Spring is moments away and your dance studio’s recital is 99 percent planned out. While your planning is on point, there are a few things you can do to help make your recital amazing and ensure everything runs smoothly.
You think you’ve done everything. And you probably have. But it’s coming down to the last few months, and there are some things that you should do to ensure your plans come together seamlessly. Here are 6 tips to help you make sure your dance recital is amazing!
6 tips for a smooth recital season
1. Have you confirmed your recital venue?
And not just your venue but all the parts of your venue for all the times you need it?
- Confirm your venue and make sure it is as you thought it would be.
- Are you scheduled for the correct hours for both recital and dress rehearsals?
- Did you reserve additional space for dressing rooms and prop storage?
- Are there enough chairs for parent chaperones to sit in the dressing areas?
- Do you need tables for selling flowers, putting on makeup, etc.?
2. Have students tried on their costumes?
You don’t want dress rehearsal to be the first day a dancer tries on their costume.
Make sure costumes have been fitted and confirmed early enough to get alterations and tweaks done. Consider ending class 15 minutes early one week to show parents how the costume and any accessories should be worn, as well as any changes that need to be made, such as additional rhinestone placement. Don’t forget to send parents a reminder via a parent portal that you’ll be reviewing important costume details during class.”
Using dance studio software with costume management features can be life-changing for you! All of your costume details are brought together in one place to help track sizes, create orders, bill costume fees, and distribute costumes to each class. Discover more ways to organize your costume management with Jackrabbit Dance. Keep reading.
3. Is your recital program ready for the printer?
One month before your recital, finalize everything that your program book should contain. Additionally, figure out how many programs you need to print for each recital. Don’t forget that you can use the recital features in your dance studio software to make creating your program a breeze!
Other recital program-printing things to consider:
- Be very organized with your business and tribute ads so partners and parents know exactly what to expect when they see the printed recital program.
- Jackrabbit’s Recital module can help you to make sure your class details, performance orders, students’ names, etc., are correct as you pull your program information together.
- Hire a professional designer to create customized cover graphics for your recital’s program.
- Proof it, have it proofed by someone else, and then proof it again and finalize the file.
- Deliver your program file to the printer, giving them plenty of time to do a good job.
4. Do you have your recital extras organized and ready?
Whether you want to offer extras like logo t-shirts, posed and candid recital photos, flowers, trophies, other retail or recital DVDs-you can easily have these details figured out ahead of time. Making these decisions in a timely manner will not only help increase studio revenue, having the wrinkles ironed out in advance will help eliminate the stress that always seems to creep up during recital time.
For example, if you want to sell pictures from each show, you’ll want to have a photographer scheduled to attend dress rehearsals so they know what to expect from each dance and when during the actual recital.
Be sure to promote the extras to your families so that they can decide what they want ahead of time and come prepared to pay for them.
5. Are your recital packets ready for distribution?
There are many details for your dance families to remember about their student’s recital. Communicating details in advance and in an organized fashion will help make recitals more enjoyable for parents, students and yourself. Enter: the recital packet.
Regardless of what you call it, dance recital details to share with families should include:
- Dress rehearsal information, including when to arrive to warm-up and what costume to wear first
- Ticketing information
- Recital day schedule, including drop-off time, parking details and contact information of the chaperones who will be with dancers during the recital
- Any last-minute costume reminders or changes
- Cost of recital extras, such as on-site flowers or concessions
- Information about remaining volunteer needs
Don’t stop with providing the packet itself. Use email, app notifications, and social media to send reminders as well.
A great way to distribute your recital packet is to have a recital meeting at the end of class two weeks before your recital date. This will be helpful for your new dance parents and will help them to feel engaged in all of the excitement without being overwhelmed.
6. Do you have enough trustworthy volunteers confirmed?
It’s worth spending time before your recital to organize your volunteers. Ask people you can trust because you want to be able to delegate tasks without worrying about all the tiny details.
Make a list and check it twice because it’s easy to forget little jobs that could be completed by volunteers.
- Do you have enough prop parents to help set up the final production?
- Is anyone scheduled to help with parking?
- Who is helping with lighting and sound?
- Do you need a team of volunteers to hold dancers on stage after the finale until their parents pick them up?
- How are programs being distributed? Do you need someone to monitor handing ouy programs?
- Who is on standby to handle ticketing needs?
After you’ve worked your way through this list, you will know what is left on your agenda over the next few months. After the gaps have been filled, you’ll be able to sit back and enjoy your dance studio’s recital!
Don’t face another recital season without a team like Jackrabbit Dance supporting you. Get started with Jackrabbit today for free!
