All cast members of the Young Canadians Company audition annually to receive scholarship training through the Young Canadians School of Performing Arts. 

 

Participation in the Young Canadians School of Performing Arts is open to students between the ages of 7 and 20 from Calgary and the surrounding area.  Cast members selected will show a strong desire to further develop their skills and performance abilities. 

 

Cast members are grouped in the following ways:

 

The SENIOR Company consists of 20 Female Singers, 20 Male Singers and 26 Female Dancers.  All of these cast members are between the ages of 14 and 21. (Must be 14 by September 1st)

 

The APPRENTICE Company consists of 16 Female Singers, 16 Male Singers and 16 Female Dancers.  All of these cast members are between the ages of 11 and 14.  (Must be 11 by September 1st)

 

The JUNIOR Company consists of  16 Female Singers, 16 Male Singers and 16 Female Dancers.  All of these cast members are between the ages of 7 and 11. Junior Dancers (aged 7-11), Junior Singers (aged 7-11)

 

Open auditions are held in June for the Apprentice and Senior level cast members.  (Junior auditions are held annually in the spring, typically in February or March). 

 

Dancers Audition Process:

 

Dancers will be asked to check in at the Registration Desk to confirm the information on their on-line Pre-Registration Form (available 6 weeks prior to audition dates), or to complete a Registration Form when they arrive for the auditions,  This form is then handed in to our staff to group all dance candidates into classes for their auditions.  

 

There will be a Master Class for all the dancers that are auditioning at the beginning of the audition process.  This will consist of general warmup to show placement, alignment and flexibility along with components to show coordination, rhythm and musicality. At the end of this class there will be a cut of dancers who will be dismissed and able to leave. 

 

The remaining dancers will be grouped into classes of approximately 20 dancers at a time. The subsequent audition class will begin with a ballet bar, a short stretch in the centre, a show of flexibility and any gymnastic skills, such as splits, etc.  The audition class then continues with corner work starting with simple steps designed to allow the dancer to show performance quality, moving to harder technical skills as the class progresses.  The audition finishes with a jazz combination where the dancer has the chance to show both technique and performance quality.

 

At the end of each audition class, a cut of dancers will again be dismissed and able to leave.  Selected dancers from each audition class will be asked to attend a final call-back for selection of dancers to attend a 5 day workshop in the evenings, August 18-22, 2008. It is mandatory that those selected attend this workshop.  On August 22nd you will be advised if you have been accepted into the Young Canadians program and classes will start September 6th.

 

Previous dance training is necessary for dancers and Ballet training mandatory.

 

Please dress in dancewear, with appropriate footwear.  Ballet slippers and jazz shoes should be brought with the dancer to the audition. 

                                               

Singers Audition Process:

 

Singers will be asked to check in at the Registration Desk to confirm the information on their on-line Pre-Registration Form, (available 6 weeks prior to audition dates), or to complete  a Registration Form when they arrive for the auditions.  This form is then handed in to our staff to schedule audition times.  

 

The vocal portion of the audition is done individually.  Each singer is asked to prepare a song for their audition and should come with sheet music, [we provide an accompanist], a tape or CD with the musical bed only [no lead vocals]. We are looking for strong, capable voices with good potential for development.

 

Following each applicant’s individual vocal audition, they then join other applicants in a dance audition in a class format.  The dance portion of the singers audition is an important part of their being accepted into the Young Canadians program as a performer.  Although previous dance training is not mandatory, the individual must have good rythmic movement, coordination, musicality and be able to pick up dance instruction quickly.

 

If you are selected to move on to the second part of the auditions, it will be mandatory for you to attend a 5 day workshop in the evenings, August 18-22, 2008.  On August 22, you will be advised if you have been accepted into the Young Canadians program and classes will start September 6th.

 

Please dress in loose fitting clothing which you can dance in, with appropriate footwear.  Jazz shoes or a soft athletic runner should be brought with the singer to the audition.

 

Upcoming  AUDITION DATES

 

To receive more information about the auditions, please click here to provide us with your name, contact information and any questions you may have or information you would like to receive, or call Patricia Metz at the Young Canadian office at 403.261.0129