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The more the merrier! Since members' aren't required to participate in all team activities, there are occasions when we might be seeking more members. We open auditions when all these factors align: Members share the goal to do a larger group dance We have extra lodging space at the meet up location The costume maker is available to making costumes for our new members We can't predict when these factors will align next. It could be next year or not for a couple of years. In essence, we do not plan to have set annual auditions. Rather, our auditions open sporadically.

Qualifications and audition submission specifications are re-evaluated and updated each time we open auditions. For this reason, it should be expected to change each time we open auditions. Historically, these were the specifications for each of our audition openings: 1st Auditions (2019) Audition: Email CM a short biography and a link to a dance cover filmed in 2018-present. Requirements: Must be age 16+. Ability to meetup in Fresno, CA Thursday-Sunday with lodging covered. Member Cap: 12 2nd Auditions (2022) Audition: Fill out the audition form including your: name, age, location, short biography, and a link to your audition video. Supplemental submissions of our specific dance lineup (list posted) encouraged. Requirements: Must be 18+. Ability to meetup in Portland, OR Friday morning through Monday evening with lodging, food, and local transportation covered. Member Cap: 8 3rd Auditions (2023) Audition: Fill out the audition form including your: name, age, location, short biography, social media links, and a link to your audition video. Supplemental submissions of your original choreography, freestyling, performance, or our specific dance lineup (list posted) encouraged. Optional questionnaire about experience and onboarding. Requirements: Must be 18+ or meets age exception. Ability to meetup in Boise, Idaho Thursday - Monday with lodging and food covered. Member Cap: 10

The team has a potential cap around 15-ish members. Members aren't required to participate in all team activities. We aim to have a certain number of members per project, however we would like our team to remain a team rather than transforming into a collective. Due to operative restrictions, we can accept up to 1-2 new members this round of auditions. We have 7 (out of 8) current members who will be attending, with a lodging maximum capacity of 10.

Auditions are reviewed by the members with the most team and/or collaboration experience. At the moment, those members are: CM (leader) - 10 years FLO - 12 years

Factors that are considered, listed from most important to least: Meets the strict requirements Ability to memorize choreography on your own without any instruction Interested in odottemita/idol culture Dance technique/skill Ability to fill in a unique staff role Chemistry with other members Meets preferred qualities Factors that are not considered: gender, assigned sex, pronouns, sexual orientation, body type, weight, height, race, ethnicity, appearance, age (other than being a legal adult), disability, health condition, profession, education, personal life events, income level, team budget, or other demographic information.

We believe that experience and training does not define one's skill. It doesn't matter to us if you had 10 years of training or 1 day; everyone has the opportunity to be part of the group. We understand there may be numerous reasons it may be difficult to break into the scene at any age. There may be a lack of local opportunities, less advantaged financial backgrounds, personal life events, mental or physical health struggles, or other obstacles. As long as you can memorize choreography on your own and demonstrate passion and ambition, you're equally eligible as a member of the team. Skill and technique can always be developed. We care much more about member chemistry and emotional fulfillment than execution or experience. Our only requirement for the audition is at least one audition video. The rest of the questions on the form help us get to know you better, and most of them are entirely optional to answer. Each of our current members specialize in a talent. We have an in-house graphic designer, digital artist, music mixer, video editor, videographer, website builder, merchandise designer, accountant, and other various skills. We are hoping to gain either a dancer or staff member who might have knowledge in the skills mentioned on the audition form, as we don't currently have an in-house member for it. Not having the skills does not negate your eligibility in the audition. However, we do have a limited amount of slots available this round. If it is difficult to pick between several comparable applicants, we may prioritize filling in our most needed staff roles.

Ideally, we would like all our members to be legal adults (18+) at the time of their first meet up activity within the group. As long as your 18th birthday is on or before the first date of the meetup you will be attending, you may audition. Rare exceptions for potential members who are 17 and under can be made on a case by case basis. Dancers who are 17 and under require a nomination from a current member to the team. Additionally, an official CODE:MiAO member would be required to sign off as your responsible chaperone during meetups. At minimum, you would need to obtain signed permission your legal guardian, the chaperoning member, and the team leader. Full conditions may be discussed upon nomination.

