Lights! Camera! Action! Shoot your best audition video.

You want to join a company and you have to audition. Without doubt, this is one of the most nerve-wracking events in a dancer's life. But as stressful as auditioning is, even worse is having to rely on a video to convey your abilities. Whether you're trying out for a slot in a school program or setting your sights on the company of your dreams, you want to stand out. If you can't make an audition, you can take steps to make your audition video the next best thing. * A successful audition video is a compilation of short clips--usually less than ten minutes--that shows the range of your abilities clearly and succinctly. Professional companies, such as San Francisco Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet, use videos as a screening tool to determine whether to invite a dancer to take company class. The class is then considered a private audition. By contrast, college and conservatory programs generally accept videos in lieu of a live audition only from international students or in cases where domestic travel is a financial hardship. Faculties prefer that students visit campus or attend an audition in one of the cities on their audition tour. Summer programs are yet another matter; video applications are accepted more frequently because the commitment of the dancer and institution often lasts only a few weeks.

With only ten minutes to prove yourself on video, it is important to strategize and present material appropriate for the position that interests you. Regina Bustillos, personal assistant to the artistic director at San Francisco Ballet, notes that "a company video is very different from a school video, where they want to see specific positions. For a company application, show us a variety of clips from performance. Short excerpts--thirty seconds to a minute--from more than one ballet are ideal. A good range includes a classical variation, partnering, and a contemporary piece."

Bustillos explains that demonstrating your range is vital because a company's needs change yearly, depending on which dancers are leaving. "Some years we need short, quick dancers, while other times we are looking for long, lyrical types," she says. San Francisco Ballet receives about one hundred videos per year, mostly unsolicited; of these applicants, only about ten are invited to take company class.

Competition is stiff even for training programs. San Francisco Ballet School receives some sixty tapes per year and auditions 1,700 dancers during its fifteen-city audition tour in which applicants vie for 350 places. According to Lisa Claybaugh, registrar and student services coordinator, what SFB looks for in its audition videos for training programs is "class work only, not performance. Show us part of a barre, center work, and pointe for ladies. Adding a solo variation at the end is icing on the cake. We look for strong technique, good placement, and clean legs and feet."

Stephan Laurent, chairman of the dance department at Butler University, suggests that you ask your teacher to watch your taping and guide you through the class work. "Your teacher can tell whether the shot was good or if it should be taken again," he explains. She can also identify your strongest assets and make sure you highlight those. Before you launch into the process, though, make sure you read application guidelines carefully, since duration and content requirements vary.

Although entrance standards are high, training programs don't expect professionally shot videotapes. "We get lots of homemade videos," Claybaugh notes. "As long as the image is clear and we can see the dancer, we don't care who shot it."

Andra Corvino, director of Juilliard's summer intensive, concurs. "More and more I see professional editing--really slick jobs. But, to me, the dancing is always it. A professionally shot video of someone who can't dance doesn't impress me."

Given enough time and a few tips, an amateur can produce a respectable audition video for far less money than a professional can. Carmella Vassor, resident videographer of Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, notes, "Whoever is shooting needs plenty of time to become familiar with the camera. They must see the dance at least once beforehand, in order to follow the dancer closely." The videographer must also take control of the environment, and that involves care, Vassor adds. "Time should be allotted to make sure the studio is clean and doesn't have posters or other distractions on the walls. The dancer needs to warm up and should do several takes with enough rest in between."

Spending time is more important than spending money, according to Vassor. "Don't spend money on fancy covers and labels. It's not necessary and doesn't help." Nor is there a need to go out and spend thousands on the latest gear. Borrowing or renting good equipment is just as effective. But if a dancer feels the need to purchase equipment, Peter Richards, a New York-based video artist, says, "A Digital 8 is the best on the consumer market now. Hi8 and VHS are also fine. If you use VHS, though, send the original. Once you dub, the picture quality declines."

Making dubs of the original turns the image blurry, while putting the camera on your shoulder makes the picture shaky. A tripod is a must. "Don't go for the handheld, Blair Witch aesthetic--save that for film school!" quips Richards. "The tripod should be used conservatively. Tilt and pan only enough to follow the dancer." If the camera person pans too quickly, he risks moving ahead of the dancer, making them off-center in the video.

Richards also recommends using manual rather than automatic focus. That way, when the depth of field changes, the picture won't blur while the camera decides what object to focus on. "Zoom in on the dancer's face before recording. Then zoom out to the point where you'll start, and the camera should maintain good focus," notes Vassor.

Because a camera is less sensitive to light than the human eye, Vassor stresses that the studio be made very bright, through fluorescent or natural lighting. The best conditions, she explains, come when you position the light source behind the camera, so the dancer is lit from the front. She also recommends that you avoid shooting into direct light or into a mirror. Instead, keep the mirrors to one side of the camera. "Most studios are rectangular, with a wall of mirrors on a long side. The camera person should stand against one of the short walls and the dancer against the other short wall. That eliminates glare from mirrors and gives you the depth needed to capture the dancer's entire figure," she says.

To create the most active clip possible, one that gives the viewer a sense of being in the studio, you have to track the dancer closely. "Shoot them head to toe with a little extra space, what I call breath, around them," Vassor says. "The breath allows time to adjust as they move right or left."

What you wear for your taping is another critical element in the final product. The rule is you should dress in tights and leotards that contrast with the background. The subject should also dance alone, so that the viewer does not have to identify an applicant within a group. Last, don't overlook small details that make a difference. J.R. Glover, director of education at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, encourages you to introduce yourself at the start of the tape, because it adds a relaxed, personal touch. "Tell us your name, age, and where you study, and describe what will be performed," she says. Glover recommends you say how long the tape is and whose choreography will be performed.

Finally, she advises, "Review the tape before you send it. Make sure that what you think is there is actually there." It is a good idea to provide backup by labeling the tape clearly with all spoken information.

Laurent likes to hear a few thoughtful words at the end. "You should say, `Thank you very much for your time.' It's not required, but it makes a good impression," he notes. "When you audition by video, you send an ambassador of yourself; your virtual self travels. It must travel as well as possible."

Darrah Cart is a New York City-based writer, choreographer, and teacher, active in both the modern--and Irish-dance communities.