Whether you’re an experienced show dancer or only just starting to dip your toe into the professional Irish dance world for the first time, applications can be hard. You often hear different advice from numerous people about what you should or shouldn’t include on your CV, in your showreel, and in your pictures. But every shows is looking for something different. We spoke to 12 Irish dance shows to find out exactly what they want to see when reviewing applications.
James Keegan, Creative & Development Manager, Lord of the Dance
“Here at Lord of The Dance, we receive thousands of applications every year. The best advice I can give is to bullet point the facts. Age, height, training, best competitive achievements (if any), experience (if any), where you live! Include a recent headshot on your application as this really helps to put a face to the name. Aside from all this truly the best thing that can be included in a CV/resume is video footage! This is 2022 so get filming! We just want to see you dance and if you are serious about becoming a professional dancer, this is the best way to make an impact.”
Padraic Moyles, Executive Producer & Associate Director, Riverdance
“A good, professional headshot, ideally one that isn’t taken from another show and cropped. Experience, whether it be professional or competitive, and any other experience or interests. When it comes down to maybe two candidates it’s good to see what other experience and interest they have – we have people in the show with various degrees and qualifications, whether it be engineering, medicine, or something else. A good video is also important where there aren’t other things going on in the background. You can always tell when someone has put a lot of time into it.”
Ciara Sexton, Irish Dance Professional, Fáinne Oír
“A well presented resume with clear headshots and body shots will always attract my attention. Include the info we want to see in order to book you a flight to our tour! Location, nationality on passport, any visas you may hold, height, etc. Separate emails with seperate links will usually go unopened. I don’t look for the highest placing competitive dancers, I look for someone who will blend into the line, get on well with a cast, work their socks off for my production and be a great team player. I can get all that from a well written mission statement, and a good sizzle reel. If you can modern dance, show me! If you can play an instrument, fantastic! The more strings to your bow, the more I can learn about your personality. Don’t hold back, celebrate your many talents whether it be singing, acting, or presenting in your resume and remember, there are many different characters needed for different roles in different productions!”
Megan Kerrigan, Tour Manager & Dance Director, Magic of the Dance
“When it comes to CVs, we receive a lot of them so it is important that the important information is clear and easy for us to find. Personally I am interested in: if you have previous show experience, mainly in Irish but any other performance styles too; main competitive results – reduce these down to your best results and keep to around 3-5 as too many is overwhelming; if you have any other talents or areas of expertise that would be of interest – do you play an instrument? Do you sing? Are you also a sports masseuse? I love to see a photo imported onto the CV so that I can link the face to the information instantly and also a direct link to a recent video of you dancing (and you performing your other skill if you have one – tap, singing, musician) so that I can gain a better idea of whether you will suit the show. The easier it is for me to grasp all of the above in a short period of time the better. Don’t overthink it and best of luck.”
Ciaran Connolly, Choreographer & Dance Director, Irish Celtic
“For me when I receive CVs I need a really good, clean headshot and full body shot – hair pulled back off face, minimal makeup, and all black fitted clothes. I want to see the dancers, I don’t want big hair, loads of makeup, and all stylish clothes – just keep it very simple and let me see you. A video nowadays is also extremely important – soft and heavy shoe of your choice, the use of arms in the videos is great to have if you are comfortable, and if you are just putting them in thinking we want to see them then don’t, as it takes focus off your dancing and is not good to see if you have not yet mastered using them. 24/32 bars of an acapella – I want to hear your rhythm and your sound. No video montage of group numbers from a previous dance show as I can’t see you. I would prefer you in your driveway giving me what you’ve got. The video is what I go off as it is the dancers right there and now and gives me the best understanding of them. As for the the CV itself: clear, concise and to the point of what you have done dancing-wise.”
Scott Doherty, Co-creator & Choreographer, Rockin’ Road to Dublin and Christmas in Killarney
“When looking at CVs it’s important that they’re clear, concise, and dance specific. Whatever your highlights are, whether they’re competitive achievements or show experience; make sure it’s listed right at the top. You should try to make it as easy as possible for whoever is reading it. And if you have any people you can use as references make sure you list them on there too! Don’t add extra fluff just to make your CV look longer. It’s quality over quantity every time.”
