The Extraordinary Alien

Step 6- Job Offer

Ok this is the final step! Yay!!!

Once you have all your background info and an agent and a lawyer, the last piece of the puzzle is a job offer. My personal experience the first time was very different from my second time. The first time, I had everything ready and was just waiting to book a job. Luckily, I was part of a group that was cast on a TV show so we had a nice TV contract. Keep in mind that you DON’T want this to be a one or two day or week or even month job. The longer the gig the better! The longest you can get for an O-1 is 3 years so shoot for that.  My contract was for 1 year but my lawyer argued that after the show we may have tour commitments etc so I needed a longer Visa than the terms of the contract.

The second time I got the visa, I did it as a “Master teacher” so I had a (world-renowned) dance studio as a job offer and my agent as my sponsor.  Teaching is somewhat open ended so you can always argue that the job is ongoing. Two very different scenarios.

Now, if you’re thinking how the heck will I land a TV show or a get to be a “Master Teacher”? Don’t fear! Everyone’s experiences are different. Some other common job offers are teaching assistants for conventions or even teaching on a convention if that’s what you do, adjudicating dance competitions, booking a show or tour, and various dance jobs- you don’t need to have just ONE job offer. You may have several choreographers want to use you for different projects. That only goes to prove that you are exceptional and needed in the US and that you deserve to stay longer than the length of the gig. So there!

So you’ll see that there is no hard fast rules to getting this thing. You have to get creative in your thinking. Ask around too. Other Canadians will tell you their stories. Not only that, ASK for jobs! If there is a choreographer or teacher you have a good relationship with, ask to assist them. They may be happy to help in any way they can! I found that for the most part, people are very helpful and understanding.

So that’s it in a nutshell! I hope to feature others experiences on my blog and have them share their experiences to better help you, my fierce Canadian dancer friends, work in the US!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Casting

OK Canadian Dancers. Remember how weeks ago I said not to turn your nose up to free gigs? Ok well here is your chance. You can work with an upcoming artist and ME! Plus you will get some beautiful footage with actual DANCING! not partying in a club or something. We want this thing to be amazing so if you need the footage or just want to do work on a cool project please submit! Shoot will be June 28th. 

Looking for Pro or semi-pro, contemporary dancers, able to learn somewhat challenging choreography. Should have beauty, grace, nice lines, fit body. Partnering skills a plus, all ethnicities wanted. We want this to be BEAUTIFUL! Feel free to check out the song for the video (titled “Clear”) at http://soundcloud.com/jennabryson/sets/untitled-ep/. This is a passion project for all involved (sorry no pay). Will be shot on top-of-the-line equipment (Canon 7D), with pro crew & lighting, in beautiful studio space. We will try to keep rehearsals and shooting time to a mininum for you. We know you’re working for free :). This will be great looking footage for your reel. Pro director/editor. Submit toclearmusicvideo@gmail.com

Step 5- Sponsorship

You’re almost there!

Step 5 is getting a sponsor that will petition for you to get the Visa. In most cases, this is an agent. **UPDATE- on my recent renewal I have been told that it does not have to be an agent! so if you are struggling to find representation, there is still hope! It can be a manager or someone willing to act as your manager/agent- such as a business owner in the industry (ie: studio or convention owners etc) Ask your lawyer.

In Los Angeles there are several: Trio, DDO, MSA, GTA and CTG among others. They all run auditions several times a year. They also take submissions through email so you can submit that way too. There are different ways to get an agent and everyone’s path is a little different so I can’t give you the hard-fast rule on this one unfortunately.

What I can tell you is to be honest with them and tell them your situation. Be prepared. Show them all that you’ve accomplished and collected. You’ve done all your homework so you’re a step ahead of a lot of “newbies”. You wouldn’t be coming to LA if you weren’t a talented and driven dancer right? So just remember that and show them what you got! 

Best of luck! Once you’ve hooked an agent, you’re in the home stretch!

Step 4- Lawyer Up

Ok you may or may not already have an attorney by this time. It’s sort of up to you but you can do as much as I’ve said on your own. But after this point you’ll need an American Immigration lawyer. I won’t endorse one here but there are hundreds so ask around. These are things you may want to know:

• Find one that has a good track record with O visas. All you have to do is ask. You need it done right the first time
• It should be a flat fee for everything. This way you can ask a million questions and spend as much time as possible with them and it won’t be charged by the minute. In my experience it does vary so just ask the price. I’d say roughly $3000-$6000. I know. I know. Crazy.
• You can pay an extra 1000 bucks to get your Visa ASAP but I‘ve been told the regular $500–ish fee gets it to you in 2-3 weeks. I got my first one in 2 days with the extra 1000 and the second one in about a week and a half. So I’d say unless you NEED premium processing, skip it
  
• Your lawyer should be good at arguing your case. A lot of what is submitted is wording that works in your favor- explaining WHY you are so special and why what you’re doing is amazing. Your file should be nice and thick and your case should sound really convincing. 
• Your lawyer will take care of peer letters for you. I don’t much about this except that I know I had 2 in my file. These governing dance associations- Dance USA and AGMA -will read your file and write a recommendation letter. These are necessary and important for the success of your case so the better your file is worded, the better these letters sound too. I don’t know if you need 2 or just 1 so ask
  

That’s all I can think of for now. Besides this: 

Step 3- Letters

Ok, the good news is that this step shouldn’t be too tough if you’ve followed my advice in the previous steps. For your Visa application you’ll need 3 letters of reference. These are basically testimonials confirming that you are an extraordinary person. These letters should be from professionals in your field that have credits to prove it- preferably American or at least Canadians working in the US. (ie: choreographers, peers that have worked on “big name” projects, directors, dance company artistic directors etc. )

The first part of the letter will be a short bio of this person stating all the incredible things they’ve done. The second part will be about you- how they think you have impacted them and the industry and testifying to your talents and performance ability.  (My letters were two from choreographers/teachers that I trained with and danced for who have strong TV credits. The last one was from a good friend who had worked on a lot of movies and had worked with great choreographers in the business. ) I believe you can collect more than three if you wish, but normally I think just three are submitted.

Personally, I think its much better to write these letters yourself. It’s quite an inconvenience to ask someone to take the time to do it. So get their bio and get writing. Don’t be modest. Make them and yourself sound incredible. That’s what this is about.  If you have a lawyer already, they can give you a template to go off of but if not, you can probably find examples online. Then just get the signature and you’re done. 

 Step 3 in the bag.

Wise Words

Keep an open attitude throughout your career. Always be receptive to collaborating, even if it doesn’t come with a paycheck! I’m a firm believer that every experience teaches you something