Hear ye, hear ye! The Roses of the Realm are conducting open auditions for dancers to join our performance troupe! We are looking for experienced belly dancers who love the Renaissance Festival and are talented team players. We can’t wait to meet you 🙂
Important Dates
Sunday, February 1, 2026 – Applications Open
Friday, April 17, 2026 – Applications Close
Friday, April 24, 2026 – Applicants Notified If They Will Proceed To Auditions
Sunday, May 3, 2026 – In-Person Auditions
Sunday, May 10, 2026 – Dancer Selections Announced
Auditions Process
- Applicants must complete the online application form (below) by Friday, April 17, 2026. The application requires a dancer’s contact information, dance resume, prop experience and has an opportunity to provide links to social media accounts or videos from previous performances. All applicants will be notified on Friday, April 24, 2026 on whether or not they are invited to the in-person auditions.
- Applicants who receive the audition invite must attend the in-person auditions on Sunday, May 3, 2026. The in-person auditions will be be held in Charlotte, NC. The audition will consist of a short interview with the Roses of the Realm (ROTR) board, followed by each applicant performing two ROTR dances. The audition dances will be evaluated by three judges: Naima Sultana, Iona Wilson, and Lauren Hitselberger.
Audition Dance 1: Rumeli (25-yard skirt prop required)
Audition Dance 2: Renn Faire Drum Solo
(A link to the training videos and notes for these two choreographies will be provided after completing the application (below), or you can request the link to start preparing in advance by sending an email to rosesoftherealmnc@gmail.com.) - All applicants who audition will be contacted on Sunday, May 10, 2026 with the final results of the audition process.
Things You Need to Know
Being part of the Roses of the Realm is a fun, rewarding experience! However, a lot of hard work, personal investment and training occurs behind the scenes. Here are some things all applicants should know before they begin the audition process:
- We require a minimum of three (3) years of bellydance experience. Experience is any combination of qualified training, classes and performance.
- We are only auditioning for dancers. There are no openings for fire performers. New members will be expected to learn fire safety. Fire experience is welcome, but no new members will be performing with fire and there is no guarantee of future fire performance.
- New dancers are expected to learn the two audition dances by the audition date on May 3, and will be required to learn 2 additional dances by September 1, 2026. This will be a total of 4 required dances to perform at the 2026 Carolina Renaissance Festival.
- New dancers are expected to attend the two new dancer classes in July and 75% of scheduled troupe practices in July, August and September. Troupe practices are two Sundays per month and 2-3 hours long.
- The cost of studio fees for practices is covered by troupe dues of $20 per practice month for each dancer. Dues for new dancers will apply only for July, August and September, for a total of 3 months to total $60. New dancers will be paid $40/day at the end of the season (November) for each of the festival days they performed and will receive an equal portion of tips collected each day they perform at the end of that day. New dancers will be fully integrated into the troupe for the 2027 season. In 2027, they will be required to perform 11 dances, attend at least 75% of practices twice a month from March through September, and will receive $85 per performance day in 2027.
- All dancers are expected to perform at least 8 festival days (out of 16) during the Carolina Renaissance Festival season, which is late September through mid-November. The dancer schedule for the Festival is usually solidified in late July/early August.
- Each dancer must provide their own costuming and dance props. The dancer costume includes: dip-dyed 25-yard skirt, hip scarf, tribal coin belt, cropped peasant top with off-shoulder sleeves, cropped corset/bodice, flower-decorated head band, harem pants, faire boots. Dancer props include: zills, scarf, balancing basket, dance sword, flutter fans.