Episode 96: Caitlin Auditions
Chelsea: Dancers, do you feel prepared for your next audition? Do you know what company or school you even want to audition for? Hi, it’s Dr. Chelsea of the Passion for Dance podcast, and today I have a special episode for all the dancers out there who are getting ready to audition. I brought back Caitlin Sloan of The Brainy Ballerina because she is an expert in helping dancers decide which path is right for you and helping you feel prepared for auditions.
This is actually my second conversion with Caitlin. You can check out the first one if you scroll back to episode 29 where we talk about finding intention in your dance career. But today, we dive into where a dancer should start when you're thinking about auditioning, how you know which company is right for you, and what to do when you have a hard decision to make. Here’s my conversation with Caitlin.
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[Motivational Intro Music]
Welcome to the Passion for Dance podcast. I’m Dr. Chelsea, a former professional dancer and a dance team coach turned sport psychologist. This podcast focuses on four main pillars: motivation, resilience, mindset, and community. Each week, you’ll learn actionable strategies, mindsets, and tips to teach your dancers more than good technique. This is a podcast where we can all make a lasting impact and share our passion for dance. Let’s do this!
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Chelsea: Hi, Caitlin! I’m so happy to have you back!
Caitlin: Hi, Chelsea! I’m so happy to be back!
Chelsea: As I said in the intro, you're the official first second-round guest — the first one to come back. I’m so happy I get to talk to you again.
Caitlin: It’s a huge honor. [Laughs]
Chelsea: It’s exciting! So, well, we connected this time because of talking more about auditions and being prepared, and so, that’s gonna be our focus today, but before we dive in, in case people don't know you yet, will you share a little bit about yourself?
About Caitlin – 1:52
Caitlin: Sure! My name is Caitlin Sloan. I am the founder and CEO of The Brainy Ballerina, which is a company I founded after my career as a professional dancer ended. So, I danced professionally for almost ten years. I’ve been a dance teacher for longer than that, and now I’ve really shifted into career mentorship and helping dancers just navigate the world of professional dance beyond the technical side because that’s what we focus on the most as young dancers. But then as we get into the world, we realize there’s a lot more we need to know about the business, the mindset, all of this that goes into it. So I help dancers navigate that portion of it.
Chelsea: Yeah, ah, it is so needed, and I think that’s really why you and I clicked so quickly in our different businesses because we both are in the service of how do we help the next generation of dancers have a better experience and make it as far as they want to make it, as you said, with all the different tools that — I don't know. I guess I’ll speak for myself. I make a lot of what I wish I knew. [Laughs] I don't know if that’s how you felt about it.
Caitlin: Exactly. I always feel like I’m talking to my younger self whenever I am putting anything out there because it’s everything that I wish I had and things that I didn't even know I needed at the time, but looking back now, I’m like this would have made my journey so much easier, and it’s already hard enough.
Chelsea: Yes.
Caitlin: You know? So why not make it just a little bit easier?
Chelsea: Yes, agreed. So, with this focus on auditioning, and we could talk about — I know you typically talk about auditioning for ballet companies because that’s your background, but I think this advice works for any audition, right, whether people are thinking about auditioning for a high school or college team or a studio company and anything in the professional industry. Let’s just start from the beginning. Where should someone start when they're thinking about auditioning?
Where to Start When Thinking About Auditioning – 3:34
Caitlin: I think the first place to start is to look at your goals for the future. So, especially when you're younger and you're looking at summer intensives or training programs like that, you know, it’s really easy to kind of listen to what everyone else was doing, and you hear all this noise about, “Oh, this is the most prestigious program,” or, “You really need to go here if you want to make it,” and the thing people don't realize is that you have your own goals that are important to you, and not every program is going to be the right one for those goals. So, I say the answer is, you know, when you’re younger, “Look five years into the future. Where do you want to be? Let’s work backwards, and let’s kind of look and see what you need to gain right now, you know? What kind of education do you need? What kind of connections do you need to make? What kind of experiences do you need to have? All those different things that are gonna lead you to be prepared five years down the road for this career you're working for, what the next step is. And so, reverse engineering all of that from your goal back to what you need now and just taking in step by step and not thinking, “Okay, I need to achieve all of this in this one program or this one summer, but what is gonna get me to the next step right now?”
