TASK 1a: Professional Profile

Preparing a strong CV is the first thing one should do in search of a job. In performance related work, experience is key to having an impressive profile so that you can then be chosen for an audition/interview. Nowadays companies are asking for experienced dancers. and that counts for any style company, whether it is a ballet company, contemporary or musical theatre. Directors want to know that the person which they'll hire is a reliable choice, once that has worked in a professional environment before, rather than having to nurture a young dancer all the way from A B C. Regardless or not of talent and technical ability, experienced dancers would most commonly have a priority. I have noticed a vast change in having success with being accepted or invited to audition between the year I was graduating from my dance school and only just one year after working professionally in a company. Having tested it out by sending the same photos or video links, the only thing that had changed was my CV! Naturally, in any case, your Resume would change accordingly to the amount of experience that one has gained throughout the years. If I look at my CV now it doesn't look quite the same as my first draft I had ever made. Ofcourse, being a student the experience if minimal, so one would have to make their CV sounds as professional as possible regardless to how much they have danced on stage. Emphasis should be given to quality of training and eagerness and passion to learn. This is what my first draft looked like back in 2013 when I was auditioning for a company for the first time. 

I start by giving my basic information

• where I can be reached/contacted > address, email , telephone number 
• date of birth, nationality, height, weight > sometimes there is a height min/max to help match with the requirements of the company. 
• A summary of where you are currently working/ studying 
• experience
• achievements
• creative work/interests >  Involve any creative work that I have done in the past, ie:choreogrphies,  
• Contact details of your current work/school > in order of reference 

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Nastazia Philippou

Address:xxxxxx

Telephone: xxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxx@hotmail.com

Date of Birth: 19/02/94                                                                                                           Height: 164cm                                             Nationality: Cypriot                                                                                                                 Weight: 49kg         

Personal Profile

Currently a graduate from Elmhurst School for Dance under the direction of Robert Parker with a Diploma in Professional Dance and performed with the Birmingham Royal Ballet. Classically trained with experience and further training Contemporary (Graham, Cunningham, Release), Folk, Jazz and Tap. I have trained with Errol Pickford, Gloria Grigolato, Robert Parker, Samira Saidi, Desmond Kelly, Lei Zhao, Nadina Loizidou, and taught by Marion Tait, Elizabeth Platel, Tadeuz Matacz, Isabelle Ciaravola, Christopher Hampson, Lynn Wallis as well as Ana Garcia in Flamenco. Also studying Stott Pilates teacher’s course. 

Acadamic Achievements

A level- Maths, Dance Studies

Diploma in Integrated Proffesional Studies

Benesh Notation Level 1

Performance Experience

2013

SWAN LAKE (Sir Peter Wright) – Odette – Elmhurst Summer Show

STILL LIFE AT THE PENGUIN CAFE (David Bintley) – Zebra Lady – Elmhurst Summer Show

JAZZ SUITE (Mikaela Polley-Rambert) – Elmhurst Summer Show

2012

SWAN LAKE (Sir Peter Wright) – Swan (corps), Lady in Waiting – Birmingham Royal Ballet – The Lowry in Salford, Birmingham Hippodrome, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Sunderland Empire Theatre, Wales Millenium Theatre                                                     

RAD filming for ADVANCED 2 new Syllabus DVD

THE NUTCRACKER (Sir Peter Wright) – Mirlitons – Elmhurst Graduate Showcase

2011

LES RENDEVOUS (Sir Frederick Ashton) – Elmhurst Summer Show

2010

THE NUTCRACKER (Sir Peter Wright) – Snowlfake, Flower, Maid - Birmingham Royal Ballet – Birmingham Hippodrome and O2 Arena, London 2008-2010       

<2010

Performed and toured with DIASTASIS cultural dance group of Cyprus at St Petersburg, Moscow and Shanghai 

Awards / Competitions    

Elmhurst Solo Competition Finals- LA BAYADERE- Gamzatti variation 2012    

Winner of Elmhurst Choreography Competition and ‘Bintley Award’ with ‘InteRlinK’ 2011    

The Ballet Association’s Annual Award 2011    

Elmhurst Solo Competitions Finals- RAYMONDA- The Dream variation 2011   

Genée International Ballet competition in South Africa- LA BAYADERE- 2^nd Shades variation and ‘Far Closer’ by Kirsten Isenberg  2010        

Varna international Ballet Competition- SWAN LAKE Pas de Trois- 1st Variation and GISELLE- Act 1 Variation 

