The Regional Audition

The first "official" audition and journey to Atlanta brings a fresh perspective

We opted to attend the regional auditions for Boston Conservatory at their Atlanta site, which happened to be at Atlanta Ballet's location on Marietta Rd. The other option was Miami the following Thursday, but, since we're flying to NYC on Friday for Unifieds, the Atlanta Sunday option seemed like a better one. I mean, these kids still have to go to school, finish their senior year and their teachers don’t always get the "missing school to audition for colleges" thing.

Depending on the audition, it may feel a little awkward as the parent. If you were that stage or dance mom during your kids younger years, it was okay for you to be the one to approach the table, ask the questions and generally be in charge. In the college audition scenario, let your kid do all of the checking-in, question asking, etc. It may seem like your involvement is necessary, but let your student come to you if they need anything. I also highly recommend you sending them in alone, but in our case, I had to wait in the lobby—three hours sitting in a running car or figuring out the local area wasn’t very appealing to me, especially when we didn’t know how long each part of the audition would take. Fortunately, the Atlanta Ballet studios had an ample waiting area for parents to hang out in.

We checked-in at 9am, as requested, for her 9:30am audition. Her group headed back at 9:30 and was done by 10:00am. She confirmed she needed to be back at noon for the dance call, so we took a break and found the nearest Starbucks. Plus, my introverted daughter needs her time alone and away from the “scene”.

We returned to Atlanta Ballet to a full lobby and the familiar sight of ballerinas stretching. A ballet summer intensive audition lured a slew of dancers to the studios that Sunday. Lost our great seats, but the floor was fine. Her dance audition was scheduled for noon to last 90 minutes.

She comes out. Dance call was the full 90 mins and was tough, but she was included with the best dancers when they moved folks around. We hit the road and the long drive from Atlanta isn't set to be a sad one, but reflective and a celebration that she had done the best she could in the moment and "one on the books".