Submitting your "Reel" for DanceBreak 2011

This year, as with the past four years, the length of the reels has been shortened to five minutes. No longer. (Really...no longer.) It will be shut off at 5 minutes and eyebrows will go up. 

What we are looking for is your ability to tell a story through dance.  I cannot stress that enough. Show us that you can tell a story. 

That means a story with a real narrative...not just a piece that says "These two people are in love" or 'They are really HOT!" That is dancing an emotion. We want a story.

If you can twitter that story...its not developed enough. And its not about the flashy lifts, falls, death drops or over the top dancing technique. Its about the story that anyone, even looking at it for the first time, can "understand." 

"Sizzle?" "Montage?" Maybe. But a 10-30 second "sizzle" at the most. The problem with sizzles is they give too much away. Once it has been seen in the sizzle..to repeat it in your main reel feels repetitious. And if you do a full 5 minutes of sizzle......well......don't do that.. 

So, if you do a sizzle, use different material or find a way so that the people looking at it will not say "Seen that already."

We really want to see something that develops a bit longer. And by 'longer' I don't mean five minutes. I mean ONE minute, TWO minutes,  to see your story develop.

Having said that...we had a submission of one five minute number last year and it was a winner. But it kept our interest, kept moving and kept telling the story as it developed. But it was the exception, not the rule. Know that one five minute number is putting all your eggs in one basket.

We  understand the problems that exist with getting good footage of shows you have done,  but we have seen everything from video shot in someone's living room to incredibly slick, professionslly produced DVDs. (And they were both chosen in their given year.)

And in fact, the pieces that are created for this submission are most often the most successful. They are fresh, interesting, not derivative of some other famous choreographers style and ..most importantly for the selection committee and for DanceBreak in general.... they are your voice.

As to format, DVD is the deal. And please check that it plays on a regular DVD player, not just your computer.

A quick word about the recommendations. It would be best if everything arrived in one package, but no one wants to get overly demanding with someone who is doing them the favor of writing a recommendation. So, if it can all arrive at once, that's good, just as long as they get here in time. 

I hope that helps and we are really looking forward to seeing what you send us.

Mail to:

The DanceBreak Foundation, % Melinda Atwood, 350 West 42nd St, Apt 39 D, NYC, 10036

If you are still unsure...call me...212 315 1516.

And Good luck!