Choreography

‘Un Amore’ - Tchaickovsky Gala- Estonia Venemuine Theatre 2013             

‘Lapse of a Moment’- Graduate Showcase 2013            

 ‘InteRlinK’- Elmhurst School of Dance Choreography Competition 2012- Winner 2011   

‘Interruptions’ - Elmhurst School of Dance Choreography Competition 2011-Finalist           

 ‘On Strings’(solo)

References

 r.parker@elmhurstdance.co.uk                               phone: xxxxxxx

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After 2 years of working in a professional company I have had quite a lot of work that I can add to my CV concerning the repertoire I have danced on stage. However, this would mean that the CV would be more than a page long. The CV should be a simplified clean list with what you are currently working on and your achievements. The director/ boss should be able to have a swift look at your CV and not have to look back twice because what you have written down is hard to read. There is a structure to your profile that should capture the interest in seconds, because at that time when a director has more than a hundred CVs to review, the last thing he/she would want to do to is waste time on trying to make sense of a disorganised profile. 

I have made a few changes to my recent CV, creating a cleaner structure, taking out a few details in order to have a clearer view. I also added a Headshot on the top right corner so that when the director is looking at my CV he/she can have an idea of what I look like to avoid confusion with other dancers. The information on a CV can change also according to what job one is going for. For example, if I was going for a cruise ship audition I would draw attention to any alternative and jazz experience I have had in the past so as to show my versatility. This below is my recent draft of my CV that I would send in case I needed to. 

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Nastazia Philippou

Address xxxxx

Telephone xxxxx

nastazia.philippou@gmail.com 


Date of Birth: 19/02/94                                                             Height: 164cm

Nationality: Cypriot                                                                   Weight: 49kg

Personal Profile

First Artist with the National Opera of Bucharest, under the direction of Johan Kobborg, since Septemper 2014. Past experiences include working with the National Theatre of Brno (2013-2014) and dancing with the Birmingham Royal Ballet while a student at Elmhurst School of Dance (2013 Graduate with a Diploma in Integrated Professional Practice and Benesh Notation Level 1).  

Work/Perfromance Experience

2015-2016 (Opera Nationala Bucuresti)

§  Courtezan , MANON (Sir K.MacMillan)

§  Hermia, Mustardseed , THE DREAM (Sir F.Ashton)

§  3 couples , DSCH (A.Ratmansky)

2014-2015 (Opera Nationala Bucuresti)

§  Pas d’Action, 3^rd Shades , LA BAYADERE (Babushka)

§  4th Duet, PETITE MORT (J. Kylian)

§  CLASSICAL SYMPHONY (Y. Possokhov)

§  Two Willis (Julma) , GISELLE (E.Steifel and J.Kobborg)

§  Flower Girls (Juanita) , DON QUICHOTTE (J.Slavicky)

§  The Sylph, LA SYLPHIDE (J. Kobborg)

§  Girlfiends , LA FILLE MAL GARDEE (Sir F. Ashton)

§  Birbanto’s Girlfriend , LE CORSAIRE (V.Medvedev)

2013 -2014 (National Theatre Brno)             

§  Parent, Snowflake, Waltz , NUTCRACKER (V.Medvedev)-

§  TRUE LOVE (triple bill)- LOVE STORY (Mario Radacovsky)

§  LUCIDOR AND ARABELLA (Youri Vamos)

§  Odalisque, Waltz and Shades, LA BAYADERE (Jaroslav Slavický)

§  Aristocrat, DANGEROUS LAISONS  (Krzysztof Pastor)

§  Swan (corps) , SWAN LAKE (Robert Strajner)

2010-2013 (Elmhurst School For Dance)

§  Odette, SWAN LAKE (Sir P.Wright) Elmhurst Summer Show                         

§  Zebra Lady, STILL LIFE AT THE PENGUIN CAFE (D.Bintley) Elmhurst Summer Show

§  JAZZ SUITE (Mikaela Polley- Rambert) Elmhurst Summer Show

§  Swan (corps), SWAN LAKE (Sir P.Wright) Birmingham Royal Ballet – Birmingham Hippodrome and UK Tour

§  RAD filming for Advanced 2 new syllabus        

§  LES RENDEVOUS  (Sir F.Ashton) ~Elmhurst Summer Show 2011                

§  Snowflake, Flower and a Maid, THE NUTCRACKER (Sir P.Wright) Birmingham Royal Ballet – Birmingham Hippodrome and O2 Arena, London 2008-2010       