Since we ran out of the blue fabric, the cost of additional members' uniforms depends on how much additional blue fabric needs to be purchased. The main uniform is expected to be $50-80. If this is a stretch for you, some members of the team have volunteered pitching in to cover some of the cost for members who cannot afford it, for the sake of a fancier costume. In the later future, we hope to have additional costumes that are affordable amongst all the members. At this moment in time, that comfortable range is $15-30. This range changes depending on the members' agreed upon budget. The audition form includes a questionnaire on your uniform budget. All CODE:MiAO members fill out this survey annually to determine the year's costume budget.

Locations Meetups are typically hosted by one of the members who are able to accommodate the group. The location is determined based upon the available hosts. Occasionally, the team may need to book a hotel or airbnb to accommodate their meetups. Usually, this would be for a performance at an event. Historically, the members have arranged to meet in: Sacramento, California Portland, Oregon Seattle, Washington Boise, Idaho Dates When the team wants to arrange a meetup for the year, all members fill out an availability form for the year. The date with the most members is selected for the meetup date. If it conflicts with another major event (such as an Idol Fest or Convention), the team votes on if they would prefer to attend the meetup or the other event. Historically, members have the most synced availability in: March April August September October The members have had the least synced availability in: February November December

You are responsible for covering your own: Travel expense to get to the meet up location Team uniform & costumes Lodging IF there is no meetup host or you do not feel comfortable staying with the team During the meetup dates, the meetup host provides: Lodging space & amenities Groceries for meals and snacks Gas when transporting members in their own vehicle The host/team does not cover: Food/beverages purchased when going out to eat Public transportation Gym or dance studio costs Tourism/shopping purchases

You may arrive earlier and/or leave later than the required meetup dates. Make sure the host is able to accommodate this or you have other arrangements in place. For Boise, Idaho meetup, the host is able to accommodate traveling 1 day earlier than the start date and 1 day later than the end date. There may be many reasons you want to arrive earlier or leave later: more affordable flight/train routes, more schedule-friendly travel times, tourism plans, remote work accommodations, etc. It is preferred all members arrive the morning of the first meetup date. The host will be able to shuttle members from the airport/train stations too their host lodging. If there are better/cheaper flights, trains, or other transport available, you may arrive more towards the early afternoon. Be aware the group may already be active in the meetup schedule, so you might need to arrange your own transportation to the host location. Please do not plan to arrive later than 1 PM if you can avoid it. Similarly, it is preferred all members leave no earlier than 6 PM on the last meetup date. The host will be able to shuttle members to the airport/train stations. If there are no reasonable flights, trains, or other transport available, you may leave a little earlier. Be aware you may need to arrange your own transportation away from the host location if the group is engaging in a meetup schedule. Please do not plan to leave later than 4pm if you can avoid it.

None of us knew each other when we formed the team. A couple of members knew maybe one or two people. Slowly, we became friends over time through team bonding meetings, planning, and in-person meets! Luckily, if you're thinking of auditioning, all of us share an interest in Vocaloid, Jpop, and dancing! It's a pretty good icebreaker!

It's totally valid if you want to feel things out before deciding to attend any future activities. If you only plan to attend one project meetup, we might have you borrow a uniform instead of making you a custom one from scratch. This depends on several factors, such as your personal circumstances and availability of uniforms to borrow. For example, if you live far away and can only afford to make one meetup, but still want to participate in solo/remote activities, we would definitely do what we can to get you your own team uniform! However, if you only plan to fill in for one performance as a substitute dancer and know for sure you won't be able to commit in the far future, it'd be a better idea to borrow a uniform. Due to the cost and effort of making custom uniforms and the amount of commitment required in running a group, consider if a collaboration might be more suited for you. If you'd like to collaborate, please see our collaboration page!

All members are required to fill a staff role either way. We would give priority to membership first, then staff application second. If you are accepted as a member, you would fully be considered a member rather than a staff. If necessary, the team may lower your task load so you can focus more on dancing. If you are accepted as a staff member, you are still welcome to audition as a member in the future!

