Finding dance jobs, auditions and opportunities is not always easy. Here are some tips to help you find a job, placement, internship, or volunteer position in dance.
Photo: Matthew Fang
Finding national dance jobs
Arts Jobs
Arts Council England runs theArts Jobs websitewhich provides regular job updates. You can search for dance jobs on the site to find relevant roles for dancers and dance professionals. You can alsosubscribe to Arts Jobs updates via RSS.
Audition sites
For auditions there aresites such as Star Nowand sites focused on dance such as Article 19, Dance Europe,Dancers Pro,Foundation for Community Dance, andLondon Dance. There will be more sites like these out there, so search for them and subscribe to any updates to make sure you dont miss any auditions or opportunities.
Job sites
There are also plenty of general job sites such asJobsite,Monster,Fish4,ArtsJobsOnline, The Stage andGuardian Jobsthat are not focused on dance but publish jobs in many categories and may still provide dance opportunities.
Google Alerts
Auditions and jobs are posted online all the time but you dont want to spend all your time searching for that information. Happily, you dont have to.
Google provide a service called Google Alerts that allows you to set up automatic searches and receive the results via email or RSS. To set up a search just visit google.com/alerts, enter your search query such as dance audition west midlands, decide how frequent and detailed you want your search to be, and choose whether to have results delivered to you inbox or your RSS feed.
Now mentions of dance jobs online will be sent straight to you when they appear. If you arent happy with the quality of results you get back you can amend your search terms to include extra terms or exclude certain ones. For example, if youre searching for dance jobs in Birmingham add -alabama to your search to ignore mentions of the US city.
Use social media
Twitter and Facebook are great for following news sources and peers in the dance industry. Follow fellow dancers, dance companies and publications in the dance (and wider arts and culture) sector and youll find that youll be more up to date with developments, opportunities and chances to work with others. Studies show time and again the better networked you are, the more likely you are to be employed.
Photo: kelsey_lovefusionphoto
Finding dance jobs in your area
The tips above will apply no matter where you live and work, but what about closer to home? There will be information available in your local area too. The information below relates to the West Midlands but the principles apply no matter where you are.
Subscribe to West Midlands Dance
West Midlands Dance posts any relevant dance opportunities as they are found. To make sure you dont miss out on any jobs or opportunities you cansubscribe to the blog by email, orsubscribe by RSS. If youd prefer not to do either bookmark the site and check back regularly. You canfollow @westmidsdance on Twitterandlike the West Midlands Dance Facebook page.
Follow local dance companies
Most jobs and opportunities come direct from dance companies. To see them as soon as they are posted you can subscribe to individual dance company blogs. In the West Midlands local dance companies such asBirmingham Royal Ballet,Rosie Kay Dance Company,Motionhouse,2Faced Danceall post jobs and opportunities on their websites, so make sure youre getting those updates first. Many dance companies are on Facebook and Twitter too, so be sure to follow them there as well.
Follow your regional development agency
DanceXchange is a development agency for dance in the West Midlands and often posts jobs and opportunities on its website. dX also producesInternational Dance Festival Birminghamwith Birmingham Hippodrome and therefore has opportunities relating to the biennial festival. Other development organisations in the region include Dancescape, Dancefest, and Dance Connected.
Other places to look include The Place (London), South East Dance, Dance North West, Dance South West, Yorkshire Dance, Dance City (North East), Dance 4 (Nottinghamshire), Dance East, Swindon Dance, and Dance Base (Scotland).
Follow Dancing for the Games
Dancing for the Games is the Cultural Olympiad project for the West Midlands and comprises many projects by regional dance companies and organisations. Subscribe to the blog to get updates, job opportunities, auditions and news from the projects leading up to London 2012. You can also follow the Dancing For The Games projects online.
Any other tips?
If youve got any other tips on keeping up with the latest dance opportunities online then let us know in the comments.