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Audition Notice 2024
We are delighted to announce an open call for disabled and non-disabled dancers interested in working with Candoco Dance Company.
Candoco is a world-renowned professional, contemporary dance company, working in the inclusive dance sector. Bridging the mainstream and the experimental, we challenge perceptions of what dance can be and who can do it.
Our new Co-Artistic Directors, Dominic Mitchell and Raquel Meseguer Zafe, come from disability justice, queer and decolonising practices, respectively. Under their direction, we will orient to radical access and move steadily towards creating liberatory spaces.
For further information about Candoco please visit our website.
We are looking for dancers for new projects in Autumn 2024 - Autumn 2025. We are interested in performers who feel confident adapting and remaking material, alongside creating from their practice and lived experience.
The rehearsal process will have considered schedules that centre care, but will also have intense moments, including technical rehearsals and production weeks. Touring will include international travel. We aim to provide you with as much information as possible, to help you make an informed decision about whether this particular opportunity is right for you.
We actively invite applications from candidates with varied experiences, especially those encountering intersectional barriers and those underrepresented in the dance sector. We embrace dancers who identify as D/deaf, disabled, neurodivergent, individuals from Black, Brown, Asian, and other global majority backgrounds, LGBTQIA+, as well as those from low-socioeconomic backgrounds.
WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
Essential:
• Artistry - creativity / curiosity / presence / originality.
• Training - we welcome applicants with formal dance training or bespoke training, we recognise there are barriers to both for disabled dance artists.
• Performance - you are aware of what performing for an audience involves, whether you have professional performance experience or other kinds of performance experience.
• Collaboration & Allyship - you have a collaborative and considerate approach to the creative process. You acknowledge interdependence and value active allyship.
• Touring - capacity to travel to perform nationally and internationally, with access support from the company.
• Availability & Commitment - you have the availability and capacity to commit to the project around any other existing commitments you may have.
Useful:
• Inclusive Dance - you have experience of inclusive dance practice.
• Teaching experience - you have experience facilitating inclusive dance workshops and classes.
• Advocacy - you are open to being on panels and talks, to share your insights.
• Knowledge of the industry - an understanding of the way theatres work and what you need to take care of yourself in these environments.
HOW TO APPLY
The first stage of the application involves 3 elements. These can uploaded, via smartphone or computer, directly into the Application Form.
• A short statement about why you’d like to join Candoco. This is an opportunity to tell us how you meet the essential and useful criteria we’ve listed. You can use this space to evidence things that might not come across in the other materials (3 min voice note/video or 300 words max).
• A CV or a kind of ‘mind map’ that charts your dance experience to date (3 min voice note/video or 1 A4 page).
• A video of you dancing (4 minutes max). This is not about production values, it is to get an idea of the ways you move. It could be a showreel or it could be a video of you taken on a smartphone. Please ensure we can identify you in the video and specify timestamps if your video is longer than 4 minutes.
Please note:
All applications will be considered by at least one disabled artist associated with Candoco and all applications will be considered by two people.
We can only process applications up to the time and word count limits specified above. See the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section below for more information.
KEY DATES
Application Stage One:
Application portal opens: Monday 5 February 2024, 12.00 (GMT).
Information session (online): Tuesday 20 February 2024, 13.00 - 14:15 (GMT).
Application Deadline: Monday 4 March 2024, 12.00 (GMT).
Application Stage Two:
Audition (by invitation only): Applicants being offered an Audition will be informed by Wednesday 27 March 2024.
Audition dates: Thursday 18 – Friday 19 April 2024 at Siobhan Davies Dance Studio, London (UK).
Applicants will be invited to attend one audition day, either Thursday 18 or Friday 19 April 2024.
Interview dates: Online interview on Tuesday 23 or Wednesday 24 April 2024.
Candidates notified: Week commencing Monday 29 April 2024.
Contract Start date: November 2024.
Contract Offer: Dancers will be offered a basic contract of 14 weeks in 2024 - 2025, with the potential for more weeks to be added. The salary is at £670.00 per week.
