A dance recital is always fun. Being able
to show off what your dance group can do, what you’ve choreographed, and what
you all work so hard doing can give you a real boost. Yet it’s not an easy
thing to bring together. What with all the time spent in rehearsals, it can be
easy to forget what all needs to be organised. That’s why we’ve come up with
these top tips to follow to ensure that you get everything ticked off of your
list.
Choose a Theme
When deciding to produce a dance recital,
the first thing that needs to be discussed with your committee is what theme
you are looking to have. This will decide the music as well as the venue choice
and costume design. Without it, you won’t know what type of dance to choreograph
for your groups of dancers. While each part of the recital can be different, it
should all come under one overarching theme that your audience can recognise
and that you can promote easily. This
can be anything that you want it to be but needs to be decided upon early.
Music and Choreography
Careful attention should be paid to the
range of dancers and their individual skills and talents. A recital is about
making everyone shine to the best of their ability so this needs to be
remembered when choreographing and choosing the music. It can be a range of
modern and classical songs of course, but remember to not stray too far away
from your overall theme otherwise your audience will be in for a shock.
Venue
Choosing a venue for your recital should be
straightforward. Afterall, you know how much space you need, and how much of an
audience you are expecting. Theme is again important when considering venue as
there are such an array of dance studios available for hire in London. These
vary considerably from the ultra-modern to the more traditional in style. The
staging of course needs to be thought of. Is there enough room backstage for
costume changes and props? Consider the lighting as well. Is it adequate for
what your performance needs? The last thing that you must insure when looking
at venues is if it is free not only for your recital, but for the many rehearsals
that will be needed beforehand. You will need as much time in it as you can
get. It also helps if it is not too far for everyone to travel to, as all of
the dancers will be spending considerable time there!
Costumes
Costumes need to be thought of and prepared
early on in the planning stage. Not only do they all need to fit, but they need
to be 100% ready to go in plenty of time so that you can have full dress rehearsals.
Lots of hiccups can occur at this stage so not only do you need to consider how
much time everyone has to change and how difficult the outfits are to get on,
you’ll also need to think about whether hair and make-up will need to change as
well. Always have a reliable seamstress or tailor on hand to help if any last-minute
costume mishaps occur.
Get Volunteers
For a dance recital, volunteers are
essential. Not only can they help greet the audience and ensure that everyone
is seated on-time, they will also be able to help with valuable work backstage.
From changing sets to helping with costume changes and even lighting, having a
reliable crew can make or break a recital. Your volunteers and any paid crew
need to be recruited early so that they too can be involved at the
all-important rehearsal stage.
Advertise
Once you have the basics sorted, it’s time
to advertise your event. Take to social media, run a competition to win
tickets, and send out emails to all of your loyal followers inviting them to
come along. This is where your theme will come in well, as you can use it to
advertise your event in a really effective way. Don’t forget about the power of
word of mouth either. Everyone in the recital should be spreading the word to
everyone they know so that you’re not left with an empty audience on the big
night.
Sponsors
If you can garner some interest, sponsors
can help boost your costume budget if you agree to advertise for them. The way
to do this is to include them on all of your promotional material. Not only
online, but any banners or flyers as well, and especially on the programmes
that are given out to the audience. Sponsorship can really make putting on a
recital worthwhile and can help with any eminent cash-flow problems before the
event.
Programmes
These are a must for the night of. Everyone
wants to be able to look at a programme and have an idea of what to expect
throughout their night. You need to get these designed and printed well in
advance and ensure that there will be copies for everyone who is attending.
Triple check the proofreading so that none of the dancers get their names spelt
wrong.
Let Everyone Relax
With all of this talk about rehearsals, and
the big recital night looming, it can be difficult to remember that everyone
needs a little bit of down time. In the days leading up to the recital, make
sure that you don’t keep the dancers too late. The need time to unwind and
relax so they can give their best performance. The same goes for you. It’s
important to take some time away from organising and just enjoy the experience.
Organising a dance recital is no easy task,
but once you have the basics sorted, the rest will all come together. Don’t
neglect advertising your recital in the panic of rehearsals, and you’re sure to
have a full-house of very excited patrons to see all of your hard work pay off.
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