Universal Opportunities in Theme Parks.

Not very long ago, if you didn't have the talent or the good luck to perform in a major ballet company or on Broadway, your chances of having a satisfying career as a performing dancer were very slim indeed. Today you don't even have to go to New York City or Los Angeles to have one. Las Vegas, Orlando, Myrtle Beach, Branson (Missouri), and other cities are hiring dancers. Over the next few months I'm going to alert you every issue to places where hundreds of dancers are doing what they've always dreamed of--dancing for a living.

In this column we will zero in on theme parks. Everyone knows that Disney is a major employer of dancers, but Universal Studios also runs theme parks in California and Florida. Here we'll concentrate on the former where Michael Laughlin, talent supervisor at Universal Theme Park California, has used his experience and expertise as a performer and choreographer to create new shows and perfect those that have been running for a while.

Universal Studios utilizes a stepladder system. Each show has six or seven separate casts. When you're hired, you may be placed in Cast 6 or 7, and as you train, perform, and gain experience you'll move up to casts 1-3. This is very important, since only full-time casts 1-3 receive all the benefits, including medical benefits, a dental plan, a 401K retirement plan, and free massage for performers in the park. That's right--dancers will receive a free massage!

And there's more: Universal Studios Theme Park will also give a dancer a "professional leave of absence," time off to perform other jobs in the industry--unheard of in the dance world! Of course, your outside work must be approved by Universal, but your job will be secure until you return from the new endeavor.

"We want a long-term dancer," says Laughlin, "a happy dancer, and an experienced dancer, and we think it's important to allow a dancer to gain that experience and bring it back to Universal."

Always read your contract carefully, and don't be afraid to ask questions. Universal park rules are standard for each show but contracts vary from show to show. The workweek alternates from three days to four days, and you are allowed to work up to six shows a day. Every show contains ten to twenty minutes of nonstop, high-energy dancing, often in heavy costumes and makeup, and always there will be pyro special effects.

Once hired, you will enter into a rehearsal period of two to six weeks, and your rehearsal pay is an hourly wage, somewhere between $9 and $12 per hour, depending on the show. As a member of casts 1-3, you will also earn an hourly wage for training and rehearsing casts 4-6.

Let's consider the four main presentations at Universal Theme Park California:

* Beetlejuice has moved indoors into its own theater. This show is elaborately costumed, with quite a bit of makeup. There are five dancers in the twenty-five-minute performance, based on the movie, with everyone singing rock songs. If you're going to audition for Beetlejuice, prepare a rock-style piece and be prepared to sing and to dance both jazz and hip-hop. Laughlin strongly advises you not to show up in costume.

We'll use Beetlejuice as an example of pay. You can earn $39 per show, maybe up to ten a day in the peak summer season. Say you're in Cast 2 and you perform six shows from 3:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M. That's $234 a day. Multiply that by a four-day week, and you see that an ambitious dancer can earn over $900 a week. That's with full medical and dental benefits, stable long-term employment, and the ability to perform industry jobs outside of the theme park.

* Totally Nickelodeon, based on the cable television channel, is geared toward a younger audience. Dancers must have jazz, tap, and ballet training, as well as some street-dance ability. Costuming is casual--mostly overalls--and dancers must interact with the crowd. Totally Nickelodeon is twenty-five minutes long; pay is $38 per show, with a minimum of four a day.

* The Blues Brothers dancers and characters must sing and dance. (Laughlin has added a Cab Calloway character that fits in perfectly.) The Blues Brothers used to be performed on the street but has now moved into its own theater. The show is approximately twenty-five minutes long; performers earn $34 per show.

* Boom Operator is only ten minutes long, so the pay is only $18 per show; but you are allowed to work seven daily and earn a minimum of $126 a day. Boom Operator is a miniversion of Stomp; Laughlin prefers dancers with good tap training and percussion ability.

Universal theme parks change their production shows often; so call or write for the latest on shows being produced and when you can audition.

Universal Studios Theme Park auditions once or twice a year. Contact: Entertainment Office, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91610; call [phone]

Universal Studios Escapes has a longer season and may audition up to four times a year. Contact: Casting Division, 1000 Universal Studios Plaza, Orlando, FL 32819-7601; call [phone].

Don Mirault is the author of Dancing ... For a Living-Two. His next column, about dance jobs in Bransom, will appear in our June issue.