Chelsea: Yes. Okay, there are two key things that I would love to drill in on with that. One, the step-by-step part, and I think you're right that, often, we set goals that might be five years down the road, and then that feels daunting or that feels like I have no idea what to do next, and it’s such good advice to step back and say, “Okay, what is the first step? What’s the first thing that will get me to that next step?” I love that advice.
Caitlin: Yeah, exactly. I mean, we have big goals as dancers. We have big dreams. We know what we want to achieve, and it’s really tempting to want to make it happen all right now, and I think that’s such a valuable thing for dancers to be learning some patience which we do have. I think dancers are actually very patient because we have learned how long it takes to do anything, you know, just to get your plié. It’s always a work in progress. Even the simple things are a constant work in progress, so we do know that it takes patience, and it takes time, but I think when it comes to our career goals, we just really want it to happen right now, and I think if we can kind of apply that same concept of barre work, you know? How many times we do the same thing over and over again until we start to get the results we want. Think of it the same way when you're starting to look for auditions. It’s gonna take time, but I can keep plugging along. I just have to keep putting the work in and doing the same thing over and over again sometimes until I can start to build the results that I’m looking for.
Chelsea: Yeah, absolutely. So, okay, we do the step-by-step part, but then the second part to what you said that I think is so valuable is not listening to everybody else and figuring out what’s right for you, and that is something I know I have preached about a lot. So have you. Just talking about knowing yourself, knowing what’s right for you, and what’s hard is, for most dancers, these huge decisions are being made as preteens or even in the teenage world, we don't have a full-fledged identity at that point, nor should you, right? You shouldn't have this perfect sense of who I am, but then, that makes it even more tempting to just listen to all the advice out there and to do what that teacher says or what my best friend is doing, right?
So, will you talk a little bit more about that identity piece and maybe getting rid of the noise and trying to figure out what’s right for you?
Figuring Out What’s Right For You – 7:01
Caitlin: Yeah, I see all the time — you know, I’m in these Facebook groups, and I’ll see people saying, “What’s the best summer intensive to go to? What’s the best company for my dancer?” It’s like there is no best one that anyone can tell you. Yes, there are the companies that are maybe more prestigious, that are harder to get into that people equate with a certain level of success. But I always come back to my story. As a young dancer, I had opportunities that I decided not to take because they weren't right for me. When I was 16, I think, I went to Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive, and they asked me to stay for their year-round program, and my teacher at my home studio really wanted me to go. She was like, “This is what you’ve been working for. This is your chance. You need to go,” and I couldn't make myself do it. I saw the value. I knew it would be an amazing opportunity, and I just was like, “I want to stay home. I want to go to my high school. I want to have a normal teenage life,” as normal as it can get as a dancer, you know?
Chelsea: [Laughs] Right.
Caitlin: And I just decided not to go, and then I decided to go to college which was another thing that was kind of like a sticking point. My teacher kept saying, “You're ready to go audition for professional companies. You don't need to go to college right now. Go to auditions.” I was like, “This is not what I’m ready for. This is not what I want to do.” And so, I had to really cut out a lot of this noise of people telling me what I should do and what I could do because, yeah, maybe I could have had a more prolific career and danced with more prestigious companies if I’d made different choices at that time, but I have exactly the career that I wanted because I found a place to dance that had everything that was important to me, and that allowed me to have that work/life balance that I had always been searching for, and I know you love to talk about this work/life blend and all those kinds of things I’ve heard. You know, I love how you talk about this, but, of course, it’s never really a true balance.
