Dance Audition Attire

<p>I know that carnegie mellon has both a ballet and jazz combination. So should I wear ballet tights with ballet slippers or jazz pants and jazz shoes?</p>

<p>anyone?
It says this on the CMU website:
Two short combinations, a Ballet and Jazz are taught to a group of approximately 20 students. The faculty will watch the students execute those combinations in smaller groups of approximately 4. Dance attire preferred. Leotard, tights, T-shirt(men), ballet shoes, jazz shoes or bare feet are acceptable.</p>

<p>go classic, it's an audition.
black leotard and pink convertible tights, with pink ballet shoes.
You can roll up the tights to your calf and throw on black shorts for the jazz portion.</p>

<p>Hair should be in a bun for ballet, (show respect for the tradition/discipline of ballet). you can let it down in a pony for the jazz combo. leo/tights are better for showing your line, which is what they will be looking for. bare feet/ dance paws for jazz is better, for your toe pointing, turns, better grip, etc., unless you're used to jazz shoes.</p>

<p>good luck!</p>

<p>I hope clay doesn't wear pink tights...he's a boy.
(same with hair in a bun)</p>

<p>By the way, I have a girl and she did not wear her long hair in a bun at college auditions. Most for MT auditions did not. It was tied back.</p>

<p>i'm a guy, so I don't have pink ballet shoes :)
I'm planning on wearing tights and ballet slippers, and I'll bring my jazz shoes and jazz pants, so that I can change into them if I have time.</p>

<p>Sounds like a good plan, Clay.</p>

<p>sorry, i didn't see your screen name :). it would be a good answer if you were a girl!</p>

<p>I agree with Soozie that the hair does not need to be in a bun. My daughter had long hair for her audition and just pulled it back as well. I didn't really see any girls with their hair in a bun.</p>

<p>I'm not with CMU (obviously) but I would advise against changing anything besides your footwear between the ballet and jazz combinations. You want to look the same through the whole dance portion because it helps the auditors remember you :-)</p>

<p>I also advise just changing the footwear between segments. However, you could arrive with jazz pants on with tights under the pants and assess what attire the majority are wearing and then decide if you want to keep the jazz pants on for your audition or not. I recall my kid doing that.</p>

<p>I auditioned for CMU while they were in NYC. There was not many boys there, I think I was one of maybe 6 or 8 for MT, the majority was for acting only. So in my dance audition there was me and 1 other boy. I wore cut off sweatpant gym shorts, and a slim fitting white v-neck tee and black jazz shoes, the other boy for loose sweats and a tee shirt and black jazz shoes. The dance teacher was very open to what everyone chose to wear and didn't seem to mind, she told us to throw on whatever is comfortable for us. many girls were in tights and leotards and they seemed to be the more experienced dancers. The dance teacher kept reiterating that this is just to see potential and for placement, etc. And that this is the area that you 'should not' stress about which was nice, since I am not too experienced of a dancer. The overall audition experience was one of the best I had, it was so laid back and they were really there to get to know you. I loved CMU! I hope I get in! Best of luck with your audition!</p>

<p>My daughter brought everything and was prepared to wear whatever she felt was the most comfortable at the time for each audition. She had a cap sleeved and turtleneck leotard, small dance shorts, long jazz pants and a ballet skirt to go over them. It seemed that each audition had its own feel and based on what was being asked and the temperature of the room and the other kids, she made a decision. She always started with ballet shoes and was prepared to change but never needed to. (Except the few schools that asked for tap.) There is enormous variety but most importantly what are you comfortable dancing in. Also, the levels in dance were tremendous. From NO experience to AMAZING dancers. Don't sweat this part out...(no pun intended.)</p>

<p>Hi its Blarney, the mom new to Musical Theatre. I am having trouble finding Jazz Pants for my son for the upcoming auditions. Do you order most men's pants online and do they run true to size, as well as the jazz shoes? He is on the larger size and I am not sure how the jazz pants run or where to buy them. Most of the dance stores I called only carry womens.
Or can you use yoga pants for the dance auditions? I know that PP really wanted jazz pants. any suggestions greatly appreciated!</p>

<p>Hey Blarney! This is a stressful part for everyone so don't worry we will all get through it! I just finished Unifieds and Carnegie Mellon and Pace and now I'm more nervous than when I auditioned just because now it's time to wait haha! When I auditioned for PPU, there were no boys in jazz pants, and the whole audition was very laid back for dance. They said it only is 20% of your overall evaluation and is mainly for placement only. Like I said above, I wore cut off sweat pant gym shorts and a form fitting tee. Same for Cincinnati, which I was surprised but everyone was in very casual dance clothes, mainly gym shorts and tees. Don't worry too much about dance attire, I went out and bought tights etc, for my dance auditions and never ended up needing to wear them based on what everyone else was wearing and what the dance teacher would say. I'm sure this is not always the case, but that was how my auditions went. Best of luck!</p>

<p>Here is another question. What did you wear for footwear? I can get gym shorts/pants if needed. Do you get jazz shoes/ballet flats or go barefoot? The last two school auditions did not have a dance portion. thanks for the post and all the information. Good luck with your decisions.</p>

<p>In my opinion, wearing proper dance attire is best. In any case, you will need it when you get to college anyway. </p>

<p>Blarney, I only have daughters. However, I just looked up for you online at the dance catalogue company we have used many times called Discount Dance Supply (web address is Discount</a> Dance Supply - Dancewear at discount prices including pointe shoes, leotards, ballet slippers and much more.) and they carry several different pairs and styles of men's jazz pants including in size XL. I cannot tell you if they run true to size but I bet if you call the catalogue, they could advise you. The prices are reasonable as well.</p>

<p>Thank you for that. I will also try them to see if they carry his size.</p>

<p>As I wrote above, they carry size XL in the men's jazz pants.</p>

<p>My son is 6'3, 210 lbs and we ordered XL in both the jazz pant and belt from Dance Discount. They fit perfectly and were very appropriate for his auditions (and dance classes). I suppose a Lrg in the pant would have worked, but he was worried about the length. He wore a fitted white t-shirt, which we bought at a local mens store--not dance attire, but worked just fine for the auditions.</p>

<p>Thanks guys! Appreciate all the information. Will place a call tomorrow to the store. Back to the other question. What do most of the men wear? Jazz shoes, ballet flats or bare feet?This whole process is nerve racking, at least for the parent. The student goes with the flow and pulls the performance out of the hat at the last minute. Makes me nuts!!!!!</p>