Get your body ready before you show up
Turns, leaps and across-the-floor progressions all happen early, while you are still cold. Build a real conditioning routine four to six weeks out: strength work twice a week, flexibility daily, and a warm-up you can run on your own without being told. Showing up unconditioned is the fastest way to look below what you actually are.
Know your strengths and be honest about them
Which style is your strongest - pom, jazz, hip hop? What is your most reliable turn and leap? Have an honest answer. Coaches are not looking for the flashiest trick in the room; they are looking for a dancer who knows where she stands and what she is working on.
Perform every rep in front of the staff
Show up clean and put together, learn choreography quickly, and be the dancer who commits full out on the first run. When something goes wrong - a missed count, a shaky landing - watch how fast you reset, because the staff certainly will. Coaches evaluate attitude and coachability as hard as they evaluate technique.
