» It’s who you know
Sandra Omo finds life is sweet, when you are in the know
A few days back, I got a call from a choreographer friend of mine who I have not seen or spoken to in four months. He called to ask me to attend a casting for a fashion show he was choreographing for a very successful Asian designer launching his clothes in London for the first time. Therefore, he thought that if he was going to do a show this big, I had to be in it. Boy, I felt flattered. I mean, I know him and have worked with him on different projects and fashion shows, but I did not think he was one of those people who would keep a particular person in mind, because he is very busy.
As far as fashion show choreography is concerned, he is one of the best, and has worked with many celebrity designers and Miss England, as well as working at London Fashion Week, Black History Month and numerous others. According to him, all I needed to do was show up for the casting and I would be in. “The show needs a great walk like yours,” he said as he hung up.
“As I left the audition, I knew the result already – I had the job. In fact, I knew the result before I went”
Two days later, I arrived at the casting in good time for the last audition slot and it was packed. Well it had to be as it was a well-paid and high profile job. I entered the hall and walked straight to the choreographer. He was as excited to see me as I was to see him. As we got talking about what we had been up to since we last saw each other, one of the organisers walked up to us and said: “I guess this is the Omo you have been talking about. Well I can’t wait to see her walk.” Was I excited or was the pressure mounting? Well it was a combination of both. Firstly, I was proud that he had actually mentioned me to the other organisers before I arrived, but then I felt a little bit of pressure from not knowing what it was that they were expecting. But I knew that whatever it was, I could give it and I actually could not wait to get on the runway for my audition. I got on the runway an hour later and it was a roaring “Yes” from the judges. I had not only made myself proud this time, but I had also made a friend proud – a friend I was looking forward to working with for a long time.
As I left the audition, I knew the result already – I had the job. In fact, I knew the result before I went. Did I feel like the audition had just been fixed for me? No, not at all. I felt a kind of fulfilment you only get from working with someone who knows you and what you are good at, and appreciates and needs it. I had what the fashion show needed, and the job was equally attractive to me. This is the sole reason auditions are held – for organisers to find what they want. So what difference does it make if they find it in someone they already know or someone that was recommended to them? It makes absolutely no difference. In this case, someone I had made a lasting impression on happened to be in the judging panel so I had no need to fight ‘tooth and nail’ for the job. In addition, the truth is that modelling does not become fun until you are able to walk into some castings and grab the job without having to compete hard for it. Isn’t this what we are all aiming for?
