Where the jobs are: Las Vegas.Las Vegas--the words inspire images of sun-splashed, gorgeous weather, Sinatra at The Sands, and hotel entertainment galore. Simply put, Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. is a jazz and tap dancer's job paradise. Opportunities are plentiful, housing is very modestly price, and it's possible to land a yearlong year·long adj. Lasting one year. Adj. 1. yearlong - lasting through a year; "attending yearlong courses" long - primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or show. In 1993, more than twenty-three million people flocked to Las Vegas to sightsee sight·see intr.v. sight·saw , sight·seen , sight·see·ing, sight·sees To tour sights of interest. sight , gamble, relax, and be entertained. And with nearly one hundred hotels in or around the city, it adds up to a huge demand for performers. On that score, dancers have a distinct advantage over actors because they can display their talents in the theme-park type shows created for the hotels. And if you can juggle, or fence or have an auxiliary talent, so much the better. "Las Vegas has changed very much in the past few years," says Larry Woolf, chairman, presidedt, and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of MGM MGM in full Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. U.S. corporation and film studio. It was formed when the film distributor Marcus Loew, who bought Metro Pictures in 1920, merged it with the Goldwyn production company in 1924 and with Louis B. Mayer Pictures in 1925. Grand Hotel. "Today Las Vegas is home to some of the hottest shows and names." Lavish extravaganzas are second nature in this oasis of the desert and are reflected by cast size and the length of the show's run. Starlight Expresss Starlight Express is a rock musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Richard Stilgoe (lyrics), with later revisions by Don Black (lyrics) and David Yazbek (music and lyrics for the 2nd US tour, though much of his contribution was removed for the UK tour after Andrew Lloyd Webber , at the Hilton Las Vegas, for instance, has a contract for several years and uses nearly forty performers. Although this is only one example, it does illustrate that a dancer's odds of breaking into a cast this size are better than in a show with fewer performers. While the jobs are out there, some entertainment directors jealously guard audition information and, especially, salaries, although the American Guild of Variety Artists American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA) is an American entertainment union representing performers in variety entertainment, including circuses, Las Vegas showrooms and cabarets, comedy showcases, dance revues, magic shows, theme park shows, arena and auditorium extravaganzas. union does hold jurisdiction in some cases. Following is a list of some larger producers. MGM GRAND HOTEL This $1 billion mega-entertainment resort comprises the MGM Grand Air and the Casino & Theme Park. Productions rival Broadway shows, as, for instance, the opening of EFX EFX Effects (as in motion picture special effects; sometimes just FX) EFX Elite Force Xtreme (gaming) EFX Elliptical Fitness Crosstrainer EFX Expeditionary Force Experiment , a $30 million show with Michael Crawford Michael Crawford, OBE (born as Michael Patrick Dumbell-Smith, 19 January 1942, Salisbury, Wiltshire), is an English actor and singer. He has won critical acclaim and numerous awards during his career, which includes radio, television and stage (including appearing on stage , star of Broadway's Phantom of the Opera, which is slated for the fall season. It will have a cast of seventy, with a backstage crew of eighty. RIVIERA HOTEL Splash, an acquacade-type music and dance show produced by Kutash Dancin' Inc., is the long-running show here. It includes a West Side Story-style theme, a motorcycle segment, a tribute to Hollywood and Broadway, and an MTV-style number. Auditions are held twice yearly in various cities with more than one hundred performers hires--two-thirds are dancers--for productions in both Reno and Japan. Contracts for one year averge from $450 to $1,000 weekly. Jazz and street-dance performers are preferred. BALLY'S CASINO REPORT This showplace includes a 1,450-seat theater for headline acts and a 1,024-seat theater, home of Donn Arden's Jubilee!--the second longest-running show in Las Vegas. The cast consists of one hundred singers and dancers. Auditions are held every six months at Bally's; the cast must reaudition. THE MIRAGE There are two permanent shows, with The Buccaneer buccaneer: see piracy. buccaneer Any of the British, French, or Dutch sea adventurers who chiefly haunted the Caribbean and the Pacific seaboard of South America during the latter part of the 17th century, preying on Spanish settlements and shipping. Bay Sea Battle, a live-action stunt show Knott's Berry Farm's Wild West Stunt show debuted on October 8 1974. The show was written by Gary Salisbury and was only scheduled to run Monday through Friday during the Winter season in the Wagon Camp Theatre. , offering the greatest potential for dance jobs. Competition is fierce for the thirty-two-full-time positions with seven daily and forty-nine weekly shows. Benefits are generous: Blue Cross or HMO HMO health maintenance organization. HMO n. A corporation that is financed by insurance premiums and has member physicians and professional staff who provide curative and preventive medicine within certain financial, plans, dental care, life insurance, and a credit union are available. If you don't like water, however, don't audition because two and a half million gallons of unheated water are used in the sea battle. The audition process for jobs in corporate-run Las Vegas differs slightly in requiring a business like approach. After determining the show that best fits your talents, send a videotape, resume, and individual covering letter to the entertainment director. LAS VEGAS HOTEL RESOURCES (Area code is 702) Aladdin Hotel & Casino 736-0111 MGM Grand Hotel & Theme Park
891-1111
Bally's Casino Resort 739-4111
Excalibur Hotel/Casino 597-7777
Harrah's 369-5000
The Hilton Las Vegas 732-5111
Mirage Hotel & Casino 791-7111
Riviera Hotel 734-5110
Stardust 732-6111
Tropicana Resort & Casin 739-2222
TALENT AGENTS Creative Casting & Acting 737-0611 The Baskow Agency 733-7818 Spectrum Casting 256-8324 Bass Creative Bookings 388-2898 |
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