(This information is also available in a printable form in the Audition Application Worksheet in the next expandable section.)

VIDEO REQUIREMENTS

Part 1: Your Information

At the beginning of your video please:

1. State your name
   
2. Age
   
3. Where you are from
   

Part 2: Ballet Technique Class

Section A: BARRE

Please film barre work from the side, rotating combinations on the right and left side. 

1. Plié 

2. Tendus from fifth position

3. Ronde de jambe

4. Développé en croix

5. Grand battement

Section B: CENTRE

Please film Centre from the front. 

1. Adagio

2. Pirouettes

3. Petite allegro

4. Grand allegro

Section C: POINTE*

1. Échappés with en-dehors pirouettes

2. Diagonal turning combination

*Please note that if you do not have extensive pointe experience, it does not disqualify you as an applicant.

Part 3 • WORSHIP SOLO (required)

• Your worship solo should be set to a Christian worship song that speaks to you. The solo should be 1 to  3 minutes in length.  If you are  invited to come for an in person audition, you will be sharing your solo during the audition.
  

Part 4 • CLASSICAL BALLET VARIATION (optional)

• Classical Ballet variation of your choice
  

Please do not submit dance reels.  If you have prepared a video for other auditions that meets most of our video requirements, please contact us to see if it is acceptable for submission.  

Photograph Requirements

(Photos do not need to be professionally done.)

1. Photo 1: Headshot
   
2. Photo 2: Full body dance photo in 1st arabesque en pointe
   

Trainees are students in Paradosi's immersive ballet ministry apprenticeship approach to dance ministry training. 

What makes our program different:

Paradosi utilizes an apprenticeship approach to training the next generation of worshippers to use their gifts in dance to glorify the Lord and to make Him known.  Paradosi's program is an intensive ballet and ministry training program that will put what is learned into practice through first-hand ministry opportunities throughout the year.   As a dancer in the trainee program you will be fully immersed into Paradosi's culture and dance style while they being mentored to take on greater dance and ministry responsibilities.  Dancers will train and serve along side the Company Members

Touring and outreach/performance opportunities with Paradosi Ballet will be by invitation at the discretion of the Artistic Director. 

As students, Trainees pay monthly tuition.  Trainees commit to a 10-month formal training seasons each touring season from September through June or the end of Paradosi's Summer Dance Intensive; whichever is later.

Company Members, Apprentices and Company Artists, are full-time volunteers with Paradosi Ballet Company.   Apprentice and Company Member positions are open to dancers who have either completed Paradosi's Trainee Program, have trained or served with another Christian dance ministry, or have had a dance career with a professional company accompanied with some ministry experience.*   All dancers joining the ministry who have not completed Paradosi's trainee program will serve as an Apprentice with the ministry before being considered a Company Artist.  

What are the age requirements to audition? 

• Applicants may be 17 when they audition but they must be 18 years of age or older by September 1st of the next season in order to apply.  
• Exceptions may be made for applicants who are minors who have either graduated from high school or earned their GED with parental permission.

Is the audition process different for the Apprentice Program and Company positions? 

• The audition process is the same for the Apprentice Program and Company positions. 
• Placement as an Apprentice or Company Member is at the sole discretion of the Audition Committee of Paradosi Ballet Company. 

What is the difference between an Apprentice and a Company Member?

• An Apprentice, formerly called a trainee under our old education system, is a student in Paradosi's Apprentice Program.  Most Apprentices are recently out of high school, with little to no professional dance, ministry, and or teaching experience.  
• As a part of the apprenticeship curriculum, dancers train in the ministries school one day per week as a Teacher Assistant to learn how to teach dance classes in a Christ centered studio environment.    
• As a student, Apprentice's pay monthly tuition while Company Members do not.  
• Paradosi only offers a limited number of apprentice positions each season.  

• A Company Member is a dancer who has demonstrated a consistent high level of artistry and technical ability as a dancer, spiritual maturity, and a heart for ministry.  Company Member's often come directly from our Apprentice Program, other Christian dance ministries, ballet trainee programs, and other ballet companies.

How long is the Apprentice Program? 

• The Apprentice Program is a two-year vocational dance ministry training program. 
• Some dancers have completed the program in 6-months while others have take up to three years.  It is not the length of time that a dancer has been in the program, each dancer is evaluated on a case by case basis. 
• Apprentices begin their training in September and their season ends on the last day of our summer dance intensive; usually the last week of June or first week of July.  If an Apprentice is asked to travel during a summer outreach tour, their commitment will be extended to the end of the tour. 

Do Apprentices pay tuition? 

• Yes, as Apprentices are students they pay tuition. 
• After evaluating the current financial climate in the country, we have made the call to help our apprentices this season by offering a partial scholarship to all apprentices reducing their tuition to $200 per month for the 2022/2023 season running September through June. ($2,000 per academic year). 
• Trainee-Apprentices also pay a one time Ministry Training and Costuming fee at the beginning of the season which covers their Western Seminary cohort, Bible study materials, costume, and costume components. 
• Apprentices are also responsible for purchasing their own class dance shoes, leotards, tights, and other dancewear.

Do Company Members pay tuition?

• No, Company Members are considered full-time volunteers with the ministry. 
• Company Members will have some of their volunteer related expenses paid for by the ministry. 

How are dancers supported?

• ALL DANCERS: Dancers will need to raise their own support to be in the ministry much like a traditional missionary or YWAM participant. Some of our dancers receive direct support from family, friends, businesses, and churches. Other members of the ministry follow Paul’s tentmaker model working part-time jobs in the evenings and on weekends.  Some dancers teach dance in our school as well as at other local studios while some dancers work in retail, restaurant, or other jobs.  Some pursue both paths of raising financial support. 

