RCD Audition Call Out
Application Deadline: 6pm 10th December 2021
Audition Date: 10am-6pm, 19th December 2021
Richard Chappell Dance is seeking exceptional dancers to join the ensemble for projects within the 2022 season, taking place from February-October 2022 for the company’s productions Infinite Ways Home and Silence Between Waves.
We are looking for dancers with the following attributes:
-A generous approach to collaboration. RCD is a small company of five dancers and we want to collaborate with people who have an honest approach to uplifting others.
-A robust and unique movement practice that crosses over in places with contemporary dance, floor work, ballet, improvisation and contact improvisation. Artists may have practices in other dance or movement forms, which could bring new vitality and learning to our creative and rehearsal processes if it is something they would like to share.
-The ability to learn set material efficiently and quickly is essential, alongside a willingness to contribute towards creative processes for new work.
-An appetite to engage with local communities through our inclusive and often intergenerational participatory programmes is desired, but not essential. Similarly, RCD often supports early career choreographers and an interest in supporting their practices is also desired.
-RCD has grown in profile and artistic quality by forming collaborative relationships with dancers over a series of productions, instead of one off projects. Artists are encouraged to apply who are interested in working with the company over a number of seasons and years.
-Due to immediate logistical challenges around Covid-19 and Brexit, we are currently only looking to recruit artists who are based in the UK. We are sorry about this and are actively looking to change this from 2023 onwards.
-RCD presents work in a variety of settings, including theatres, outdoor spaces, heritage sites and warehouses and artists should be interested in site responsive performance.
-Both experienced dancers and recent graduates are encouraged to apply.
-RCD welcomes applications from the global majority and artists who are from working class backgrounds, or those who have experienced past or recent economic hardship.
Project Dates
The 2022 season involves multiple projects and programmes with intense periods of work taking place from February-October 2022. We are currently recruiting for dancers for the following periods:
23rd May - 16th July 2022
19th September - 7th October 2022
In total, the work in the above periods lasts for seven weeks. Please note there are additional dates and elements of work planned for specific projects outside of these working periods, which will be fully confirmed by December 2021. RCD believes in the currency of creating long term collaborative relationships with dancers, and applicants from this audition will also be considered for future projects. Should you wish clarity on working schedules, please get in touch via applications@richardchappelldance.co.uk.
Fees
RCD Dancers are paid £553.84 per five day working week, inclusive of Equity Rated holiday pay. Alongside this, artists are paid £130 per performance day, tour per diems and £75 per return train journey for during touring periods. The total season fee for Artists is dependent on the amount of work that the artist undertakes.
How to Apply
Please send an up to date CV (PDF file or Word Doc), a short paragraph about yourself and a showreel to applications@richardchappelldance.co.uk with the title ‘Dancer Audition: YOUR NAME’. Please note that due to freelance staff time constraints, full covering letters will not be read if sent.
Application Deadline: 6pm, 10th December 2021
We would be grateful if your CV was kept to 1-2 pages. Showreels should incorporate elements of improvisation and set material if possible. If applicants do not have up to date footage of themselves in a studio, we encourage them to send to any footage of them moving in a studio or alternative setting that could be shot on a smart phone. In the paragraph, we’d love to know about you and how your work aligns with ours, it’s not important to mention everything in this and we value your time in the application period. We recommend writing 3-5 sentences.
About the Audition
Date and Time: The audition will take place in London at Studio Wayne McGregor on the 19th December 2021, 10am-6pm. Please note that attending the audition is by invitation only.
The company believes in creating a playful and inclusive space for artists auditioning, where safety is prioritised. The audition will be framed as a workshop that explores the palette of RCD’s way of working. We understand that auditions are rarely spaces where artists can share the best and most nuanced parts of their practices and we want to acknowledge the strain and challenges that independent dance artists face through attending auditions. We hope to create a space which is appealing for artists who are either experiencing audition fatigue, or who have not previously felt welcome in audition environments.
About RCD
Richard Chappell Dance is an internationally renowned ensemble, which creates memorable and moving dance at the forefront of theatre, interdisciplinary collaboration and site responsive performance. RCD's creative process is rooted in co-authorship and togetherness and the ensembles values have been shaped by a close recurring combination of collaborators and dancers. The company is passionate about creating safe spaces for artists, where all artists’ contributions towards a choreographic work are acknowledged and dancers’ health and wellbeing are prioritised. Richard and other members of the company’s creative management place equal importance on listening to collaborators and shaping a works vision with them, whilst uplifting them through the movement vocabulary and practice of the ensemble.
The company was formed as a platform for Richard’s choreographic research and independent performance work in 2013. Additionally to the company’s work in theatres, RCD presents site responsive work in a vibrant range of alternative spaces and heritage sites, including galleries scenic outdoor spaces, warehouses and museums. RCD is an Associate Company at Exeter Northcott and has its main roots in the South West of England and South Wales.
For more information on the company, please visit www.richardchappelldance.co.uk.