Discord You are not required to apply with a Discord handle. However, if you accept a position within the team, you will be required to participate in the Discord server for planning. If you're new to Discord, you may ask an official member to relay important updates and pass on your relevant messages to the team until you get the hang of it.

The team holds both remote and in-person practices. The purpose of the remote practices are to tackle all sync issues prior to the in-person rehearsals. This is the time for tweaking choreography, drilling tough sections, and committing to muscle memory. In-person rehearsals should be focused more on memorizing formation awareness and optimizing camera compatibility. There should minimal, if any, significant choreography changes. Remote Practices Leading up to a meetup, all members send independently filmed practice videos to the team by a specified deadline (typically in 1 month timeframe). EllieS, Lyra, or another member will splitscreen all our videos and post a practice "mashup" (both mirrored and non-mirrored versions). EllieS, Flo, CM, Lyra, or another member will then make a dance sync notes list. If a lot of corrections are needed, we practice those corrections to submit in the next practice video. Each video check-in is called a "phase". The first practice video is Phase 1, second submitted is Phase 2, and so on. We try to have 3 phase videos for each dance before a meetup. Think of these like full team rehearsals. Dancers can practice as much as they want on their own. Some practice daily or weekly. Some submit several takes of Phase videos on different days before the deadline. Some only practice that one time in the month when they need to film the video. It's encouraged to practice more if your schedule allows it! Phase videos can be uploaded to YouTube or Google Drive. If you have time to overlay the audio, it drastically helps the mashup editor due to the large amount of videos needing to be synced in a short period of time. However, we prioritize what's in your capability and if you can't, it's not a big deal! Just try to make your music audible in your video. In-Person Rehearsals Ideally, the team should be fully synchronized with all choreography embedded in muscle memory by the time of an in-person rehearsal. During the first 1-2 days of a meetup (and any pre-meetup days available), the team does in person rehearsals. At minimum, these last 2-3 hours. In person rehearsals can go on for long times depending on how much formation and camera practice is needed. If rehearsals are to go on for an extended period of time, breaks will be scheduled every 2-3 hours. During a full out rehearsal, the first hour is spent on warm ups and stretches. The leader will indicate when dancers should go full out or just mark the dance (practice movements without full speed/power). During a marked rehearsal, the first 15 minutes are spend on warm ups and stretches. It should be assumed everyone is just marking it. However, dancers are free to go full out if they'd like.

Running/participating in a group takes a lot of work! GENERAL ROLES For the most part, you will take on a specific role within the team. For example, here are the current members' unique roles (discluding roles filled by multiple members): CM - costume designer, marketing manager KAI - art director, graphic designer, brand manager EllieS - project assistant Dandy - financer Lightning - merchandise designer, promotions designer Lyra - music mixer Azzy - social media & website assistant Flo - digital artist Each member is in charge of their designated role within the team, whether or not they are actively participating in a project. You'll be allowed to work on your own time on things that fall under your role. You'll be given some general direction from the leader or other members for important things. You'll also be respected as the expert in that category and are trusted to create anything that helps you or the team. In essence, you will not be micromanaged and can schedule things accordingly with your personal life. Sometimes, a member needs time off and does not fill their role during that period. For example, Dandy is taking time off until mid 2024 to focus on university studies. CM has taken over financial tasks, and KAI has taken over historian tasks. A list of member roles can be found here: https://codexmiao.wixsite.com/code/team-secrets/member-roles MEETUP PREPARATION Planning for a meetup takes a considerable amount of tasks on top of your specific role. We try to designate things you're best at or more comfortable doing. When there is no one on the team who knows how to do something or the assigned member is overwhelmed, members may have to learn new skills to cover the preparations that need to get done. Examples of special tasks needed in preparation for a meetup include, but are not limited to: Compiling film site options Booking affordable lodging accommodations (when applicable) Creating dance practice sync notes for members to work on Preparing makeup looks and practicing speedy application for members Completing other assigned side tasks If you are committing to attend a meetup, we would like you to be active in the planning preparation in some capacity -- unless you absolutely cannot contribute more than your presence at the meetup. We do still value having dancers attend to dance after all! IN-PERSON ROLES (AT MEETUPS) In order to optimize our in-person meetups, we assign specific roles for members to manage such as: Shuttling members (driving) Preparing breakfast and coffee/tea Packing and distributing lunches, snacks, and water Cooking dinner Meal clean up Packing camera & equipment Setting up film sites Doing members' makeup and/or hair Handling safety pins, bobby pins, glue, and other last minute utilities Monitoring communication channels (group chats/calls, event staff messages, etc.) Members who handle less general roles and/or contributed less in meetup preparation tasks will be given more in-person roles. YEAR ROUND CODE:MiAO is only a hobby! Personal life and health should come first. There isn't particularly a requirement to be active year round. We understand that life events and burnout happen. You will be free to take time off when needed for however long you need. We try to schedule general resting periods, often for an entire month 1-3 times a year. Sometimes we will take turns having resting periods.