Awards / Competitions    

The Ballet Association’s Annual Award 2011    

Genée International Ballet competition in SA 2010 - La Bayadere-2ndShades and ‘Far Closer’ by K.Isenberg

Varna international Ballet Competition 2010- Swan Lake Pas de Trois- 1st Variation and Giselle- Act 1 Variation 

Choreography

‘Eye for Optical Theory’ Choreo Lab with Opera Ntionala Bucuresti

‘Un Amore’ - Tchaickovsky Gala- Estonia Venemuine Theatre 2013             

‘Lapse of a Moment’- Graduate Showcase 2013            

‘InteRlinK’- Elmhurst School of Dance Choreography Competition 2012- Winner 2011             

References   email:xxxxxx     +xxxxphone number 

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Things I changed:

• prioritised information
• smaller summary
• added a headshot
• changed the structure of my performance experience from -Ballet>role>choreographer>venue- to -role>ballet>choreographer- and mentioning the venue and company on top so that I wouldn't have to repeat myself 

I believe there are always way that one can improve the quality of their CV however we must not forget that to have an impressive CV, one must work for it! I am open to any suggestions regarding the improvement of my profile :) 

Open minds

One day till the biggest performance of the season. None other than Swan Lake; Perhaps the most popular amongst the crowd of Bucharest. Tickets have been sold out way in advance, so we will be expecting a full house at the opera, which is always very rewarding for us dancers.  During this past year in which I have been part of the company, I have realised narrative ballet have been much more successful in filling up the seats in the auditorium than any theme or abstract Ballets we have (meaning without a certain storyline necessarily), even if these involve excellent creations from well known choreographers, the story ballets seem to be better crowd pleasers.  Why? Perhaps a story is more entertaining for the audience to follow. There are also the costume and sets which cause a bigger wow factor! In a story, one can relate to the characters on stage. Some narratives allow for a bigger impact amongst different ages, whereas a theme ballet could be harder for one to comprehend the purpose of it. However, it is very common that choreographers create abstract work that either illustrates what the music speaks to them, or gives a hidden meaning or an open opinion for the audience to think about and discuss. A great example for this is Forsythe, whose work I find greatly metaphorical and innovative. Choreographers like him push the boundaries.  Introduce new ideas in a different light than the traditional way of storytelling. Pieces like these speak to the audience differently and sometimes can be hard to follow. My question is, how far are we willing to push the boundaries in dance and how much does that rely on the culture of a place and if that changes accordingly to the place or even the years that pass?  Dance is an art therefore it is challenged just like fashion and literature. However, what actions should we taken for the people to appreciate progress? Is it by training the eye, exposing the audience to modern ideas? Opening up minds? (impossible).  I believe the word is patience for now. Without trial there is no opinion! I am wishing to discover more about how ballet has progressed throughout the years. I obviously haven’t set my mind onto any specific topic as I would like to have an overall view about the way the dance industry works. Any suggestions or observations feel free to comment bellow! Any opinion is welcome either on the topic of progress in dance or even they way I am writing on my blog! I am a beginner to this so any advice is very appreciated :) 

Introduction

Welcoming a new start to the world of blogging for the first time! I thought it's best to start with a simple introduction about myself and what I am wishing to explore through this process. 

First things first, my name is Nastazia Philippou, I go by Taz for short. I am a proud Cypriot, Elmhurst School for Dance Graduate (2013) and I am currently dancing as a First Artist at the National Opera of Bucharest and I am well into my second season since September 2014. I couldn't be happier with the work and the repertoire in which we have the great opportunity to dance in thanks to Artistic Director, Johan Kobborg. Bucharest also being a surprisingly cosmopolitan and culture rich city to live in, which is perfect and vital when it comes to the inspiration of a dancer. Creating a Blog is a means of discovering areas which I have always questioned about in this career, not only in dance but perhaps about what happens backstage; what dancers may not be so familiar with, the management of a company. I also hope to learn more about myself and what more I can offer to this community on and off stage that is, whether it is teaching, sharing ideas and observations about this beautiful art form and of course creating; or else we wouldn't call it art. 

I look forward to starting Module 1, which is the stepping stone to eventually achieving my BA degree in Performing Arts! There is a lot to be done, however, this is clearly the beginning of an exciting journey I am about to embark on! My main aim at the moment is to keep up to date with my blogging, focus on my work at the company and learn from what each day has to offer! Cheers to new beginnings!