(There'll also be plenty o' fish in the sea. Seas the oppor-tuna-ty to go bay-watching! You could meet the gill or buoy (or the salmon) of your dreams.)

Adios, beaches ;)

PS. Some of our Cocktail Night performances are also being performed at UMSU's Neon Nightmarket on the 19th, the day before! Come support us then too; we'll be on just after 8pm. ​

Phew, casting's over! Take a deep breath, it can be one heck of an experience. Regardless of the result, we hope everybody did their best and is proud of their effort! I would be.

For the next few weeks until Night Market and Cocktail Night, we'll be having mostly [CLOSED] rehearsals, with some [OPEN] casual classes every now and then. Keep checking our timetable to stay up to date! Better yet, sync it to your device's calendar. I promise it makes this all a lot easier.

And if you still need something to do, why not check out our first Flare Feed of the year below? Produced by our beloved and hardworking graphics team, this issue features:

• Humans of Flare: Vivienne Au and Zach Chin (two of our newest choreographers, also in this year's committee)
• Dance Camp Revolution 2018 
• Hip Hop International's 2018 Australia Hip Hop Dance Championships
• Step Off 2018
• O2 Dance Studio and Passion Studio class timetables

Buon appetito! (Italian)

Not even a month into the Flare semester calendar, and we're already holding auditions! Gosh, we're busy. :P 
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While this week's classes are going to be focused on casting for our upcoming Night Market and Cocktail Night performances, feel free to still treat them as casual classes and support those who are auditioning!

And for those who plan to cast, and especially those who are new to Flare / auditions, here are a few tips from regular Flarians, the committee, and choreographers. Hope these help! Good luck. :)

• Don't be shy to ask the choreographer questions! (It shows you've taken the time to reflect and practice, which means a lot to them). They're not there just to teach you choreography and clean it up for the performance, they're also people who can help you improve aspects of your dancing in the long term, and people who can support you as you continue to develop in dance.
• Ask others about the choreography too, if you want another opinion. Met some new people in the class? Maybe even practise together! More minds means more perspectives, more feedback, more ideas, more support, more friends. :D
• Pay attention to what the choreographer's priorities are in casting. If they make a long text post or go on a long train of thought in class on what they're looking for, don't tune out. This is for your sake! Do they want more expression? Individuality? Timing? Technique? Or your commitment? Then focus on these areas. (But don't forget the rest!)
• Practice. And film yourself practising too.  Sometimes, what you think you look like isn't the same as what the audience is actually seeing, so get a head-start on the choreographer's point of view (your audition will be filmed, btw), then compare yourself to the choreographer's demo, and tweak if necessary!
  • When practising/drilling, don't focus completely on remembering the steps while forgetting about execution. You can save quite a bit of time (and energy) if you're regularly reflecting on how you can improve on the next run.
• Listen to the song a few times without practising, to get a feel of the musicality. The more familiar you are with the music, the easier it gets to know when to hit which beats in what style, which'll help with cleaning details of the choreography. 
  • What's musicality, you may ask? It's not always just dancing in time to the music. It's being able to understand the layers in the music (eg. bass, beat, melody, harmonies, adlibs, etc) and reflect them well in your performance, maybe by making some moves super sharp, others extra slow, some arms real big, and others more low-key. If you wanna read more, check this out too!
• Get enough sleep, or at least, make sure you have a good amount of energy. You'll most likely be performing the choreography at full energy more than once,  maybe even with no breaks in between.
• Get your mind ready! Casting usually involves the rest of the class watching you and a few others audition- that's a lot of eyes on you. Don't stress, they're all fretting about their own auditions too. Figure out what makes you most relaxed and at ease to perform- is that engaging the audience to boost confidence, or just focusing on the music to stay in the zone, or something else?
• HAVE!! FUN!! In the end, this is a performance, and even if you don't think you've got the angles or the footwork or the timing right, believe in yourself and have confidence. Flare is an avenue for everyone- beginners or advanced dancers- to improve. Mistakes are expected. The choreographer will be there to help you get even better! 
• If you do have a mind blank/make a wrong move during casting, don't worry, just groove or freestyle it out until you can catch up! People who can pick themselves up and move on, instead of giving up halfway, definitely stand out. Fake it till you make it is real. 
• If you really think you could've done a lot better with your casting, but it's after class, don't forget that you can submit a video- as long as it's before the deadline.
• Ultimately, YOLOOOOOOO~

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