It is valid to set those boundaries at any time while on the team. You can always ask to be assigned another role to contribute towards instead. We want you to feel like your participation is comfortable and doable. Regarding your audition form, you may note this in the comment boxes, or simply withhold filling out that question.

Learning Dances Typically we dedicate 1 month to learning choreography. Then we spend the next 1-2 months cleaning and improving our synchronization. During extreme time constraints, we may assign 1 dance per week, so long as members express that it is doable for them. The team does its best to accommodate for occasional late learning and members dropping from dances. The most important thing is that all members are able to learn the same choreography lineup by the meetup deadline. This might mean cutting dances to ease the dance load, redistributing dancers, doing shorter versions of the song, or other accommodations. Completing Tasks Deadlines for completing tasks depend on how urgent they are. Urgent: 0-3 days (sometimes) Soon: 1-2 weeks (often) Normal: 3-4 weeks (often) Nonurgent: 1-6 months (often) Unprioritized: 6-12 months (sometimes)

No. We do not earn any profits from our content, operations, or otherwise. We may run fundraising to help fund costumes and projects! Our current policy is not to have staff members participate in any monetized staff positions so as to not take advantage of our volunteers - monetized team roles are reserved for members!

Our full team rules are detailed in our Team Etiquette page.

Any and all genders are welcome in the group! We currently have female, male, bigender, and nonbinary members!

Yes!

No. We cherish having a diverse member profile in terms of gender, age (as long as you are 18+), body type, ethnicity, hair color, eye color, features, and more! Remember, you're beautiful in your own way! The team does not regulate: Religious coverings (hijabs, yamakas, etc) Assistive devices Cultural items Tattoos Piercings Lifestyle choices Hair color & styles* Member team uniforms can be made to accommodate members' lifestyles! Your team costume cat ears are required to match your hair color in some capacity. This could be as simple as wearing a clip in hair piece. You can have any hair color (natural, dyed, extensions, natural wigs). However, we only carry supplies for your cat ears to be these colors: Black Brown Camel Blonde White We also have a style theme. You would be required to adhere to the costume guidelines for each project. Generally, the team has these motifs, but different projects have varied themes! Cat hybrid Heart core Cyber/digital wave Black, white, pink, and member colors

Yes. The team does not regulate appearances. Member team uniforms can be made to accommodate members' lifestyles. Here is a general list of things the team does not regulate: Religious coverings (hijabs, yamakas, etc) Assistive devices Cultural items Tattoos Piercings Hair color & styles Team rules can be found in our Team Etiquette page.

Yes. The team does not regulate the personal lives of the members. Members may date inside or outside the team. Team rules can be found in our Team Etiquette page.

Yes. The team does not regulate personal life choices or speech. Our rules related to this topic: Do not entice violence or cause major controversy while in uniform, representing a sponsor/brand/event, or via the team social media accounts. Opinions and actions of members expressed outside the team do not represent those of CODE:MiAO Team rules can be found in our Team Etiquette page.

