The audition sign in started at 10:00 AM, so I figured arriving at 9:30 would be perfect. Well the hotel shuttle was leaving at 8:30 AM, ready or not. So I ended up leaving with the driver, Alberto, and another passenger earlier than I expected. I double checked with Alberto that he had directions to the dance studio, where the auditions were being held. We dropped off the other passenger first, since I didn't have to be at the dance studio for another hour. I didn't mind the idea of being first in line; that would let the judges know I meant business.
Alberto and I were driving around, having a really nice chat. I love meeting new people and hearing their stories. It's so interesting to hear what others have done. I found out that Alberto has been a driver for the hotel for eight years, he has five kids, and he loves driving because he gets to meet so many different people. But then he got very quiet. He kept glancing at his printed driving instructions. I asked, "Alberto, do you know where you're going?" He paused. "Um.. no." I laughed, putting him at ease. We had plenty of time, so I pulled up the address on the GPS on my phone (again, thank God for this handy little thing... such a life saver!).
We made it to the dance studio at 9:00 AM. The line was waaaaaaay out the door- I was shocked! There were so many people! I don't know about you, but when I'm doing something crazy like auditioning to be a Disney character, I feel like I'm the only one in the world doing it. This was a reality check. About 100 people were at this tiny dance studio! And we still had an hour to go!
Alberto wished me luck, and I hopped out of the shuttle. Most of the participants had come with parents, so I felt a little awkward walking up alone. But I pulled my shoulders back, determined to at least look confident, even if I didn't feel it. I went to the back of the line where three perfectly normal looking girls stood chatting. I decided if I wanted to make some new friends, it had to be now or never. So I introduced myself, and to my relief, they were all SO nice. So the time passed quickly as we all swapped stories. It was also a relief to know that I wasn't the only one there with a "pending" application. In fact, one of the lovely girls I met had done the College Program the previous year, and was returning for a second run! So at least I know she loved it!
Finally, at 10:00, they opened the doors. We all walked in and began to sign in. We were assigned numbers... I was number 20. Then they took our height... I was 60 inches (that's five feet even, for the record). Then we all just sat around and stretched for a good 30 minutes while everyone else signed in. I took this opportunity to check out the different people. There were SO many different types of people of all shapes, sizes, ethnicities, etc. One girl had a Rockette jacket and duffle bag. She kept to herself, doing pushups and crunches the entire time. Other girls were stretching like they were made of Twizzlers. Good Lord... some girls were putting their feet behind their heads... why? No idea. What made me roll my eyes the most was that there were three girls walking around, actually more like floating around, giving random people compliments. It was so Disney princessish. "Oh my goodness, what lovely hair you have!" was often thrown around with doe- like eyes wide open. Ugh. Really?! Could you be anymore obvious?! And the answer to that question is YES. A couple of people brought head shots. But one girl in particular took it to a new level. In her head shot, her hair was bright red, she was wearing a purple bikini top, green leggings, and she was laying on her back by a river with her hair splayed out beneath her head. I had a bit of trouble placing who she reminded me of... any ideas?
Anyways... all that to say.. there were a lot of people there! Finally, everyone got checked in. About 175 people were there in total. Two men stepped to the front. I was expecting a "Welcome to Disney character auditions! We are so glad you are here! What a magical time we are going to have!" Hahahaha... no. They said a short "welcome", but that was it. They had us stand up and immediately a choreographer taught us a parade dance. It was a simple two 8-count dance. I was thinking the entire time, "This is cake! Hallelujah!" The song "Firework" by Katy Perry was playing, and you could tell this was the choreographer's song. He was very... flamboyant shall we say? He was a great teacher, but he was so fast paced. After we learned the parade dance, it was time to audition for round 1! We were split into 3 groups: Group one was numbers 1-50, group two was numbers 50-100, and group three was 101-175. I was number 20, so I was in group one.
Here's what we had to do: "Firework" would be playing the entire time. We would each dance in groups of four. For the first 8-count, we had to act like character on a float. We had to wave and blow kisses to the "crowd", acting like Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, etc. I picked Minnie Mouse. Then we had to move right into the parade dance, marching from one end of the room to the other towards the judges. We got to watch everyone in our group. It was great getting to watch others because you could really see who was good and maybe get some ideas from them.
After group one was done, we were moved to the "holding room". We had to wait for the other two groups audition. It was agony waiting and waiting and waiting. I've never been so nervous. Once the other two groups finished, the two judges entered the holding room. With no greeting, they said, "If we call out your number, say 'here'." They began to called out "1, 4, 5, 8,9,13,14..." I didn't breath. We didn't have a clue if this meant we were cut or not. "...20..." "HERE!" I squeaked. I started shaking. My new friends kindly put their hands on my shoulders. I probably lost the color in my face... what little I had anyways ;) They called the last of the numbers. Silence. More silence. "Ok, if we called your number please get your stuff and move to the other room; you made it. If not, thanks for coming out, but we are letting you go." It didn't sink in for me. I dumbly looked at the three girls I was with. What did that mean? Am I going home? No?! I made it?! OH MY GOSH I MADE IT PAST ROUND ONE? Yes. Ok. Ok.
I gathered my things and followed the jubilant procession into the next room. We were all busy congratulating each other, we didn't notice the two judges step to the front of the classroom. "Congratulations, you made it past round one. Now the real work begins. Please fill out these forms. We're going to need a description of any tattoos and/or body piercings you have, then we will take a photo of you. Then you will learn the second part of your audition."
Stay tuned for Part Four!
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