I’d encourage you to practice some improvisation before you get to the audition.

In your studio or some other space, you might try just moving to some music and matching its mood or tempo or emotion.

It might be easier to start with music that you love or makes you want to move.

If you feel you’re still getting stuck on ballet movements, though, you may need to break it down a little further.

Limit yourself to moving only one body part at a time: one arm, your feet/ankles, your back, your head.

You can eventually work up to the whole body but try to fully explore what that ONE body part can do before moving on to the next.

Keep asking yourself “what else?”… “What else can my back do? How many ways can I move it? Where can it lead the rest of my body?” Think in opposites — can it move sharply/smoothly, fast/slow, high/low, stiffly/wildly, strongly/softly?

If you have trouble coming up with these as you are dancing, write down a list of opposites like these or other descriptive action words like float, stab, twist, etc. for reference.

It may seem like a strange exercise but creating parameters actually helps you think and move outside the box!

Improvisation is really like learning any technique – it’s best practiced with guidance and certain exercises designed to improve your skill.

But with limited time before your audition, I think at least practicing on your own a bit will be a big help. Best of luck to you!!