TASK 1A

CV -

What I think a CV means to me? 

An easy to read summary of someone's professional past. Showing their training, qualifications and work experience. Although this may sound simple and hard to go wrong with I believe that a CV should be produced with great care and consideration. After all you will be judged on it and something that holds that much responsibility ought as good as it can be, right? Now the question is have I practiced what I preach? 

I wrote my first dance related CV when I started studying vocationally when I was 16 years old. At this point my CV was pretty bare, I had little performance experience and other than my RAD grades I didn't have too much else noteworthy. We were given a template in which to base our CV on. This was helpful but I think we were spoon fed to the point that pretty much everyone in my year and probably the majority of the sixth form at school had exactly the same introduction paragraph. This is not exactly a great thing when at some point we would all be applying for the same auditions and jobs. Shamefully I only changed this paragraph within the last year when I gave my CV a bit of a makeover. Back in November time last year I began auditioning again after my operation and started auditioning for more jazz and musical theater related jobs. In order to do this and to be successful I had a change my CV to portray myself in a different way. In addition to this I needed to get some more 'commercial' style head shots taken to look more professional and less of a 'ballet school type'. Often in the musical theater world you can be judged on your head-shot and looks alone so it is important to firstly get photos which present you in the best way with good quality photos and secondly you have to be recognizable. It's all very well having a beautiful model shot taken, but if in real life you actually look nothing like that photo then it is a bit useless. 

This CV I used when applying for teaching positions during my time off from dancing after my operation. 

CV - MADELEINE BANTICK

************************************ Suffolk

Date of Birth: 17/05/1995

Tel: *******************************

 Email: madeleinebantick1@hotmail.co.uk

Availability: Weekdays and weekends

Personal Profile:

I am an enthusiastic, outgoing and friendly individual who works hard to achieve my potential in all situations. I have experience in a variety of work places and love working in a team as well as independently. I have trained for three years at Elmhurst School for Dance in association with Birmingham Royal Ballet where I have gained extensive knowledge in all areas of dance and gained a level 6 Professional Trinity College Diploma in Dance. Working professionally as a dancer has given me a wide range of transferable skills and I love to share my passion for dance and performance through teaching.

Qualifications:

 Level 6 Diploma in Professional Dance, A Level English and Art – B and 12 GCSE’s A*-B (County Upper School)

RAD grades 1-8 and Intermediate foundation to advanced 2 – Distinction

ISTD – modern 1-6 and tap 1-5 – Grade A

Skills:

-          Extensive knowledge in dance and performance

-          DBS checked

-          Organisation and time keeping skills

-          Knowledge of health and safety procedures and first aid certification

Experience:

Ballet Dancer at Cirque Bijou, Oxford – Nov 2015

Private primary ballet tuition in Cambridge - 2015

Northern Ballet Company Graduate Scheme – 2014-2015

Performed in various productions for Northern Ballet in UK tour

Workshops and outreach performances for primary schools, Birmingham  - 2014

References:

***********************************************************************************************

This CV I have used when attending jazz auditions or emailing musical theater agencies.

CV: MADELEINE BANTICK
19 Fox Green, Great Bradley, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 9NR

 Mobile: 07715942223

Email: madeleinebantick1@hotmail.co.uk

Date of birth: 17/05/1995
Nationality: British
Height: 5’5”
Weight: 49kg

Trained for three years at Elmhurst School for Dance in association with Birmingham Royal Ballet and graduated in 2014. Have previous professional experience working with Northern Ballet Company. I have a strong classical ballet technique with experience and further training in jazz (Mattox) and contemporary (Graham, Cunningham). Previous teachers include Michelle Blair, Nikki Woolaston, Yoko Ichino and Erol Pickford. Model and catwalk experience.

Performance Experience:

Date:        Role:                     Production:           Choreographer:       Theatre:      

2015            Dancer                   Lovella Ellis music video     Grace Hume                   London film studio

2015            Dancer                   Cirque Bijou Umbrella project                                  Outdoor event Oxford Castle

2015            Wife                       Elves and the shoemaker   Daniel de Andrade         UK Tour (Northern Ballet)

                    Model                    Photoshoot for Romeo & Juliet                                The Herald magazine (Northern Ballet)

2014            Mermaid                Peter Pan (Northern Ballet) David Nixon                  West Yorkshire playhouse

2014            Principal                Birthday Offering                Frederick Ashton                        Elmhurst Theatre

                    Young Girl              Two Pigeons                      Frederick Ashton           Elmhurst Theatre

2013            Esmeralda Variation Solo competition final     Marius Petitpa               Elmhurst Theatre                                         Carnival Girl          Still Life at the Penguin Café    David Bintley               Ruddock Hall Theatre

                     Swan                       Swan Lake                         Sir Peter Wright            Ruddock Hall Theatre

2012            Hungarian princess Swan Lake                         Sir Peter Wright            Elmhurst Theatre

                     Pas de Quatre       Bayadere                             Marius Petitpa              Elmhurst Theatre

                     The Journey          Choreography competition Ririka Oishi                   Elmhurst Theatre

                     Harmony                Contemporary piece           Denise Wilson             Elmhurst Theatre

2011             Diamond fairy       Solo competition                 Sir Peter Wright           Elmhurst Theatre

                      Catwalk model/ dancer                                    Vintage by Hemmingway, Pearl and Daisy Lowe

Education and Qualifications:

2011-2014            Elmhurst School for Dance

                                Level 6 National Diploma in Professional Dance & RAD advanced 1&2   

2008-2011            Grades 1-8 Royal Academy of Dance - Distinction, Advanced 2 & Intermediate Modern Dance ISTD– Distinction

Other skills include: Speech and drama – guildhall grade 5. Modelling and catwalk experience.