Dane McKiernan, Creative Director and Dance Captain, Rhythm of the Dance
“The ideal dance CV should contain all of your personal information and dance training/achievements/experience. You should include a head to toe full-length standing photo and a close-up headshot style photo. It’s more important to try to keep everything limited to a minimal, clear and concise CV. A short cover letter or note gives casting departments an opportunity to get an idea of the individual before reading the stats. Do try to include video as most casting departments won’t have the time to research your dance abilities. You may not even do well in competition at all but still be an incredible show dancer! The CV should include your date of birth, where you are from/where you currently live (if it’s different) and the type of passport(s) you already hold. Your height is important to include as sometimes we may be specifically looking for a short or tall or average height dancer for a particular role.
In many cases an individual may not have any previous show experience yet but including video links to a simple 16 bars of dance types helps to give us an idea of your dancing ability and level, also performance and facial expressions. When a dancer is enjoying themselves while performing in their own videos this will translate when a casting director reviews these videos as good performance skill. Try to avoid having a blank facial expression or nervous body language. Include some other hobbies and skills as these can prove to be useful for additional roles such being able to play a musical instrument or sing etc. Be sure to celebrate your best self. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Simply offer a broad range of clips in your video compilation. Imagine you are performing for your favourite person when you record the footage, it will make the difference to capture your positive energy. If you are passionate and charismatic, that is more important than fitting the mould. Unique is important, as is balance.”
Anthony Street, Managing Director, Celtic Illusion
“When casting for Celtic Illusion, I look for dancers who have great performance presence and an open level of dancing. You don’t need to be a world champion! The first thing I look for on a CV is their performance history. What shows they have done previously. Experience in other styles of dance is alway a huge advantage for us due to our choreography being a little more challenging than your average Irish dance show.
When it comes to the formatting of the CV, point form is best, listing your latest achievements at the top and work your way back. Long sentences explaining your work history is not ideal. And a solid demo reel showcasing your dance ability. This does not need to be shot in a theatre. Even being filmed on an iPhone in a studio is absolutely fine. The more you can show, the better. A mixture of both heavy and light shoe and any examples of your ability dancing choreography that incorporates your upper body is strongly advised! Last but not least, personality. The audience doesn’t know what they are looking at when it comes to dancers and their previous titles. They only see ‘performers’ on stage. I get comments all the time about dancers who get their attention and who they love to watch, and this all comes down to performance on stage. Facial expressions, huge smiles and personality wins over an audience. And that’s what we want!”
Chris Hannon, Director & Executive Producer, Murphy’s Celtic Legacy
“First and foremost to apply to Murphy’s Celtic Legacy, I would recommend a good show reel, that is good HD quality and shows your feet and body clearly. There are dancers out there like I was, who don’t necessarily have the competition stats, but who are equally as good a dancer and are just as keen on doing shows. If you don’t have a CV with dancing stats, then the showreel is a must and this will be the difference in getting a live audition or not. Cast members’ achievements are important but once we have looked at their headshots, we will move straight to their show reel, then hobbies and likes. Being on tour is a great adventure, and someone who has hobbies, interests and other likes will always be instrumental on the road for us, as they are being asked to get along with 20-50 other cast and crew members, which can be tough sometimes.”
David Rea, Choreographer & Producer, Celtic Steps The Show
“When recruiting new Irish dancers and reading CVs, there are a few things that I look for straight away. Obviously a proficiency of talent, a good work ethic but most importantly, an originality of style. We operate nightly for seven months so a level of extreme fitness and knowledge of looking after one’s body is essential. Most of all, an ability to fit with many diverse people both dancers, live musicians, and crew. In the modern world we need short video clips (in an easily readable form!) of you actually dancing in training gear (not costume) showing the really relevant talents – timing, posture, feet placement, rhythm in hard shoe, etc. Good luck with all of your careers!”
Eimhin Liddy, Producer, Danceperados of Ireland
“A couple of really helpful items that we like to see in CVs (or the covering email) are: 1. Availability – sometimes it can be challenging to figure out whether a CV is being submitted for immediate consideration, or for consideration in two years’ time when the dancer has finished college. If you’re available immediately please say it! 2. Nearest airport – sometimes it can be challenging to figure out where a person actually is, particularly if the address on the CV is different to where they currently reside. It’s surprising how often that happens! 3. Link to a video in lights and heavies”
Paula Goulding, Artistic Director and Choreographer, American Co. of Irish Dance
“Something for dancers to remember when applying for AMCO or indeed any other performance based show is the word ‘performance’. Remind yourself that you are not auditioning for a competition. What we really want to see is the Irish dance performer. Yes, you need to be a technically good dancer but performance and how you present yourself is key. Show us what you can do with your dance so that we can see the great performer you are as well as dancer.”
