Production companies are a mysterious part of our business.
Many dancers don’t understand the role production companies play in the
entertainment process. You may be working at Six Flags over America but you’re
an employee of a production company. You may be working at the MGM Grand Hotel
in Las Vegas but you’re not an employee of the hotel. You may be dancing on a
cruise ship but you were hired and trained by a production company. Let me
explain how production companies get involved in the hiring of dancers.
I’ll use Six Flags over America as a hypothetical example.
Six Flags is a major theme park with ten different parks across the country.
Six Flags is a large corporation and simply can’t produce all of their
entertainment, so they will sub-contract a show to a production company. What
this means is, certain production companies will contact Six Flags and pitch
their ideas for a new show in the theme park. They will have meetings to
discuss costumes, music, lighting and most importantly, budget. Six Flags will
decide which production company came in with the most complete package and give
that company a contract to produce the show. This production company will then
create the show from start to finish. Dancers auditioning for Six Flags assume
they will be employees of Six Flags, but the truth is, they are often an
employee of a production company. This is important information because
production companies vary greatly. Some companies have a terrific history of
high salaries, good benefits and an excellent relationship with dancers, others
don’t. To show you the rewards of becoming a valued employee with a quality
production company, I want to tell you about Opryland Productions.
Opryland Productions is a subsidiary of Gaylord Entertainment.
Gaylord Entertainment has been in the entertainment industry for over 70 years
and has an excellent reputation.
Opryland Productions is an entertainment production company
specializing in producing spectacular events and quality theatrical presentations
worldwide. They create all types of shows including trade shows, touring shows,
theater, stage shows, casino shows, video productions and half-time shows for
college bowl games. Opryland Productions’ exceptional client list includes The
Opryland Hotel, Celebrity Cruise Lines, The Grand Ole Opry, The Ryman
Auditorium, The Governors Palace, The Alabama Theater, Callaway Gardens, The
General Jackson Showboat and the Broadmoor Hotel. Opryland will produce almost
1500 different productions this year alone. John Heywood is the Executive
Director of Opryland Productions and had this information for dance hopefuls.
Don: John, how would you sum up the type of work you offer
dancers?
John: I want the dancer to know that I’ve been doing this for
twenty-five years. I want to stress to the dancer that not only are we offering
quality dance opportunities but also the level of talent, discipline and
professionalism these jobs require is really good training for other types of
work. It’s been very rewarding to hear dancers thank me for the training,
professionalism and the experience they received by doing our shows.
Don: What would you consider a dancer's most important
attribute?
John: Well, of course training but I really feel for our
special need, I like to see versatility. We have shows where we need all styles
of dance, stage fighting, singing, and acrobats that need to do backhand
springs and full twists. We are always looking for a variety of talents, so
versatility is very important.
Don: Is there room for advancement and can a dancer go from
one show to a better paying show?
John: Of course, not only can they go to a better paying show
but we encourage it. If they have been doing a show for a period of time, we
want them to go to a new show to become creative and fresh. In fact, we
encourage them to go on to Broadway or whatever the next step might be for
them.
Don: You audition around the country in major cities but
can a dancer submit a picture, resume and dance tape to get hired?
John: Absolutely. If you had asked me that question four or
five years ago I would have said, “no, you have to come to the audition”. Now
with quality dance demo tapes and the fact that we need dancers all the time,
you can submit and be hired. Remember that we do conventions and industrials
all over the country. This type of work pays well but the job may only last for
a week or two. The thing about convention work is we might need a dancer that
can also skate, juggle or walk on stilts. So we will keep your tape on file and
may call you for a special event. Many dancers have done a few conventions with
us and we’ve really enjoyed working with them so we offered them long-term
employment. Send a demo tape, picture and resume to;
Opryland Productions
2802 Opryland Dr.
Nashville, TN 37214
John Heywood wanted dancers to know the pay range is $450.00
to $1,000.00 a week depending on the show.
Now that you understand how helpful production companies can
be to your career. I want you to see a
partial list of the production companies we'll be bringing you in the
near future.
- Smash! Entertainment Inc.
- Farrington Productions
- Stiletto Entertainment
- Dick Foster Productions