ACCESS SUPPORT
Access for the application process Stage One:
In the information session we aim to answer any questions not covered by the FAQs. Please send any questions to jobs@candoco.co.uk by Friday 16 February 12:00 (GMT). The Zoom session will be BSL interpreted and will be posted online so all candidates can have access to the recording. We recognise this may be the first time a disabled dancer applies to a company. If the application process is unfamiliar to you, we have a few online slots with an access support worker who can support you to upload your materials. These will be assigned on a first request basis.
Access for the application process Stage Two:
If you are invited to attend the audition, we can provide BSL interpretation, Sighted Guides or a Creative Audio Describer, as required. Please see FAQs in the next section. We will have two studio spaces on the audition days: one break out / resting space and the main studio space. The audition process will have regular breaks and we will gather the group’s access needs ahead of the day.
FAQs
- What kind of footage should I send you?
The most useful footage would give us an idea of your technique lineage and your improvisational style. We welcome all techniques from contemporary to breakdancing, to bharatanatyam. It would also be useful to see a range of different ways you dance.
- How do I submit video footage?
You can upload the footage via our online form, or send us a link to your live platform (such as google drive, youtube, vimeo). Please ensure that you give us permission to your google drive file or, if required, include the password to access your files.
- What is a mind map?
We recognise that creating a CV might be daunting and you might not feel it’s the best way to tell us about your dance education or experience, so we are inviting you to submit a mind map, if this makes more sense to you. We will consider the content of the CV or mind map, not the quality of the formatting.
- There are periods of time when I have not worked or trained. Is that a problem?
No. We recognise all dancers have periods of time not in work or training, and have periods of time convalescing. So called ‘gaps’ in your CV are not a problem for us and will not be held against you within the audition process.
- What is a Creative Audio Describer?
This is someone who has considered how to use audio description techniques to make a dance technique class more accessible for visually impaired dancers. Their support might involve describing aspects of the movement or task, and providing key information being communicated visually by the facilitator leading the session. To find out more about the role visit the Unchartered Collective website
- I’m applying from abroad and will need to book flights if invited to audition…
If you would be travelling from abroad to audition, please let us know at stage one of the application. We will do our best to decide on your application as soon as possible, so that you can book travel if needed.
- What is your policy with regard to hiring non-UK nationals?
Candoco would not be the company it is today without its rich heritage of international dancers. Over the years, our company dancers have hailed from all over the world, and we are proud of the multi-cultural contributions our dancers bring to our work. While we cannot guarantee anything in respect of UK government policy on immigration matters, we do encourage you to apply to audition regardless. If you are right for the company, we will do our utmost to support you in acquiring whatever visa you may need to work for us.
- I am disabled and don’t have extensive years of professional experience. Can I still apply?
Candoco recognises that traditional training routes into the dance profession are still inaccessible to many disabled dancers. We invite you to apply if you can demonstrate comparable experience and/or unique performance style. For example, if you have tailored a bespoke training for yourself from oneoff workshops, or if you have performance experience despite having had no formal training, please apply.
- I identify as disabled with an impairment that impacts my energy levels. I am concerned that the intensive nature of the company’s touring programme would impact on my health. Should I apply?
In short: Yes. Apply and talk to us.
We recognise that the intensive and complex nature of touring schedules are not accessible for everyone. As we grow as a company, we are exploring alternative modes of working that lie outside the traditional mainstream ‘make live work / tour live work’ approach. In the longer term we aim to diversify our programme to include projects that are accessible for those that are not able to commit to the obligations of a full tour.
If you are successful at the application stage and invited to audition, part of the audition process will include an interview where we will discuss with you the current realities of being a Candoco dancer. At that point we will explore together in more detail what adjustments the company can make.
- What kind of access support can the company provide if I am offered a contract with Candoco?
We aim to make access tailored to the disabled dancer’s needs. We would talk through your access needs and support you to apply for an Access to Work Grant, which is how the government supports access needs in the workplace. This may sound daunting, but our team has a lot of experience in Access To Work applications and you will be fully supported through this process.
- Can I apply to Access to Work if I am from overseas?
Yes, this is a UK award that you are entitled to apply for, if you have the right to work in the UK. If you have any questions that are not answered here, please email them to jobs@candoco.co.uk. We will do our best to answer them in the information session on Tuesday 20 February 2024.
