Creating a Professional Profile

It is essential for performers to have a professional profile to present and represent themselves as an artist. The most common form of this is a Curriculum Vitae (CV).

The purpose of a CV is to inform a potential employer about what you have done as a performer up to the present date. It should highlight your professional experience, past performances, training, qualifications, how valuable you would be to the employment position and any other relevant achievements. Ultimately your CV is the paper version of the 'professional you' that represents you to employers before and after auditions. The piece of paper could determine whether you get the job or not. So it is crucial that you present yourself in the most professional and efficient way possible.

The quality and presentation of your CV can say a lot about a person. I have been reading the book 'The Dancer's Book of Ballet' written by one of my teachers Anglea Whitehill which includes a section about how a dancer should format their CV and what to include in it. "The format you choose reflects your personality". This section of the book discusses how it is best to keep your CV brief and simple. You don't want the employer to be put off by fussy fonts or graphics which could come across as unprofessional.

Most people I have spoken to about CV's have said that it is best to keep it to one page. Companies and employers receive thousands of CV's and it is unlikely that they will have the time to read through 10 pages about a dancer, when potentially it could be presented in one or two pages.
"When sending a resume, make it short and meaningful, not something that looks like a mass mailing" Carolyn Clark, artistic director, New Jersey Ballet.

My CV (attatched below) is one page. I keep it up to to date adding new informtion and experiences as they come and also replacing and removing past works which are no longer as relevant.
When I first wrote my CV aged 16 at Tring Park, I had very little professional experience to include and rave about. So I ended up originally having a semi-professional work section which included information of unpaid perfomances I had been involved in yet still highlighted my stage and performance experience and also my involvement with projects and companies. As I have began working in more professional environments I have been able to eliminate the less impressive and relevant work experience I have had and replace it with new information and work placements. However, I am still unsure as to whether some of the performances I have listed on my CV are suitable or appropriate, I would appreciate your comments on this to help me improve my professional profile,

Here I have attatched my current CV which I send off to companies when applying for auditions. In blue I have made comments about key things I think should be included and considered when writing a CV.


Name and contact details at the top of the page. My name is in bold so it stands out and is very clear that it is... well me! I also have my headshot in the right hand corner of the page next to my name (the format of the blog wouldn't let me position it here)

Rebecca Jones
Mobile Number:  +44 XXXXXXXXXX
Email: rjonesXXX@XXXXXXX.co.uk
Email addresses should be professional and an account that you regularly check so that you are easy to get in contact with. We all had those embarrassing email addresses that we created when we were like 10 but it is vital that your email address isn't something stupid or immature as this will say a lot about you as a person.
Age: 19      DOB: DD//MM//YYYY    Height: 1.57m     Weight XXI am considering putting my nationality on here now that I am in America and auditioning over here.

Currently a Trainee with Atlantic City Ballet

Professional Training                                 

Tring Park School For The Performing Arts- Professional Dance Course, September 2012- 2015.

The Royal Ballet School Senior Associate, 2011-2012.

Northern Ballet Summer Intensive with Yoko Ichino, August 2014.

Private tuition with Tomomi Sato (former principal at Scottish Ballet).

I have decided to present my performance experience in a table because I feel it looks clear, neat and is easy to read. It is in date order and gives the essential information.

Performance Experience

Date	Title of show	Venue	Role	Director/Choreogrpher
December 2015	Atlantic City Ballet’s ‘Nutcracker’	Claridge Hotel- Celebrity Theatre & Stockton University	Corps de Ballet	Phyllis Papa
November 2015	Atlantic City Ballet’s ‘It’s a Shore Holiday’	Claridge Hotel- Celebrity Theatre	Corps de Ballet	Phyllis Papa
October 2015	Atlantic City Ballet’s ‘Dracula’	Claridge Hotel- Celebrity Theatre	Corps de Ballet	Phyllis Papa
August 2015	Moxie Contemporary Ballet ‘Summer Works’	Lincoln Hall, Portland (USA)	Various Selected dancer for Drew Jacoby	Gina Candland Drew Jacoby Doug Baum Katie Scherman
Spring 2015	Encore Dance Company	Various, UK Lilian Baylis Studio	Various Roles	Antony Dowson Jodie Blemings Sam McAvoy
March 2015	‘Tracing Tendencies’ Choreography Show 2014	Markova Theatre	In 4 pieces Choreographer of 1 Piece	Lois Wong Scott Miller
March 2015	Constella Ballet and Orchestra ‘A Soldiers Tale’	The Bloomsbury Theatre	Understudy of ‘Princess’	Alfred Taylor Gaunt Ella Marchment
July 2014	The Magic Mirror	Aylesbury Waterside	Ensemble Dancer	Edward Applewhite Antony Dowson
August 2013	National Youth Ballet	Various, UK	Washerwoman in ‘Toad’ Gypsy in ‘Polovtsian Dances’ Awarded Scholarship	Jill Tookey
October 2011	English Youth Ballet’s ‘Nutcracker’	Kings’ Theatre, Southsea	Clara	Janet Lewis
April 2009	London Children’s Ballet ‘Snow White’	Peacock Theatre, Sadler’s Wells	Kings’ Courtier Party Girl	Lucille Briance

Qualifications

I have edited this section a number of times over the past few years and have limited it to key qualifications I feel are particularly relevant to the jobs I am applying for.

Trinity National Diploma In Professional Dance	Distinction
RAD Advanced 2 Ballet	Distinction
ISTD Intermediate Modern	Distinction
Dance A level, English A Level	A* B
Drama GCSE	A
10 GCSE’s	A*-A Grades

There is often some debate over whether academic qualifications should be included on a dance CV and I have seen that fellow BAPP students have written about this. Personally I have put my GCSE qualifications on here because I am proud of the achievement and depicts me as an intelligent dancer. It shows employers that in addition to my dancing I also have good academic qualifications and a conscientious work ethic. I feel that these skills enhance my emotional and physical approach to dance as I believe it is important to understand dance roles and works within context, whether that is the choreographer's style, the historical setting of the work or it's relation to other works and performances.

References available on request

When I send my CV I also send a cover letter which I write individually to each company talking specifically about my interest in them and how I feel I would be suited to their work. This makes a personal connection with the company and also shows that I have taken the time to research and think about why this is a job I would like to apply for. I also attatch my dance photos and depending on the application requirements my video link. I would like to do a blog post soon about dance photos and headshots as this is often what companies and employers see and get an impression from before they actually see the dancer in action and it is what is left as a reminder of who you are after an audition when decisions are being made.

I would really appreciate your comments on my CV and any improvements you think I could make or your views on some of the things I have mentioned.