Plus ones (such as romantic partners, friends, family members, etc) who are not members of CODE:MiAO or volunteering temporarily as staff are generally not allowed to attend team schedules or stay in team lodging arrangements. However, you are free to spend time with them outside of the schedule. We try to include down time during meetups to allow members to relax and recover. The schedule will be communicated before major meetups whenever possible. In some cases, there may be exceptions, which are addressed on a case by case basis. Members are free to ask permission to bring a plus one anyway. Things considered in the schedule are: Rehearsals Filming Workshop Time (misc team jobs needing completion together in person) Other Scheduled Events Things outside of the schedule: Meals/Snacks Sleeping/Resting/Hygiene Times Scheduled Breaks Local Commuting (to/from events in our schedule) Other time before/after events in our schedule

All members speak English. Planning is conducted primarily in English. KAI also speaks Japanese. Lyra (staff) also speaks Spanish.

EllieS Pronouns: she/her Image color: peachy orange Likes: lots of bows, bunnies, Project Sekai (Game), snow, sleeping Dislikes: exercising, large sewing projects Favorite Vocalo Singer: Gumi, Yuzuki Yukari Favorite Odorite: Porushi, Wani, Ume Kappa, Ayano Ren Dandy Pronouns: she/her Image color: yellow Likes: reading, spending time with friends, textile crafts, trying new recipes, math Dislikes: [no one knows, she's so sunny all the time] Favorite Odorite: Penta, Melochin, Miume, ATY, SLH KAl Pronouns: they/them Image color: mint Likes: sleeping, nature, discovering new vocaloids, art, family, One Piece (Manga), Twice (Kpop) Dislikes: hugs, talking to people, going out, dressing uncomfortably Favorite Vocalo Singer: Hatsune Miku Favorite Odorite: Tussy from RAB, Porushi CM (leader) Pronouns: she/her & he/him Image color: light blue Likes: chaos, thrifting, DIY projects, low budget thriller films, vegetables Dislikes: being scared, hot weather Favorite Vocalo Singer: KAFU, flower, Kagamine Rin Favorite Odorite: Kyo Z, Anatashia, Sato, Oden Girls, xxx Project, 217 Lightning Pronouns: she/her Image color: dark purple Likes: Project Sekai (Game), pole dancing, spending time with loved ones Dislikes: coconut Favorite Vocalo Singer: Kagamine Rin, GUMI, Hatsune Miku Favorite Odorite: Porushi, ATY, Q'ulle, Miume, K'suke Azzy Pronouns: she/her Image color: grey Likes: sleeping, watching anime, YouTube, streetwear, Kpop Dislikes: specific foods Favorite Vocalo Singer: Otomachi Una, Hatsune Miku Favorite Odorite: Bouto, SLH, Melochin Flo Pronouns: he/him Image color: black Likes: nature, animals, bugs, Yoshi, baking, rain, night time, being silly Dislikes: loud noises, crowds, talking to strangers, rules, being cold Favorite odorite: Metre, Ariku, xxx Project Favorite Vocalo Singer: Gakupo, flower Lyra (undebuted member - staff) Pronouns: she/her Image color: lilac Likes: anime boys, singing, studying science, reading Dislikes: public speaking, party games Favorite Odorite: Bouto, Amayu Sakura (undebuted member - graduated) Pronouns: she/her Image color: light pink Likes: Disney, cosplay, cute animals, math, World of Warcraft (Game) Dislikes: cold weather, green, red Favorite Vocalo Singer: Kagamine Rin, Hatsune Miku Favorite Odorite: Miume

In 2019, the team held auditions for a collaboration project scheduled to complete in March 2020. Due to the pandemic, the project was put on hold until 2022. An undebuted member is a member from our original 2019 lineup who did not fully debut with the team in 2023. These members are: Lyra (lilac) - voluntarily moved to a staff position June 2022 Sakura (light pink) - resigned March 2023 Zippy (red) - resigned January 2023

Since members run the team in between personal lives and day jobs, please expect a response within 3-5 days. If you have not received a response within 3-5 days or your email is urgent, you may send us a message on Instagram or Twitter to make sure we received your email.

Emails are primarily handled by CM (leader). All members have equal access to the team email. Members will sign their names at the bottom. Staff do not access the team email.