But, as a dancer, I didn't want to sacrifice everything else in my life for dance. I never wanted to from a younger age. I loved it. I wanted it to be part of my life. But I didn't want it to be everything, and I knew there had to be a place for me to achieve that, and I found that. So, I think that those decisions I made ended up being the success that I was looking for, and every dancer is different, you know? And that’s what you have to determine for yourself. What is gonna be important to you? What do you want out of your career, out of your job, out of your future, out of your life, and start to make these choices that will lead you to that path. Of course, you can change your mind. It’s not like you have to stick with this one thing for the rest of your life and just double down on it. But it’s okay to say, “Maybe that would have led me to a more prestigious successful-in-someone-else’s-eyes career, but this is what was better for me and my life.”
Chelsea: Yeah. Oh, so true, and I think in psychology we even talk about it — it’s almost like a grief over the life that would have been even if you're really happy with where you are, right? I did a similar thing with choices in my path of deciding either intentionally closing doors or sometimes doors that were closed for me, and there’s that sense of loss, of like, What if that was better,” or, “What if I was better because of that. And instead, being able to say, “I chose this path intentionally,” or, “This,” as you said, “helped me have the career I was meant to have.” And there is that pressure of you're only worth it if you go to the best of the best, if you make it, and it’s just not the case, right? You can have incredible careers, as you said, multiple different kinds of levels of ballet companies. When I think about school programs, you don't have to go to the big D1 A schools in order to have the best experience, and there’s the ballet experience within colleges, there’s the team experience within colleges, there’s not even going to colleges and going straight to auditions, right? So many different ways to do it, and it is more about finding your path.
I was gonna ask you about a personal story, so I’m glad you shared. I don't know if you remember or can speak to a little bit about what it felt like when you went against your teacher’s advice, who I assume you had a good relationship with. I know I’ve talked to you about her before. So, what it felt like to have this advice from someone you love and trust and decide to do something different, and then did you have support elsewhere?
What it Felt Like to Not Take Her Teacher’s Advice – 11:14
Caitlin: Yeah, I mean, we have an amazing relationship. She came to my wedding. We are really close, right? And so, it was difficult for me to make these choices because I really did look up to her and trust her, and I really appreciated that she was telling me to go fly and go try something else. She wasn't trying to hold me to her studio and make me stay there because, you know, sometimes there are teachers who want to hold you so tight, you know?
Chelsea: Sure. Sure.
Caitlin: And she was like, “No! Go do it! This is your chance,” and I did appreciate that, but I just knew that it didn't feel right, and ultimately, when I made the decision, she backed me up. It didn't come back up again, you know?
Chelsea: Yeah.
Caitlin: She gave me her advice. She gave me her two cents and then let me make my choice and supported me through that.
Chelsea: Yeah.
Caitlin: So, it never felt like I was letting her down or I was making a mistake, but it did feel like I was not listening, I guess, to the advice that I was given from a professional, and I do think about the sliding door sometimes, you know, what could have been. But I also think about where I am now in my life and being married to my husband and having my son and another on the way and all these things that led to this, and it would have been a totally different life.
Chelsea: Mm-hmm.
Caitlin: And I can't imagine anything different at this point, you know?
Chelsea: Right.
Caitlin: So, I am really grateful for how it’s progressed, and I’m lucky to have support from all sides – from my parents, from my teachers, from my friends. I was really lucky to have a very supportive community.
Chelsea: Yeah, well, that sounds like an ideal mentor relationship in the sense that she gave you advice that you would look for from a mentor, but then, ultimately, it’s your choice.
Caitlin: Right.
Chelsea: And that’s what we hope for. So, speaking to dancers who are now faced with that choice, who are either deciding between programs, maybe it’s your first summer internship, maybe it’s which companies you audition for, or maybe you have to make a — we call it, in psychology there’s actually this term called “approach approach conflict,” where I have to choose between two good things. [Laughs] Like maybe I have two good companies, or I have two good things that I really want, and I can't do both. How do you know which is right for you?