Finally my ballet CV:

CV: MADELEINE BANTICK
19 **********************************************

 Mobile: **********************

Email: **********************************************

Date of birth: 17/05/1995
Nationality: British
Height: *****
Weight: ****

Trained for three years at Elmhurst School for Dance in association with Birmingham Royal Ballet and graduated in 2014. Have previous professional experience working with Northern Ballet Company. I have a strong classical ballet technique with experience and further training in jazz (Mattox) and contemporary (Graham, Cunningham). Previous teachers include Michelle Blair, Nikki Woolaston, Yoko Ichino and Erol Pickford. Model and catwalk experience.

Performance Experience:

Date:                     Role:                     Production:                        Choreographer:                        Theatre:      

2015                       Dancer                   Lovella Ellis music video     Grace Hume                 London film studio

2015                       Dancer                   Cirque Bijou Umbrella project                                  Outdoor event Oxford Castle

2015                       Wife                       Elves and the shoemaker   Daniel de Andrade     UK Tour (Northern Ballet)

                                Model                    Photoshoot for Romeo & Juliet                                The Herald magazine (Northern Ballet)

2014                       Mermaid                Peter Pan (Northern Ballet) David Nixon                West Yorkshire playhouse

2014                       Principal                Birthday Offering                Frederick Ashton                        Elmhurst Theatre

                                Young Girl              Two Pigeons                          Frederick Ashton        Elmhurst Theatre

2013                       Esmeralda Variation Solo competition final     Marius Petitpa             Elmhurst Theatre

Carnival Girl          Still Life at the Penguin Café   David Bintley              Ruddock Hall

                                Swan                       Swan Lake                             Sir Peter Wright          Ruddock Hall

2012                       Hungarian princess Swan Lake                          Sir Peter Wright          Elmhurst Theatre

                                Pas de Quatre       Bayadere                               Marius Petitpa             Elmhurst Theatre

                                The Journey          Choreography competition Ririka Oishi                  Elmhurst Theatre

                                Harmony                Contemporary piece           Denise Wilson             Elmhurst Theatre

2011                       Diamond fairy       Solo competition                  Sir Peter Wright          Elmhurst Theatre

                                Catwalk model/ dancer                       Vintage by Hemmingway, Pearl and Daisy Lowe show

Education and Qualifications:

2011-2014            Elmhurst School for Dance

                                Level 6 National Diploma in Professional Dance & RAD advanced 1&2   

2008-2011            Grades 1-8 Royal Academy of Dance - Distinction, Advanced 2 & Intermediate Modern Dance ISTD– Distinction

Other skills include: Private ballet coaching

What did I change between the three CVs? 

- The previous teachers section. In the ballet version I gave examples of influential ballet teachers who have taught me and in the Jazz one I used names of jazz teachers

- Slightly altered my performance experience section. Highlighting my jazz and contemporary performance work. Included different information in the 'Other skills' section at the bottom.

- Used a different head-shot in the corner. More classical one in the ballet CV as this is what I would look like in a ballet audition situation and the more commercial head-shot in my alternative CV. 

- Different layout in the teaching CV. Included more about my personal attributes because as a teacher I belive this is something that would be valued more in the application process. Whereas when applying for a ompany audition I think would be less worried about your personality an more concerned about your performance experience and training. Now I have said this I think an interesting point  in regards to the difference between the requirements for teachers and dancers. 

PHOTOS: 

Photos also play a big part in personal representation because dance is after all a visual art. One could be cast in a part simply because of the colour of their hair so it is important to have professional photos to open up job opportunities. After experiencing auditioning within different genres of dance within the industry I can see some differences between the requirements for photos. For ballet it is important to have full body shots showing line of feet, extension and flexibility. Head shots are less of a priority for ballet auditions as they will be more interested in your dance photos. However with jazz and musical theater it is very important to have a striking head-shot to make you stand out. I have posted below some photos from previous photo shoots starting with my audition photos I had taken when I was in third year at school. Unfortunately my year at school was the first to try out a new photographer who had no previous experience taking 'audition photos' for ballet dancers. We were sort of the guinea pig year I suppose, and the photographer wasn't used again the following year .... I had some photos taken about a year and a half ago by a friend who is also a dancer and has started his own photography company.  I was a lot happier with the outcome of this shoot and for me it is important to have a photographer who understands the dance world when having dance and especially ballet photos because you very often need a second or even third opinion on poses and movements. The third set of photos were taken in November last year and although I don't love these photos (I don't think I'll even love a photo of myself!) I was happy with the final result from this shoot and what made it even better was the kind photographer edited these photos for free! Bonus!!

It is interesting for me now to look back on these photos and see the how the difference in photography style affects the look of the photos. Who knows what my next set of portfolio photos will look like ..