March 10, 2022

5 Things to Gear Up for Recitals!

21 minutes

In Episode 41, we're sharing 5 things we are doing right now to gear up for our year-end show!

1. Ordering, crafting & building props: We discuss any handheld props and stage sets during our recital retreat. We're making final decisions now, placing orders, and building/crafting anything needed. Tip: We use a temporary set each week to practice so the real ones aren't broken or lost.

2. Creating our Opening Number: This huge production number includes all 4 levels of our highest level performing company, is in the theme of our show, and our favorite thing to create! It sets the tone of our show by telling the whole story in the opening, and everyone can see our talented dancers and costumes! We use music inspired by the movies and there are so many little fun details in the number, that people will likely be noticing as they watch it more! While we do compete it, it is the number that sets the tone for our show and is one of our favorite things we do all year!

3. Adding some custom fun to our recital costumes: This is something we have always done, with at least one or two costumes each year, but I predict we will be doing more of it this season. Because our show and each piece is so specific to the theme and the storyline, we sometimes have trouble finding the perfect costume. When that happens, we get crafty and find fun and inexpensive ways we can add to a more simple costume to make it what we need it to be for the show. With costume delivery dates continuing to be pushed back, we're going to be doing even more customizing to last minute costumes we find that are available.

4. Choreography Videos/Dropbox: We have shared Dropboxes with all our classes and our teachers share class videos to help the dancers practice their routines. We created an email template for these emails along with a description of each class’s theme to share. This is helpful for the dancers and parents and keeps the kids excited about their recital routine.

5. Characters & class leaders: We add a voiceover to the beginning (sometimes during) specific routines during the show and have some of our main characters make an appearance. This helps add an element of whimsy and excitement to their already exciting recital routine.
We also add a class leader to our preschool and kinder routines. This is usually one of our younger mini company dancers between 8-10 years old who learns the entire routine and performs it with the dancers. This gives the dancers a peace of mind and helps them project outward toward the audience vs looking into the wings for guidance from us or their teachers. Our leader invitation emails are going out this week so those dancers can start coming to the preschool classes to meet the dancers and start learning their routines.

Don't forget we created a course where we share EVERYTHING about how we plan and execute our show! Your Fun Big Show: A Complete Recital Planning Course will give you tons of inspiration on planning a creative and fun show!

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