How to Know Which Company is Right For You – 13:24
Caitlin: Ooh, I don't know if you ever really know!
Chelsea: Yeah.
Caitlin: You know what I mean? If you have two good options, what a good problem to have, you know? Yeah, you don't know for sure, definitively, this was the right one, you know, for me, but I think it comes back to your goals and looking at what you need right now and saying, “Well, maybe this one I can do the next year. Maybe this one will be more beneficial for me right now,” and coming back to what you really want out of your career, what your must-haves are, what your non-negotiables are, which one of these places provides those things for me, do I like the culture at one place? Just kind of going back to all those things, and then I kind of think it just comes down to listening to your gut. I’m one of those people who, at a restaurant, I won't know what I’m gonna have ‘til the waiter comes.
Chelsea: [Laughs]
Caitlin: So, I wait, and then I have two things in mind, and I just say whatever one, and that’s the right one because I’m really not good at decisions. And so, of course, this is a much huger decision than ordering a meal at a restaurant. I do think there is so much value in making your lists, going through all the different pros and cons, figuring all those things out, and then, ultimately, just kind of let it settle, give it a few days of not thinking about it so actively, and then a lot of times the right answer will just come to you.
Chelsea: Yeah, actually, I think that’s wonderful advice in the sense that you're right. You won't ever know, and I think a lot of dancers in our perfectionist tendencies feel like we have to make the right decision, and instead approaching it of there is no right decision, and you will come to a place that will give you an experience that you need right now. But you can still be active, as you said. Make the lists, talk about the culture in different places, what do I need right now (I love how you were talking about that), what gets me to my goals right now, and which is the best now, and weeding out do I want this because someone else said I should have it or do I want this because I want it, and then just letting it sit for a little bit, which is really hard for most of us [Laughs] to just let it be. But I think that’s great advice.
Caitlin: Yeah, really hard. That’s something that I’ve gotten a lot better at over the years, but I used to hate being in that place of indecision where you're just in that gray area where you haven't decided something yet, and I would make a decision just to have made a decision.
Chelsea: Mm-hmm.
Caitlin: I just wanted it to be done, and I’ve gotten a lot better at letting it kind of sit, which is such a valuable thing to do. I have my 24/48-hour rule depending on the scenario, you know, and just kind of give myself that time, and I really think that’s really valuable and something that I wish I would have done more of when I was younger.
Chelsea: Oh, I agree. I felt the need to make a decision all the time, and now, both as a professor talking to my college students, and then consulting with so many athletes, there’s that teen and twenties age of, “But I have to know, and I have to make this choice,” and they don't always like my advice of, “No, you don't have to right this minute. It’s okay.”
Caitlin: [Laughs]
Chelsea: [Laughs] But it is powerful to sit in the uncomfortableness of not knowing yet and do your research by all means and go through and make the list, but then it will come to you. I think that’s great.
Caitlin: Mm-hmm.
Chelsea: All right, I would love to transition a little bit into actual auditions and how we are prepared and how we can best kind of handle those nerves and be ready. So, will you speak a little bit about how to be even just physically prepared for auditions? Because I think physically prepared helps you be mentally prepared.
How to Physically Prepare for Auditions – 16:45
Caitlin: Yeah, so, first of all, I think for dancers part of the physical preparation, I mean, of course, it’s being in your classes, being consistent with your technique, doing all those things, but also getting your materials ready ahead of time, making sure you're prepped because I see a lot of dancers — I work with a lot of different clients, and I see two kinds of dancers, generally. Either the ones that wait ‘til the last minute when an audition pops up, and they have to get everything together really fast to send, and they're usually really stressed out, or the ones that have all their stuff together, and they can just apply or send it in, whatever it is. Then they don't have to worry about it, and they can feel so much more calm. So, that means getting your resume together, your dance reel, your videos, your cover letter, references, everything, and having it ready to go, and then when opportunities come up, you can take advantage of them. You're not scrambling to try to get together. You’re not in this hyper state of just feeling really, really rushed and stressed because then, if you have to go to an in-person audition and you feel that way, that’s gonna show in your dancing.