• COMPANY MEMBERS: While dancers need to raise their own support to serve in the ministry, dancers who have been Company Member's with the ministry for more than one season will receive a minimal monthly allowance and have some of their volunteer related expenses covered by the ministry.    The allowance is not enough to cover a dancers living expenses and they will still need to raise individual support and/or work part-time jobs to cover the remainder of their living expenses while serving in the ministry.  While we would love to be able to provide a full salary for our dancers, as we do not charge for tickets to our events, we do not have the resources coming in from tickets sales to allow for further compensation at this time.  Company Members commit to 10-month contracts each season that may be extended for international tours in the summer.

Where do dancers live? 

• Dancers are responsible for finding their own housing. 
• Unmarried Trainee-Apprentices and Company Members are required to live with at least one other member of the ministry for accountability.
• Most of the dancers live in apartments or houses with 1 to 5 dancers from the ministry to reduce living expenses. 
• If accepted into the ministry, we will provide contact information for all of the members of the ministry so you can connect with them to find a roommate. 
  

Will I need a car or can I just use public transportation in Tacoma? 

• Unfortunately the public transportation in Tacoma is not very good especially around our studio and the city is not walkable so a car is necessary.   
• In the past we have had dancers join the ministry without a vehicle and it proved to be difficult for both them and their roommates with their different after studio schedules.  
• Members of the ministry without their own vehicle will need to be willing to pay for ground transportation. 

May I attend college while I am with Paradosi? 

• Yes! We have had many members of the ministry take college courses in their free time, mostly online, as their schedule permits.
• Please keep in mind that due to performance schedules, especially in December, we strongly encourage ministry members to not take a full-load of courses while with in the ministry.  Most dancers taking college courses take one to two classes at a time. 
  

Will Apprentices perform? 

• Yes! Apprentices dance and minister at churches, retirement homes, assisted living centers, schools, shelters, and other venues throughout the season with the ministry.
  
• At the discretion of the Artistic Director, Apprentices may go on tour in the U.S. and internationally.

Are dancers required to attend a church? 

• Yes, all members of the ministry are required to attend a local Christian church of their own choosing. 
• New members with the ministry will be given time to find a local church after moving to Tacoma.

What makes Paradosi different from other dance ministries?

• Paradosi is first and foremost a Christian ministry.  We are not about performances but about reaching people for Jesus through our gifts in dance.  One of our core values is ministry first, dance second.  That is not to say that we do not pursue excellence in our dancing but rather that we want our hearts to be aligned with God as we worship Him and share His hope from the platform. We do not dance for applause but rather with the hope that people will no longer see us but rather the love of God in us as we dance. 
• We are a family.  This does not mean that everyone is best friends and that everything is perfect all the time.  This means that we are there for one another through joys and trials.  That we lift each other up and help each other to grow.  We are all imperfect Jesus people living, working, and growing together for the glory of God and it is truly a beautiful thing to be a part of this family.  
• We do not want to be a large dance ministry.   At our peak we had twenty-one dancers in the ministry.  When Paradosi was that large, the opportunities to go out and share actually became diminished as many of the stages, venues, and hosts were not able to accommodate a ministry of that size.    We have found that by intentionally keeping the ministry on the small side, we can go to more places and do more things as a ministry than we were when we were large.  
• We go to the people.  We firmly believe in going to where the people are at verses making them come to us.  We rarely rent theaters or dance in venues with a full stage.  We are often found dancing in places that you would never expect to see a ballet company such as in homeless shelters, schools, nursing homes, rehab facilities, gyms, fairs, festivals, and street corners.  We also do not sell tickets to our events, unless it's a fundraiser, as we want everyone to come regardless of their circumstances.  Our dream is to go not only to the large cities but to the small towns where people may have never seen ballet let alone ballet used to worship God and to share his love.  We want people to have an encounter with the beauty and hope that only Jesus offers.  This goal of meeting people where they are at compels us to be accessible by going to the people in the places of darkness to share the light of Jesus.

I am not a United States citizen and I do not have a green card, may I audition for Paradosi? 

• At this time the answer in most cases is no. Paradosi's Apprentice Program is currently not a recognized Student Exchange Vocational Program so we cannot assist with a student visa.  Additionally as Company Member positions are considered volunteer, they do  not count as an employment offer for a temporary worker visa.  With both of these situations in mind, we can not assist dancers in obtaining a visa to be in the United States. 
• If an applicant has dual citizenship with the U.S. please feel free to apply.
• If an applicant is already in the U.S. for another purpose or will be coming to the U.S. on a valid visa for another purpose (such as but not limited to a student visa for a local college, community college, or trade school or on a work visa) for a period of 11-months or longer, they will be allowed to apply.  Any positions offered would be classified as a "recreational purposes" and cannot be a dancers primary reason for being in the U.S.   In order to assist with housing, all visas must be in place by May 15 each year in order to be accepted for the following season that starts on September 1. 
• If you will be in the U.S. for another purpose and would like to audition for the ministry, please send us an email before applying to talk about  your situation. 

Please feel free to contact our Director, Larissa Bischoff with any questions that you may have about our Apprentice Program, Company Member positions, the audition process, or requests for an audition application extension. 

Phone: (253)474-4881

Email: larissa@paradosiballet.org

• Each year Paradosi offers a limited amount of financial aid to students in our Apprentice Program.   We do not want resources to be a hinderance to a dancers ability to train and serve with the ministry.   
• Scholarships are not guaranteed and will not be awarded until after auditions are held.