Getting ready for the end of the year concert is something many dance teachers forgo, simply to avoid the stress of it all. We, on the other hand, do it because our students love it. It’s the highlight of their year and it’s tradition in our studio to put on a show right before the students go on vacation, just to keep them working and motivated until the end of the year.
Some studios choose to do a show once every two years and do a big production. We have thought about this option, but found that we cannot let our students take time from their exam work to put on a perfect show. We focus most of our attention at the beginning of the year on exam work, then on the festival and badge tests and only use the last two or three months of the year to prepare students for our end of year concert or show. year.
Our concerts are never too well rehearsed, but our approach is to let students express themselves and, above all, have fun, while gaining the experience of performing in front of an audience, which is very important in the life of any young dancer. . After all, isn’t that why most kids start dancing in the first place, to be on stage? We also put a lot of focus on keeping the audience entertained. The idea of an end-of-the-year concert is not to have a perfect performance, but rather a performance that everyone can enjoy together, including angry parents who have been pushed away from their sport to come watch their children dance.
Although our students do not have much time to prepare, we start preparing up to a year in advance. First we choose a topic to work on. Having a theme gives a certain continuity to the concert, instead of jumping from one element to another randomly.
Once we have decided on a theme, we spend a great deal of time putting together the right music and designing our dances according to the types of dancers we have in the studio. Fortunately, our concerts are very varied, as we teach many different forms of dance, so it is relatively easy to keep the audience entertained.
Here are some tips that you may find useful when planning your end of the year show.
Try to start the show slowly and slowly work your way up to a high note just before the interval. After the interval, try to stay away from too many slow numbers, as this is where the audience will start to get restless. Work on your upbeat numbers in the second half and end the show with something extra special that will make your audience feel good walking out of the theater.
Try to keep speeches short, sweet, and to the point. After all, the public wants to see a dance performance, not listen to the proceedings all night.
Make sure all your music is properly cut, edited, and flows well from one number to the next. Try to make your show flow. Instead of closing the curtains after each number, try blending one number into the next. This will also teach your students how to gracefully enter and exit a stage.
Finally, you have to remember to have a lot of fun. The last term of the year seems exhausting to us, but we also have a lot of fun with our students. We introduce new things and even let them try to invent their own steps.