SLMDances invites new collaborators to join our collective in Spring 2021. We seek folks who believe in and uphold our Core Values: DREAMING, ACTIVISM, TRANSPARENCY, HUMANITY, COMMUNITY, LEARNING. SLMDances prioritizes collaborative relationships between the collective and our community. In that spirit of partnership, we seek to fill the role Creative Partner.

Creative Partners are the core body of our collective and share their talents as artists, administrators, and facilitators. The collective seeks dancer-actors and movement practitioners who have a minimum of 2-3 years experience working as an artist in NYC, and are actively developing their gender and anti-racist analyses. Black women and femmes are highly encouraged to audition.

How To Apply

Round 1: Application

Please complete our online application form. You will be asked to respond to a series of short answer questions, upload a CV detailing performance, teaching, and administrative experience, a headshot, and a minimum of one reference.

Audition applications will be accepted through May 14. Artists who seem to be in alignment with the culture and needs of SLMDances will be invited to the next round.

 

Round 2: Video Submission 

Invitations to the second round of auditions will be periodically sent through the application period no later than April 27 (for those who submitted by April 22), or May 17 (for those who submitted by May 14). 

You should be ready to submit 3 one minute videos by May 20. For those who are submitting applications after May 11, we know that this will be a very quick turnaround. Please email us if this is an unrealistic timeline for you: allegra@slmdances.com. More detailed information will be shared in the invitation. Artists who seem to be in alignment with the culture and needs of SLMDances will be invited to the next round. 

 

Round 3: Group Interview

Invitations to a virtual group interview with current SLMDances leadership and fellow auditionees will be sent out no later than June 7. You should be prepared to move, facilitate the group, and participate in discussion. More detailed information will be shared in the invitation. Artists who seem to be in alignment with the culture and needs of SLMDances will be invited to join SLMDances.

 

Timeline

APRIL 7, 2021: Open Call for Creative Partners (rolling submissions accepted)

APRIL 22, 2021: First application submission deadline. 

April 27, 2021: First invitations for video submissions.

MAY 14, 2021: Second application submission deadline (EXTENDED DEADLINE))

MAY 11-16, 2021: Second and final invitations for video submissions.

JUNE 7, 2021: Notifications to Prospective Candidates for Group Interview

*JUNE 16, 2021, 5-8PM: Group Interview, Selection and Invitation to August retreat & Fall Season 

*JUNE 23, 2021 5-8PM: New Creative Partner Welcome + Orientation

***Dancers who receive an invitation to join SLMDances after the Group Interview MUST be able to attend orientation.***

Who You Are

The collective seeks dancer-actors and movement practitioners who have a minimum of 2-3 years experience working as an artist in NYC, and are actively developing their gender and anti-racist analyses. In alignment with SLMDances’ Statement on Race and Gender, the collective maintains a ratio of 60 percent Black folks represented to 40 percent non-Black people of color and white folks represented. Black women and femmes are highly encouraged to audition in order to maintain the balance in our mixed-race collective with a mission that prioritizes the stories of Black folks.

As dancers, you must have a strong technical foundation. Our movement pulls together orientations from the African diaspora, attention to the architecture of traditional modern dance, and the language of Laban/Bartenieff Fundamentals grounded in the use of breath, voice, and personal choices. You are an improviser, including contact improvisation, and you have a strong sense of musicality in your dancing. You understand dance as ritual, as spiritual practice, as that which channels, challenges, and celebrates. This does not mean you have a specific religious practice, but rather you understand the Divine power of movement.

As actors, you are embodied storytellers articulating narratives through voice and movement. You are excited to partner in dramaturgical research and the theater devising process. Artists should also expect to learn existing repertory. 

Artists must have experience in education and facilitation. Artists also must be willing to share their administrative skills to advance our organizing and performance work.

Who We Are

SLMDances works collaboratively, values continual learning, and is invested in one another's success. Creative works and educational workshops are collectively researched and co-created. Still, each of our artists is a bawse in their own right: we are responsive, creative problem solvers, independent thinkers and clear communicators who are organized, appreciative of feedback, and value high quality work.

Compensation + Benefits

This is not a full-time role and SLMDances cannot currently commit to being a primary income source. That said, below are the current compensation and benefits offered:

*paid performances at a rate between $65-125/performance event, 

*paid teaching artist/facilitation work at a rate between $65-125/engagement, 

*paid rehearsal at a rate of $9.50 / hour + $75 monthly cost of living stipend for the months we are in rehearsal (Feb - June, Sept - Nov),

*paid administrative stipend mutually agreed upon for each project + $25 monthly stipend in honor of a commitment to an administrative role,

*yoga and company class proceeding every rehearsal, 

*community building, 

*access to photo and video content featuring your work as a performer and facilitator.a??a??

In addition, we will open our season with a discussion around additional forms of compensation which may include, but are not limited to: professional development opportunities including teacher training and guidance for achieving personal goals, bartered services, etc.

Commitment

Company Class every Tuesday and Thursday 10AM-12PM, followed by Rehearsal 12-2PM during Fall and Spring Rehearsal Seasons.

Occasional evening or weekend rehearsals as needed, scheduled in collaboration with dancers,

if you have not participated previously, PD for the People! our public facing professional development course (September-October 2021, Dates + Times TBD),

if you have not participated previously, PURPOSE Productions team training (MLK weekend, January 2022),

Field Trips to cultural events 1-2 times per month.

The 2021-2022 season’s work will be grounded in the reading and analysis of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple and Ntozake Shange’s Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo. New Creative Partners should read at least one of these novels in preparation for our August onboarding retreat.

This is a one-year commitment, with the intention that you will renew your commitment to participate in our 2023 performance season (currently in planning), and a hope that you will make a long-term investment in our community. We are building toward performances and touring of our evening length work PURPLE.

 

Calendar

Summer Retreat: August 23-28 (virtual)

Fall Rehearsal Season: September - November 2021 (virtual)

PURPOSE Productions Team Training: MLK weekend, January 2022

Spring Rehearsal Season: February - June 2022 (including an in person, overnight bubble residency)