Chelsea: Mm-hmm.
Caitlin: So, give yourself every opportunity to be able to feel calm in the moments – getting enough sleep, eating enough, all those things that sound so simple are so huge on audition day, just taking care of your body so that you are ready to come in and just do your best, and then once you get there, I think that’s when the comparison really sets in, and you start looking around the room, and you're instantly looking at every other dancer there and sizing yourself up, and that’s, for me, at least, when my butterflies start to just flutter in my stomach, and I start to get really nervous, second-guess myself, and then I would just crumble.
Chelsea: Mm-hmm.
Caitlin: And so, I always tell dancers a few things. One, you can't control what anyone else does, right?
Chelsea: Yeah.
Caitlin: And you always talk about this, and I always love everything you say about it, but control what you can control. You cannot control who else shows up to the audition. You can't control who the director is who is doing the audition, whether they like you or not. If they're giving steps that are your least favorite steps or ones you haven't even learned yet, there’s so much out of your control. All you can control is how you show up and the work that you do and focusing on your own dancing and just doing the best that you can in that moment. I always think that’s something to come back to in those moments. Like, I cannot control if this person’s better than me or not, and, again, that’s all subjective too.
Chelsea: Sure.
Caitlin: Who's to say they're better than you, you know? It depends what they're looking for. So, just bring what you have, know your strengths and what you bring to the table, and show that, and know that if it’s a no, that’s not really a reflection on you, necessarily. It’s a reflection on what they're looking for, what they need. You just say, “Okay, thank you,” and maybe you can try again the next year. Maybe it’s not a good fit. But that’s okay. Don't let those no’s get you down because you're gonna get a lot of no’s.
Chelsea: Mm-hmm.
Caitlin: Like a lot.
Chelsea: Yes, of course. I think that’s great. You're right. There’s so much not in your control, and mentally, when we get distracted, it’s usually worrying about the things you can't do anything about instead of focusing on what you have to bring. You shared a little about how everybody has the no’s (lots of no’s). I know I had mine. I’m sure you did. Are you willing to go there and share with our listeners? Should we share our bad audition stories? [Laughs]
Bad Audition Stories – 20:05
Caitlin: Yeah, of course, I mean I feel like it was a string of bad auditions, for me. At my very first audition for companies, I wore black and pink and stuck out like a sore thumb. I looked like a student. No one else was wearing black and pink. I was insanely nervous. I could barely stand on my legs. I was so shaky, you know? And then I got cut pretty quickly into center. Like, after adagio I think I was cut, and I remember just being like this is how this is gonna go. I’d never been cut before. I never had an audition where I wasn't one of the better dancers.
Chelsea: Mm-hmm.
Caitlin: You know, at least as I perceived to be in the room. I was very strongly trainer, so I knew coming into it, okay, I know what I’m doing here, and so, to be in the atmosphere and feel like, “Wow, I’m really a fish out of water here, and maybe I’m not ready for this,” was really daunting, and I had quite a few bad auditions until I finally found somewhere to dance where I knew this is the job I wanted, and that’s when everything clicked for me. So, it was like I was going through auditions, not really believing that it was either the job I wanted or that it was even possible for me. And then I went to audition for Missouri Contemporary Ballet, which is now Mareck Dance, and I took company class, and then I did their rep, and I was just like, “This is my job!”
Chelsea: Mm.
Caitlin: This is my job to lose. This is for me. This is the place that I’m meant to be. I cannot even describe the feeling that I had in my body. It was just like I could take a deep breath, and I could actually enjoy it, and I felt so, so just out of body, kind of, you know?
Chelsea: Yeah.
Caitlin: And so, for me, it was just like I needed to find the place where I actually felt like this was the right fit, and then it all just worked. You have to go to a lot of auditions to figure that out.
