Thread: NYC Auditions for Adventurous, Talented Belly Dancers

Who We Are:
The roots of what we call "belly dance" are obscure. Reputed to be the world's oldest dance form, it has evolved over millennia and has been influenced by many cultures. The experimental belly dance troupe, BASTET, grew out of a desire to evolve with the dance.

Founded in the summer of 2008, BASTET takes inspiration from the dances of the Middle East, Africa, and India in order to create unique choreography and to convey stories through dance. The dancers come from a variety of belly dance traditions and draw from other movement forms such as circus arts, martial arts, hip hop and bollywood.

BASTET regularly collaborates with musicians throughout New York City in the genres of rock, soul, electronica, Middle Eastern and African music. They also collaborate with other dance and theatre acts such as the Desert Sin Dance Theatre and urban-cabaret act Billi Shakes.

A sub-division of BASTET is Belly Dance for Change, which regularly brings together performers from all around the city to raise money for charity.

BASTET's members have performed at Theater Lab, the Lafayette Grill, Le Poisson Rouge, the Golden Festival, the CMJ Music Festival, Arabian Nights, the Shrine, Deity, the Katra Lounge, the Gelato Arts Collective, the Mehanata, D'jam at Je'Bon, Dances of Vice, The House of Yes, The Witches' Ball, China I, Space Womb, cruise boats and many other NYC-based events and venues. They begin performing abroad in 2011.

Audition Instructions:
Please email bastetbellydance@gmail.com and request an audition slot by September 30th. Send performance footage or pictures and tell us a little about yourself and your dance experience. Audition pieces should include one “traditional” and one “experimental” belly dance piece 2-3 minutes long each. We leave it up to you to interpret what "traditional" and "experimental" mean. Auditions will be held in early October, on a Thursday evening and Sunday afternoon.

Requirements for Troupe Membership:

-You must live in one of the five boroughs of NYC or be able to attend regular rehearsals in Brooklyn, some of which will be held late at night.

- Must be at least 21

- You must be familiar with common belly dance vocabulary and practiced some form of belly dance for at least three years

- You must have a flexible schedule (sometimes we get last minute requests for performances)

- You must be easy to contact by phone or email

- You must be comfortable with improvisation and improvised group interaction as well as learning choreography quickly

- You must be able to give and receive constructive criticism.

-Long-term commitment (at least six months)

Pluses:

- Know how to use props, particularly unconventional ones

- Background in other dance forms

- Background in theatre

- Martial arts ability

- Alternate artistic ability such as writing, costume design, photography, video, or web design

Audition date will be set next week!

Where in Brooklyn will you be holding auditions/rehearsals?

Auditions will be held either in Kensington (by Church Ave. on the B or Q trains) or in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

And rehearsals? Kensington as well?