Spotlight launches its new dance directory at Move It! 2007
Spotlight unveiled its first edition of the Spotlight Dancers directory at Move It! from 16th – 18th March.
Spotlight Dancers is the UK’s first centralised directory of professional dancers, launched to give proper focus and casting exposure to performers across all types of dance: from ballet to ballroom, street to salsa, musical theatre to merengue, hip hop to highland.
Plus, courtesy of Dance UK, the directory features additional listings for professional choreographers, making it a one-stop-shop for the industry.
Copies of the directory are being distributed free of charge to thousands of contacts across the entertainment industry - promoting all featured dancers and choreographers to future work.
Creating opportunities for dancers
Thousands of industry professionals use Spotlight daily to find performers for roles across stage, TV, commercials and film. It has been the UK’s leading performance directory since 1927 and is home to over 30,000 performers.
Spotlight is now offering dancers the same opportunities to promote themselves to job opportunities as it has offered actors for over eighty years. By providing one central point where professional dancers can be located and contacted, it gives every dancer an equal opportunity to promote their CV efficiently and cost-effectively, in a well-known, professional format.
Membership of Spotlight Dancers
Membership gives every dancer an entry in the Spotlight Dancers book. This features two photographs, and details of the dancer’s credits, training and contact details. (Spotlight handles casting enquiries on behalf of any performer who does not have agency representation. Personal contact information is never disclosed without prior permission.)
On the Internet, dancers are featured on Spotlight Interactive (www.spotlight.com): the UK’s most popular casting website. Each dancer has their own searchable CV page with their full details, including specialist dance skills. Showreels can also be added for maximum impact.
Dancers’ CVs are also available as part of The Spotlight Link: an audition information service for performers and their agents, used daily by production teams to send out casting and audition information. Over 500 dance jobs have been sent out via Spotlight since the dance directory launched in 2006, featuring roles across West End Musicals, Commercials and Music Videos.
What the industry says
Ben Seale, Partner at The Spotlight, comments: “We are delighted to be giving dancers a directory of their own at last, and to see them benefiting from all the services we’ve always offered to actors. The new directory looks fantastic and we’ve had a really positive response from the industry.”
Debbie O’Brien, Casting Director (Starlight Express, Dancing In The Streets, The Rat Pack Live, Thriller Live), comments: “The Spotlight Dancers directory is an invaluable asset to my business. It allows dancers and their agents to make quick and efficient submissions as a response to my casting breakdowns, and is particularly useful for last minute casting or short-notice auditions.”
Spotlight Dancers is supported by dance organisations including the Council for Dance Education and Training (CDET) and Dance UK. Both have assisted Spotlight in an advisory capacity to ensure that the directory meets all the requirements of the dance community.
Ana Abad-Carles from CDET says: “A central directory of dancers is an extremely valuable resource to those working across all types of dance. We hope that it is changing the way in which dancers are employed - so that it isn’t just ‘who you know’, but instead every dancer has an equal chance to be seen and considered for forthcoming work.”
Further information
Spotlight Dancers is open to any dancer with recognised professional training or significant professional experience in their field, and they can join at any time of the year. Click here to join.
Free copies of the directory are available to all industry professionals who employ dancers and choreographers and can be ordered directly from Spotlight. Click here to place your order.
Spotlight has also expanded its industry handbook, Contacts¸ to incorporate additional listings for dance companies, agencies and organisations.