BASE Podcast

BASE Dance Studios

BASE are excited to bring you a new podcast, focusing on a variety of topics in and around the dance and performing industry. Starting engaging conversations to enhance knowledge and further understanding.

  1. 03/02/2022

    BASE Podcast #12 - The Commercial Industry - Is the Casting System Broken?

    Is the Casting System in the Commercial Industry Broken? Host: @mrjgraham Guests: @lilihidge_x, @erinjardine1 and @daxocallaghan It's been a while but we are back! We wanted to have a discussion on the state of the dance industry and particularly the casting system within the Commercial industry so invited @lilihodge_x and @erinjardine1 of @dancersnetworkuk on to speak with us. These 2 along with the team at DN have worked and fought for better treatment and rates of pay for dancers as well as being very successful performers in their own careers too. Joining on the pod is one of the co-owners of Base Studios, @daxocallaghan. Dax has been part of the entertainment industry for many years now and has seen it from multiple viewpoints as a performer, recording artist, choreographer and creative director. It's also a nice way to mark Base's 4th birthday as we hear about what it was like founding a studio and facing the challenges of the pandemic. We originally planned a conversation off the back of the Superbowl controversy in the USA knowing that there are identical issues here with big sporting events. However it turned more into an exploration of the contrasts between the TV, Film and Theatre casting processes and the Commercial industry process and the big differences between them. We look at the structures and the potential conflicts of interest and talk about changes that could and probably should be made. We speak about the Sole Representation model and how that would most likely be more beneficial for dancers and lead to more auditions. And we talk about the need for a structural and cultural reset when it comes to the commercial industry. All this and the conversation could have continued for far longer! This is definitely a topic worth revisiting but hopefully there is some good information being shared and it sparks further conversations and eventual change for the better🤞 @basedancestudios

    1h 17m
  2. 10/31/2021

    BASE Podcast #11 - EMA's Audition, Choreographers Feedback

    2021 MTV EMA's Audition - Choreographers' Feedback Host: @mrjgraham Guests: @sharon.june and @niles82 Not sure a podcast of this nature has been done before within the dance community in giving feedback to dancers which many would be eager to hear after an audition of such importance. In this episode of the BASE Podcast @mrjgraham is joined by Sharon June @sharon.june and Shaun Niles @niles82 to talk through their experience teaching the choreography at the recent audition for the MTV Europe Music Awards to be held in Budapest next month. Normally one of the biggest auditions of the year, it has extra significance being the first large-scale audition since COVID impacted the industry. This year they saw over 1,000 dancers over the course of 2 days. So we thought it would be great to hear from 2 of the team on the other side of the table to get their takeaways and critiques in the hope that dancers can gain some insight into how to audition more effectively and increase their chances of getting booked. Shaun choreographed the audition routine assisted by Sharon and we hear what they thought auditionees did well and areas where they could look to improve to show they're ready to work at this level. We talk through the differences between a class scenario and an audition one and what this means for how dancers should apply and conduct themselves. Lastly we round the conversation off with some tips to help prepare for the intensity of auditions of this scale and the work environment itself too. Big thanks to Sharon and Shaun. Its rare to get feedback after an audition and we hope this is helpful in getting people closer to where they wanna be. @basedancestudios

    41 min
  3. 05/09/2021

    BASE Podcast #7 - Deaf Experiences in Dance

    Deaf Experiences in Dance Host: @mrjgraham Guests: @deaf_dancer, @tashaghouri and @josephjfletcher This week is Deaf Awareness Week and to mark it @mrjgraham speaks with @deaf_dancer (Melissa Brill), @tashaghouri and @josephjfletcher about their experiences within the dance industry and community. First up we get an introduction to each guest and hear a little about their background. We then talk about their dance education and the level and type of support that was there (or not there as the case was at times). We hear each guests' journey on their perspective on their deafness and how big an impact that has had on the way they think about it. The realisation that this is your superpower and how empowering that can be. We talk about what it's like at classes and auditions, the extra challenges hard of hearing people face and the feeling that you have to convince potential employers out of any additional doubts they will have about you. We hear examples of some bad experiences at auditions where the level of understanding was not there on the organiser's part despite being made aware of the situation ahead of time. This leads us to talking about suggestions of changes that could be made for the better to cater for everyone in the room both in auditions and classes. This is an area the dance industry and community has to do better in. A big thank you to our 3 guests. Please note we interchange the terms deaf, hearing impaired and hard of hearing throughout the podcast.  @basedancestudios

    57 min

About

BASE are excited to bring you a new podcast, focusing on a variety of topics in and around the dance and performing industry. Starting engaging conversations to enhance knowledge and further understanding.