We’re not going to tell you how to plan a perfect recital; we’re guessing you already have that down. After all, choreography and costume coordination and all of that is probably your forte, as a dance enthusiast and creative professional. However, preparing for a snag-free recital week requires quite another skill set. Those organizational skills can help alleviate recital-week stress and potential for last-minute snafus. Even if you’ve carefully planned for every detail — from venue to costumes to music and fees — if you don’t prepare properly, recital week can still feel complicated or even disastrous. By using these check sheets, you can alleviate that kind of drama and simplify the process. Not only will you actually ensure that you’re ready for the big day, but you’ll also feel ready, which is quite the feat.
Confirm Your Venue — Along with All the Details
It’s exciting to have a recital somewhere other than your dance studio — but it adds an extra component, too. And you need to plan carefully for it. Sometimes you mentally have all the details specified, but you haven’t communicated all of them to your venue contact. Or something got lost in communication. To alleviate the potential for scheduling slip ups, be sure to contact your venue host and ask plenty of questions:
- Are all the areas of your venue reserved for all the time slots you will need it? (Include dressing rooms, backstage costume storage, etc.)
- Are all the details you need in place? (Leave nothing to chance or assumption here.)
- Do you have enough leeway to allow for early arrivals and cleanup for both the recital and dress rehearsal?
- Have you reserved or rented enough chairs, tables, and any other equipment your event may require?
Check on Your Costumes — Including Every Single Accessory
Of course, you’ve already made sure costumes are designed to perfectly coordinate with your recital. They’ve been ordered and paid for. They’ll arrive in plenty of time. But there’s a little more to it than that! Trust us: you don’t want to wait until the dress rehearsal to discover any problems with those adorable outfits! Otherwise, a dancer may end up left out or in uncoordinated duds that will distract from the dance, rather than complement it. Jackrabbit Dance software makes it easy to track each dancer’s costume status.
You might even want to make “costume check” a big event at your dance studio! After all, your dancers will no doubt love trying on their new regalia. Whatever means you choose of distributing and tracking costumes, make sure your costumes are set to arrive in plenty of time to allow for any necessary alterations or re-orders. When you pass them out, be sure to include contacts of local seamstresses as well as instructions on how to communicate any issues.
Perhaps you can even offer a prize in a drawing for anyone who turns in a checksheet, demonstrating that all parts of their costume — including any accessories — have been accounted for and tried on.
Continue reading with our second post in this four part series.
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