GO WHERE THE AUDITIONS ARE!

An online auditions service for dancers worldwide made its debut in early January on www.dancemagazine.com, the Dance Magazine Web site. The move was a response to repeated appeals from people in the dance world, explained Publisher Barbara Paige Kaplan.

"Company managers and dancers told us that they needed a better way to announce auditions and find work," Kaplan said. "Here it is!"

The listings on the Web site's Online Auditions page, which include both school and professional auditions, can be consulted without charge by subscribers and non-subscribers to the magazine alike. Schools and companies can list their auditions for an introductory rate of $45, payable by credit card, for postings of up to thirty days. Auditions are to be posted within three business days of submission. The site is organized to allow dancers to sort listings according to the date or location of the audition, the gender of the dancers sought or the style of dance involved.

Instructions and forms for posting auditions appear on the Web site. Companies posting auditions are assigned an identification number to allow them to modify their listing or add a supplemental listing without difficulty.

The online service builds upon the tradition of Dance Magazine's comprehensive annual auditions issue in February. This year's version offered thirty-five pages of auditions listings and advertisements, in addition to articles about online self-promotion services for dancers and tips on preparing for auditions--everything from what to wear to how to psych yourself up. The addition of online listings is meant to serve, among other things, dance companies and schools with immediate vacancies to fill.