Hello everyone! I’m just back from a very quick trip to Chicago, where I auditioned for Hubbard Street 2. Hubbard Street Dance Company is one of my favourite companies in the world, so I was excited to have the chance to audition. I found out about the audition last week, so it was a last-minute trip, but definitely worth going (it also made me appreciate the wonders of frequent flyer programs!). Chicago was beautiful: warm and summery all day and into the evening, flowers everywhere, interesting old buildings… I stayed with my friend, Olivia, who lives near the University of Chicago and I felt like I was wandering around an enormous park because there were so many trees everywhere.

The audition was actually… fun. I wasn’t sure what to expect because it was the first time I’ve ever auditioned for a contemporary company, but it was interesting and challenging. We started out with barre. There were too many dancers for everyone to dance together, so they split us into two groups alphabetically. I was in the first group and we did a nice, basic barre, nothing too tricky or difficult to learn. They eliminated people after every few exercises, which is a bit scary as you tense up, then breathe a sigh of relief, only to have to tense up again a little later. I think this is why I feel so exhausted after long auditions… All that tension just kills you! We finished barre and they sent us into another studio to stay warm while the second group went through the same process. Then they brought us all together for center and gave some fun combinations, eliminating throughout. If it hadn’t been for the whole, “am I going to get cut because I just made a fool of myself and nearly fell down?” I think I would have had a great time.

After class we learned some rep. Philip Orsano, who is a dancer with HS2, taught us two excerpts from Brian Enos’s Dipthong (there’s a short video at the link). The movement was very idiosyncratic and full of specific contrasts: a short, jerky movement going into something floaty and pulled out, or something low to the floor that suddenly pops up in the air. Philip is an amazing dancer and it was so fun to watch him demonstrate all the details; at the same time it was hard to absorb them all as quickly as possible while being nervous and having people look at you from behind a table. It’s hard for me to really dig into choreography in an audition situation, but I enjoyed trying.

We also learned a fragment from Edwaard Liang’s Sight Unseen, which was much more lyrical and gentle. The movement felt more familiar to my body and there was this great backwards, twisty fall to the floor that I absolutely loved! I have a bruise on my hip though from not realizing how much you actually have to brace your arms to keep the weight of your body from crashing into the floor.

At the very end they kept four dancers back to talk to individually (not me, unfortunately!). It was nice to get through the whole audition (about four hours) and to feel as if you were being judged on something a bit more personal than just ballet class. No job, but a good experience anyway. And aside from a very weird cab interaction, I had a great time in Chicago. I feel like I need to go back someday and spend more time exploring.