** If you have trouble making this time slot, you may want to reconsider joining our organization because approximately 50% of our rehearsals and 90% of our mandatory rehearsals fall on Wednesdays between 7-9pm at this location.
If you have questions, don't stress... everyone does! We are here to help! The answers are down below:
Frequently Asked Questions about our Auditions:
1. What kinds of shoes do I wear? I don't have dance shoes! Help!
We've recently changed our shoe policy. For parading, and for our ivory and white teams, we wear Keds style tennis shoes with gold glitter and white satin ribbons. You can supply your own shoes if you have a certain broken in pair that is comfortable.
For performances, special events, stage events, and for our gold team, we wear 2 inch t-strap Capezio character shoes in Caramel.
For auditions, you can wear any style of shoe (or sock) that you want -- just PLEASE make sure it's something that won't scratch up the Studio-School of Dance's floors. Stilettos, exposed nails in your heel, cleats, and tennis shoes with gum on the bottom of them are all super bad ideas.
2. What should I wear?
3. What should I bring?
If you have a headshot and resume we'd like you to bring it. We use the picture and resume to deliberate audition candidates during the process. Lots of our girls book paying gigs throughout the year so this will at some point be a necessity if you'd like those jobs as well. If you can't, don't stress, we'll have a resume workshop at some point within the year & every Showgirl receives headshots as part of her first year package.
You should also bring your planner because we'll be passing out some dates for our upcoming season, if you make the team. You should also be prepared to sign some waivers for safety and photography before you audition. Otherwise just bring yourself, a fun spirit, and a positive attitude! Our girls are not catty or witchy to each other so if we see that going on in the auditions you can almost guarantee you will not be selected.
4. What are dues? When do I have to pay them?
New member dues are $650, returning member dues are $150 per year. $150 per year covers things that come up every year like insurance, transportation to and from parades, snacks, waters & gatorade chews for practice, t-shirts for volunteers, dance studio fees, porta-potty, etc, etc, etc. The $650 initial fee is mainly to cover your costume, which is elaborate with lots of sequins & appliques & ostrich feathers, which are not cheap. The costume is yours to keep forever after you pay your $650 & are a member in good standing. For each new Showgirl, we pay $200 out of pocket, we only ask that you cover the $650 portion. It's due in one $50 non-refundable deposit as soon as you make the commitment to join, and 3 $200 installments throughout the year, that are due in October, November, and December, or May, June, and July, depending on when you audition. It obviously has to be paid by Carnival season.
Dues rose from $600 to $650 in March of 2017-- the reason for this is that we're now buying your shoes and tights for you as part of your package. Before you'd have to go out and get them yourself.
5. Are there other incidental expenses throughout the year?
There are several parties we go to throughout the year with different costumes. If you wanted to go to, say, the 610 Stompers Ball with us, you'd be required to pay for your own ticket to the event & your own costume, at a huge discount. The costumes this year were provided to our members for $5 each and it's a $30 costume. Some members choose to buy additional feathers, body suits, heel pads, toe pads, body warmers, etc for their costume and that's all at your own expense. You'll also have options to buy showgirl t-shirts, jewelry, accessories & additional costumes throughout the year.
6. That sounds expensive! Is it worth it?
Yes! In addition to becoming a Showgirl, you're picking up a ton of new friends, a Showgirl sisterhood, and tons of #ShowFamily like our Biggest & Littlest Fans who come to our events. We also had the opportunity, as Showgirls, to each make over $2400 with lots of paid gigs, commercials, festivals like NOLA Christmas Fest and Promotional Events. So it's totally worth it!
7. I'm worried I might not have time.
Our members are mothers, business owners, and movie stars. We have very few people that have a free or open schedule. All of our dances are posted online and there are six or seven mandatory events and rehearsals a year but otherwise, if you can prove that you know the dances and have the right costume, you're allowed to perform. Bonus points and perks ARE given for attendance though. The bottom line is that you don't have to do certain things but it's so much fun that usually everyone wants to!
