My Audition Experience

By Katalina Cruz
December 17, 2009

Putting together Solea por Bulerias – November 2009

I remember seeing Kasandra’s call for solo auditions in June for our summer El Jaleo de Verano 2009 show.  I was bummed that I couldn’t participate.  Having recently had a baby only a month ago, there was no way I was going to be part of it.

“Katalina, just get over it, there will be other opportunities,” I said to myself.

Well, the opportunity DID knock twice.  Okay, so now we are six months post partum.  Do I have an excuse anymore?  Well, that’s all relative, but for me, I knew I had to, as Kasandra says, “just do it”.

The last time I auditioned was back in my ballet days.  The sought-after role of Cinderella was awarded to the more elegantly slender ballerina.   I was awarded the role of the fairy godmother.  It suited my then baby-fat-that-still-hadn’t-gone-away stage. Damaged from those auditions and ballet exams, I was never sure if I would go anywhere near that scene again.

Well, this was not ballet, and I had never heard of a fairy God mother in flamenco.  Duende and coraje; these were my new goals.

So, I signed up.  I met with my singer, Pirouz de Caspio, and my guitarist, Gerardo Alcala, and they graciously volunteered their time to help with the audition.  I met with them an hour before the audition with a challenging Kasandra Solea por Bulerias choreography.  After a few minutes of “trying” it out with them, I was starting to regret the whole thing and wondered if it wasn’t too late to back out.

Why is it I dance perfectly when no one is watching?

Why does the compas always seem to work out perfectly in my head, but when I actually attempt to execute it with professional musicians, something goes wrong?… And it’s not the musicians…

If at first you don’t succeed try, try again.

So I did it. 

I did it as well as I could have expected considering…

It’s all about taking a risk and putting yourself out there, getting out of your comfort zone.  Yahoo!  I did it!  Nobody can say that I didn’t try!

Hopefully I can tell this to my daughter years from now, when she’s taking her own risks (even if they don’t involve dance).   I’ll forgive her if she wants to be a ballerina. 😉