Chelsea: Yeah.
Caitlin: That’s why we tell dancers, “You have to go and just put yourself out there, and not just for them to see, but for you to get the experience and to figure out what you want, too,” you know? It’s a two-way street at auditions.
Chelsea: Absolutely.
Caitlin: You're not just auditioning for them. They're auditioning for you to see if you like it there.
Chelsea: Yeah, I had a really similar experience with one of my early summer internship auditions. It was the same kind of thing where I went to the one that everybody said I was supposed to want to go to, and it was the more prestigious and all of that, and I had what I hope most companies don't do anymore, but more like the traditional cattle call where everybody just stood in first position at the barre and some people were out before you even got past that, which just that moment of standing at the barre, of just holding first position trying not to breathe, and just the worst mental torture, and I remember I made it past the cattle call but not through barre. I was cut after barre before going to center, and it was the same kind of thing as you were saying. I had all of this tension and pressure around what I was supposed to be doing, and my feet weren't as pretty as hers or my let didn't go as high as hers or he had better balance than I did, and I didn't know how to deal with any of that and totally crumbled.
But then, I think a year later when I auditioned for a company, that similar feeling like, “Oh, this is it. This culture is better. These people are who I want to be around.” I executed in that audition completely differently and got it, and it’s so much more about the fit of this feels right, and then you're able to dance as your best self. And then, to your point, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but I think you can walk away from the audition with I did my best and they said no. To your point of just saying, “It wasn't a good fit. It’s not that I’m a bad dancer.”
Caitlin: Yeah, exactly.
Chelsea: Yeah.
Caitlin: And I had a mentoring session, actually, with a dancer earlier today, and she had her first company audition earlier this week, and I asked her how it went, and she said, “I had so much fun!”
Chelsea: Oh, good.
Caitlin: And I was just like that’s amazing, and that’s something else for dancers to remember. It should feel fun. Just to go in and dance and do your thing. You are trained for this. You have worked so many years, so many hours for this moment. You are ready for it. And so, the fact that she was able to harness that emotion of, “I’m gonna have fun and see what happens. That’s out of my control, but I’m gonna control that I’m gonna have a good time.”
Chelsea: Yeah.
Caitlin: I just thought that was so amazing and very mature for her because I think it’s really tough when you're coming out of college, so I was really impressed by that, and I just thought, “Wow, if only I could have felt that way at that age.”
Chelsea: Right. Absolutely.
Caitlin: Yeah, it doesn't have to be so serious.
Chelsea: Yes.
Caitlin: It can be fun.
Chelsea: So true. Such good advice! Is there any other general advice you would like to share about either choosing the right path and career to the audition itself?
The Qualities of You as a Human Will Get You The Job – 24:51
Caitlin: I think that when it comes to auditions, coming back to what we were saying before about dancers comparing themselves to other people. We get really obsessed about how high our leg goes, how many turns we can do, how high we can jump, and, of course, we’re always working to improve these skills. That’s not something that we just don't work on. What it comes down to, especially — my experience is mainly ballet company auditions, but I’m sure you can speak more to the dance team. But at least in my experience, what directors are really looking for is not necessarily the highest leg or the most turns. They're looking for consistency. They're looking for technique. They're looking for musicality. They're looking for those kinds of qualities that are gonna make you be able to be a part of a group because when you're going to auditions, you're not typically auditioning for the principal spot or the best role. You're auditing to be in the cour de ballet or to be a part of a dance team where you're working with other people so they want to know that you can follow directions, that you can pick up on details, that you're gonna be able to dance with other people and make this cohesive unit – that you have a good attitude, that you're gonna be someone they want to work with every single day and not come in and bring the whole vibe of the company down.
And so, yeah, we want to work on those other technical areas like getting out legs higher or doing more turns. That’s great, but when it comes down to it, it’s the other qualities that you show that are really gonna get you the job.
