Should you lie about your height to get an audition, or tell the truth and run the risk of not bein seen?

I remember auditions working as such...An audition was posted "Seeking female dancers between (5'2"-5'5") or (5'5"-5'8")". Now I never fell in between those two height ranges so I would go to the audition and they would either look over my height and judge me based on my dancing, or tell me "You are a beautiful dancer but you are too tall and we can not hire you". The problem that I have encountered lately is that with the easy accessibility of the internet, directors are asking to review your resume before the audition. This, of course, cuts down on unqualified people auditioning, which is greatly convenient for directors, but not for someone like me.

I recently sent in my resume to a director upon his request for a winter contract. He sent me an email back saying,  "Thank you for your interest, but you do not meet the companies current height criteria." I, of course, could fudge on my resume and say that I am 5'9",which is typically as tall as a dancer can be, but the second I walk into a room the fact that my height is so extreme makes it obvious that I am NOT 5'9".

So do I lie to get my foot in the door and start off with an obvious depiction, or tell the truth and run the risk of not being seen?

I am afraid that I don't have a good answer to this problem. It is a directors prerogative to screen dancers before an audition if they so choose. However, judging dancers solely on their "stats" is not a trend I personally can get behind. My husband claims professional athletes say they are taller than they are all the time. It's just part of the game. So why can't a ballerina do the same? Finding a dance job is hard enough but of course it is kind of impossible if you are not even able to audition.

Why I never use to wear high highs.

Some of my favorite high heels

My mom told me a long time ago that I shouldn't wear high heels around ballet directors. Although I fought her tooth and nail because I wanted to look good, she was right (Thanks mom!). When directors look at me in flats they of course see that I am tall, but when they see me in high heels I am WAY TOO TALL. I finally realized that I should appear as short as possible at all times and I stopped wearing high heels. After I retired from dance I figured that I could wear anything I wanted so I gained a collection of really high heels. Now that I'm dancing again I would never wear high heels to a first meeting of a dance director, but I am also not afraid to bust out my platform heels for a night out.

My favorite pair of high heels

It occurred to me the other day that although I am a whopping 6"3" in my highest pair of heels I'm 6'6" on pointe. Now that is tall! I'm sure that dancers who are too short still have difficultly finding jobs but the problem with being tall is that no matter how good you are if there is no one to partner you a company simply can't hire you. No matter how much they may want to. Where as if you are short it my not be an ideal partnership but a short woman can partner with a tall man.

This week I was partnered by a male dancer who is shorter than I am standing flat. We made it work but it was a real wake up call as to how hard it is to partner with someone so much shorter than me. There was one moment in particular where my partner was lifting me and in order to make the correct line, that the choreographer and our director wanted,  I needed to be more sideways in the air. The problem was if I did this, my leg dragged on the ground and I was no longer in the air. My partner and I tried to be in good spirits about the pairing but there were many times where our attempts at the piece was frustrating to say the least.

After many years of not having a partner I have decided to see if I can enlist NBA player Kevin Durant as my partner. At 6'10" with a thin build and long limbs I think he would make a perfect partner for me. Now I know he would have to take a slight pay cut, but every now and again we all need to make sacrifices for the art community. WHAT DO YOU SAY KEVIN DURANT?

Finding peace with my self image

This has been a great week of self discovery for me. I had the whole week off from teaching so I was able to focus on my dancing and myself. After many years of self doubt and a detrimental self image I think I have finally come to a place that I can be at peace with who I am.

After class today, my husband and I took a hike up to the top of Mount Diablo. Something about the fresh air and looking out onto the bay from the mountain felt so calming. Normally as a dancer I am filled with feelings of self doubt and anxiousness, but today I had an overwhelming feeling of Zen.

 My poor self image, like most dancers, started in the form of body issues. When I was younger one of the most talented dancers I trained with was waif thin. I, of course, wanted to be as good as her and I got it in my head that if I was as thin as she was I would be able to equal her in talent. Unfortunately it doesn't work that way.

I finally got over my teenage eating issues, but my lack of self esteem always seemed to follow me. Part of being a dancer is analyzing everything about yourself, and trying to achieve physical perfection. The pursuit of perfection does not come easy, nor does it come without some emotional speed bumps. When I quit dancing I had gotten to the point that I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror without welling up into tears. I hated everything about myself: my body, my dancing, even who I was as a person.

What my break from dancing has taught me is that just being me is okay. Finding a way to like who I am and loving the things about myself that are unique not only makes me a better dancer but a much happier person. It is pointless for me to try to be someone else. I will never succeed, and who wants to be a second somebody else. I choose to be the first and the best "ME"....All six feet of me.