Sarah Golding on auditioning for Lîla
In 2014 I attended an open audition for Lîla.
I had only graduated a few months prior so I hadn’t yet mastered the art of "remember you are auditioning the company you are auditioning for too" and audition anxiety was very much a thing. As soon as we were introduced to the Lîla team the anxiety disappeared; it was clear that the intention of Abi and Carrie was to make us all feel 100% comfortable in the space. We did a short class and then learnt some super physical rep from ‘Tracker’; and although it was an open audition, they were able to easily create a personal and warm atmosphere.
The warmth and generosity continued through to the next stages of the audition. These stages were much more focused on how we work with other people and execute contact work. My training hadn’t consisted of a lot of contact so I instantly felt a little less confident whilst picking up the contact based rep. I was CLEARLY struggling with a certain ‘handstand up against my partner’ type movement. My struggle must have been projected as I was soon joined by Carrie and Abi; giggles were had and help was given (granted, I was still unable to execute the handstand) but due to the nature of the interaction with Abi and Carrie - I instantly felt like my inability to achieve that one moment within the phrase was totally unimportant. This allowed me to focus on the rest of the audition with ease rather than getting caught up on that one scenario.
The last thing that was looked at during the audition day was our comfortability using vocal work.
After doing the pre audition mandatory YouTube/Vimeo stalk of every previous work Lîla had ever made, I had an idea that voice work would happen at some point during the audition. We took part in a series of text based tasks in partners which were cleverly disguised with an added movement layer which prevented us from feeling vocally exposed. And although there were many different experiences, abilities and first languages present in the room - at no point did we (I realise I’m boldly speaking on behalf of everyone there) feel judged or under pressure and were encouraged to bring to the table a way of speaking that felt most natural to us.
At times it was incredibly funny, but throughout an exercise that could have felt extremely uncomfortable; enjoyment and fun was continuously encouraged in every way.
The entire audition process taught me what people meant when they said "remember you are auditioning the company you are auditioning for too". I left the audition knowing I only wanted to continue my career working with people that I would feel confident and comfortable creating in the studio with. How Abi and Carrie conducted the whole audition made it totally relaxed and enjoyable from start to finish. And needless to say, this vibe has been continued throughout my whole time working with them.
