time is limited so that you can go out, work, and have a life!)

Also, the company is a repertory company, wherein visiting guest artists will set work on the Company. The re-setting of pieces can happen very quickly in just 1-2 sessions.

DEEP-DIVERS.
Learning quickly doesn’t mean you can’t dive deep! We love thinkers who really go deep into their creation and performance process!

TECHNICALLY STRONG.
We are seeking dancers with strong Modern technique of the more progressive variety, including release, somatic-based styles and Contact Improvisation-based partnering/weight-share and inversions.

ENJOY NON-TRADITIONAL PERFORMANCE.
We are known to perform in non-traditional arrangements, such as in studio settings in-the-round. We prefer dancers who embrace this rather than those who only value the proscenium.

THANK YOU! We know it’s a lot! We encourage you to apply even if you don’t know if you are everything described above.