We've recently split our organization into 4 teams, so there's a team for everyone. If you want to just walk, and show up a few times a year, there's the White team for that! If you want to dance in parades, and can practice about once a month, in Carnival season, you're going to fit in just fine on our Ivory team. Our Silver team is for people who want to be a Showgirl once or twice a year. Our Gold team practices every single week and sometimes twice a week, so it's for the girls that really live and breathe NOLA Showgirls!
8. What kinds of events do you do?
Last year we appeared in the Krewe of Boo, Okeanos, Carrollton, and Decadence parades. We also appeared in the FestiGals Stiletto Stroll and the Chris Owens Easter Parade. We particpated in the Tom Cruise Movie, Jack Reacher 2 as featured dancers for several nights. We've participated in commericals for Toyota & TurboTax, and also appeared in the Halloween episode of NCIS New Orleans Season 1.
This year so far (2016-2017) we've appeared in the Krewe of Boo, Okeanos, The Original Krewe of Orpheus, and Carrollton parades, and are scheduled to appear in the Easter, Decadence, Stiletto Stroll, and St. Bernard Irish-Italian-Isleños parade.
We are committed to our community with charity events. We've appeared at the NO Aids Benefit & have recently done fundraisers for both the American Cancer Society Belles & Beaus, and the New Orleans Lympho-Maniacs. We made headdresses and Easter crafts with Angel's Place and helped a local band get their stolen equipment back. We also donated decorated bodacious bras to FestiGals and that money went to local cancer charities. We're also very passionate supporters of Team Gleason and worked with them this year at the Crescent City Classic. We volunteered for Rescued on the Runway for pet adoptions, and are planning our second half of the year with more charity events coming up this summer, including a benefit for children with Autism.
9. What else should I know about your members?
A lot of our members are very proud members of the New Orleans Film & Performance community. They work as professional actors, models, stand-ins, film crew professionals, singers, dancers, and they are paid for all of this work. You can catch our members with speaking roles in major motion picture features, local film festival pieces, TV shows and documentaries. We have been featured on screen and off and we are proud of the work that we've done in the local and international film scene.
We're also sisters. We very much consider ourselves a Showgirl sisterhood and we use the hashtag #showfamily often. Our members are not catty or rude and when a showgirl has an issue she has 20 plus sisters to help her out. We also love our support group, the Biggest Fans, and we have made tons of amazing friends through them too. Our members' children are Showkids and Littlest Fans and we have tons of social events and barbecues throughout the year for the whole gang.
Our biggest fans are the best support group and we're so proud of them! We think they're one of the most top notch support groups of any of the local dance teams. For every parade we've done we've had 1 to 1 Support to Showgirl. Sometimes they even outnumber us 2 to 1. Support team members are called Biggest Fans, and are both men and women. They carry the banner, provide the food and water, keep us safe among the crowds, rig the truck with generators, drive the support vehicles, serve as DJs, and help us out wherever we need it. In return they get our eternal gratitude, some freebies like T-shirts & accessories, and a couple of free events per year to show our appreciation. If you are not ready to be a Showgirl and just want to be a Biggest Fan or Banner Girl, click here.
10. I'm worried that I'm not the right age or body type.
Over our past few seasons our members have ranged in ages from early 20s to late 60s, and range in sizes from 0 to 3X. We don't plan on changing that anytime soon! As long as you're physically able to perform and you look the part with tons of confidence, beauty, and charisma-- we're happy to have you audition. Please note that traditional Showgirls do not have tattoos so while it's okay to have them we may ask that you cover them for certain gigs or performances, depending on the client and costume. You should always be prepared to be Showgirl ready so if you have something against red lipstick, rhinestones, feathers, jewelry, and big eyelashes, this probably isn't the group for you.
Don't forget, we have the different teams now, so if you get injured, pregnant, or want to go inactive for any reason that's okay, providing you've paid at least $50 for the year. We'll hold your spot until the following year. You can also just elect to walk as a member of the White team.
If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask! You can Facebook us, or e-mail us at NOLAShowgirls@gmail.com. You can also check out our website at http://www.nolashowgirls.com. If you'd like to audition please e-mail us right away so that we can get you a Showgirl sponsor. These girls have been through the process, are current Showgirls, and will invite you to mixers & walk you through the auditions. We can't wait to meet our future Showgirls!
xoxo,
NOLA Showgirls