Chelsea: Yes, I love it, and I think you're right. It’s not just the ballet world. It’s everywhere. It’s commercial industry. It’s studio teams. It’s high school and college teams. It’s more about what you bring to the company, what you bring to the team, and, as you said, that there are so many other things that are not just the tricks. I’ve judged a lot, myself, in the audition space, and there are always those conversations of, “Maybe her jumps aren’t the highest, but the precision of the technique is really pretty,” or, “I loved her musicality,” or, “You notice when we took the break, she was the one working hard.” They see, as you said, the little things, what you bring to the table that’s not just about all the big tricks, but dancers will surround themselves and see all of the tricks of the people next to them and get caught up in that, of, you know, who looks better than them rather than focusing on you do still have a lot to bring that’s not just about those key trick areas. And I’ve even seen really talented dancers cut because of kind of the attitude and the vibe they brought to the audition regardless of how talented they are, so it goes both ways. Like you said, directors want, “I want the hard worker. I want the one who wants to be a part of this program.”
Caitlin: I love what you said about someone working hard on the breaks. I always tell dancers, “Your audition starts when you leave your house. Whether you're flying or however you're getting in there, you don’t know who is on the plane with you, who is walking down the street next to you when you're going there. You could be walking down the block in New York City next to the audition director and not even know they're there, and if you're talking negatively about this or saying things that aren’t kind or whatever it is, then they’re gonna see that before you get in the audition, and they are gonna have this impression of you.” So, it starts when you leave your house.
And it’s so true that it comes down to they want someone who they can work with, and I’ve seen dancers who, again, were beautiful, and they may have gotten a contract and then go danced at the company for a season, and they weren’t asked back because of their attitude, because of how bad they made everyone else in the company feel. And so, those things really do matter. So, we’re going for longevity here. You don’t want to just have a one-year contract and that’s it. You want to be able to have a long career. That’s the goal, right?
Chelsea: Yeah.
Caitlin: It’s to be able to stay in this for a while. So, think more about this long-term marathon of your career as opposed to just, you know, this quick sprint.
Chelsea: Yes, one hundred percent. I love that, and I know one of the things that you are really good at is this career mentorship piece and helping dancers with that. Will you share a little more about how dancers can find you and work with you if they're looking for help?
Find and Work With Caitlin – 28:49
Caitlin: Yeah, absolutely. So, I’m on social media @thebrainyballerina on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, all of the things. My website is thebrainyballerina.com, and, yeah, I work with dancers one-on-one just to help them gain these skills they need to work through any issues they're having and just help them feel really confident for their whole career. I mean, audition season is definitely a busy time for me because that’s when it’s really top of mind, but these kinds of things are things you should be working on all year long. And so, if dancers are interested in learning more, they can go to my website or reach out to me, email me at thebrainyballerina@gmail.com. Set up a career consult. It’s totally complimentary, and we kind of just chat. I learn about you, you learn about me, and we see if it could be a good fit for me to help you on your dance journey.
Chelsea: That’s wonderful, and you're right. I say the same thing about mental skills is people want them two weeks before the national championship. I’m like, really, you're working on this all year. You can use the help at any time.
Caitlin: Yep.
Chelsea: So, thank you so much for sharing your advice today. I always love talking with you, and you have such great advice and wisdom to share with our dance community.
Caitlin: Of course, Chelsea. Thank you so much.
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Chelsea: Hey there, dancers. I hope that was helpful and be sure to check out Caitlin’s website and social if you are getting ready for audition season. I also wanted to say that this conversation became because of a listener question. So, I want to remind you you can always submit your own questions, topic ideas, and guest requests. Let me know what you want to hear on the show. You can go to speakpipe.com/passionfordance or there’s a link in the show notes. You just record a simple voice note and let me know what’s on your mind at speakpipe.com/passionfrodance or submit your own question. Until next time, thanks for listening, and keep sharing your passion for dance with the world.
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