<p>I have three words of advice, not counting the "and": FEBREZE and Static Guard.</p>
<p>Agree with NMR...definitely have a back up outfit with you in case of spills, tears, or some other unforeseen occurance. </p>
<p>My D did not do Unifieds. However, two of her weekends involved back to back auditions for two schools in one weekend trip. She did bring different outfits for each day.</p>
<p>Two years ago (wow where has the time gone?) my daughter wore black dress pants, a burgundy tank with matching sheer burgundy blouse over (think Ann Taylor/Express/etc.), and shoes with about 2 inch heels. She's very short and felt these made her look more professional and less like a little girl. She felt more comfortable in pants than a dress or skirt and we thought it was most important for her to feel comfortable, yet look professional. She didn't wear her dance clothes under her audition outfit except if the dance audition was scheduled first and then she still brought underwear to change into after. She always had time to change, although sometimes not much (Elon was the worst--she was first to audition directly after the dance audition where she was one of the last out due to having to stay longer to demonstrate tap which not everyone did. Ironically, she attends Elon now. LOL). She is a lifelong dancer, like MTgrlsmom's D, so is quite used to changing quickly, in small places, so this wasn't an issue. She had a very successful audition season, so I surely don't think wearing dress pants as opposed to a skirt was an issue. I do agree that it is important to look professional, like this is an important event for you. The rare, lucky, incredibly talented, or whatever student may get in to a program wearing jeans and a tshirt, but I would have to think that is the exception. Why take chances? This whole audition process is risky enough without adding to it.</p>
<p>This should have been obvious to us, but if you are traveling to an audition by plane make sure your audition items are in carry on, and not checked luggage. We had one suitcase delayed when traveling to an audition, and of course it was the one with my D's tap shoes in it. The tap was optional at the school (Ohio Northern) and the suitcase did show up the morning of the audition before we headed out for it, but we could have saved some stress if we had everything in carry-on.</p>
<p>Any parents of guys out there? What do guys typically wear for the auditions?</p>
<p>Thanks so much for all the quick feedback. I feel now that we are set-with backups. Thanks for the reminder of not packing important things in your checked luggage. As always the info is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>knarfydna,
I'm not the parent of a guy. But a guy should also dress up more than his usual everyday school or hanging around clothes. In other words, no jeans, tee shirts, shirts with writing, sneakers, etc. You don't need to get into your dressiest garb necessarily. A pair of what are often referred to for men as Khaki pants or Chino pants would be appropriate and you don't need dressy wool slacks. A solid button down shirt or nice sweater would also be appropriate. Think of what you'd wear to an interview. Wear hard sole shoes that are not super casual. Dress shoes or a step down from dress shoes would do. Sneakers or sandals or casual sport style shoes would not do. Be neat and look like you thought about it and dress appropriately for the importance of the situation. I likely would go with darker pants and then a nice color on the shirt. Show your personal style but without overdue fussiness. Look proper without drawing attention to your clothing. If it is a button down shirt, it should look crisp and ironed and not crinkly wrinkly. A tie is not necessary but would be an option. A jacket is definitely not necessary. Hair should be neat.</p>
<p>I want to wear a dress. and heels. Thats what I'm most comfortable in, and after all don't you want to wear what you feel good in?</p>
<p>A dress and heels is fine and what many MT hopefuls wear (well, female ones, that is)!</p>
<p>However, be warned that the auditors at NYU (at least in the past) don't like girls to be wearing heels, so they will ask you to slip them off when you come in to do your monologue and to sing. No big deal: other than the guys, every girl I saw at my D's NYU audition took her shoes off!</p>
<p>Yeah, I generally do my stuff without shoes anyway. But I'm about 5 feet tall so I generally wear heels.</p>
<p>I personally know one department head who strongly urges girls to wear dresses, and show off their legs. For anyone considering wearing dress sometimes and pants sometimes, I would save the pants for auditions that include a dance call, when they already get to check out your physique.</p>
<p>For guys, I agree that well-pressed shirt and dress pants is the way to go - I would most likely skip the tie, unless it particularly worked for your material. One other suggestion - I have seen guys with very slight builds add a vest to visually bulk themselves up a bit.</p>
<p>As far as the guys are concerned (I have one) I definintely recomend the chino/kaki or dress pants and a dress shirt (can be colored) and I would go with the tie. A sweater is nice especially if the weather warrents one. Nice shoes, make sure they are polished!
Everything should be pressed and neat. Make sure the hair is trimmed and please shave, this is not the time for stuble!</p>
<p>Do they really care what your hair looks like? Alot of my dance calls are before the acting/singing portion. I cannot promise my hair will hold up, nor do I was to care about it..</p>
<p>Find a way to wear your hair that is flattering and will hold up to the dance audition. A simple ponytail or bun will do, if your hair is long enough. Yes, they really do care how you look. I was recently at a professional audition where a girl wasn't called back because, as the director commented, "she looks like she just crawled out of bed." He felt that her lack of concern about her appearance was disrespectful.</p>
<p>music<em>is</em>life,
My D's atitude was "When You've Got It, Flaut It"! I agree with onstage that you cannot hide your height so why try? My D, 2 cycles ago, wore 3 inch heels (which she felt showed off her legs better than 2 inch ones) and is a little over 5'9". She wore a skirt and top or dress, and asked permission to remove her shoes for all her monologues. She had successful auditions, and received no negative appearance comments.</p>
<p>oops-Flaunt</p>
<p>At one of my good friend's CMU and Juilliard auditions, both auditors commented on how much they appreciated her outfit in comparison to the other girls'.
She got into CMU and called back to Juilliard.
She wore a mid-thigh length gray knit dress, with jeans underneath and flat, ankle boots.</p>
<p>Re: the girl who got into CMU and a Juilliard call back wearing a dress over jeans. Just curious: was this for acting (at CMU ... I know Juilliard doesn't have MT)?</p>
<p>Last audition cycle, I saw tons of girls auditioning for BFA in acting programs wearing jeans. Well, I saw a lot of guys in jeans, too.</p>
<p>I did not see many MT girls wearing jeans.</p>
<p>At my daughter's first audition the other day we saw a few girls with jeans and two with very very short dresses and very high heals. My d. wore a skirt (above the knee) and flat shoes. I didn't get the feeling that anyone was put off by the minidresses, but I think my own d. felt like she looked too young next to these girls that looked much more mature.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the info! I found a moderate heel (about 1 1/2 inches) that I'm going to wear. So problem solved!</p>
<p>One more question-- this time about dance wear. What do the girls usually wear? I have a ton of dance stuff so I have a bunch of options. My plan was to wear a leotard and capri length tights and then a short-ish wrap around dance skirt. Is that okay? or do most wear jazz pants?</p>