Diary of a Dance Show

As a performance school, we are known for taking to the stage and showcasing our fabulous dancers. Although the end result looks brilliant, behind the scenes is anything but! Join us as we take you through the ‘Diary of a Dance Show.’

July:

Secure venue! Venues are super popular, you have to get in there fast to secure your dates… a year in advance ought to do it!

August:

I am not going to lie, usually I have my next theme chosen during the last show, something always pops up, either a song or routine that makes me jump for joy for the next show! Meeting up with the team is important to announce the theme, chat through ideas and talk about those all important song choices!

September:

With every show, the gorgeous branding takes time to bring the idea to life as well as those all important colours to match! The branding and colour choices are then used for all communications, announcements and show merchandise!

October - November:

The big announcement and ‘Save the Dates’ usually go out between October - November quickly followed with booking details. Knowing who is in the show is super important as teachers choreograph with numbers in mind for spacing and/or partner work, working out how many tickets each dancer can have and of course, those all important costumes.

December:

Meet with the team to discuss song choices and numbers. We also look at opening numbers, discussing how this will be learnt and ran and with whom.

January:

Begin to teach dancers their first dance in each style.

February:

Sourcing & ordering costumes begin in February but can take a few months to ensure each look is perfect and each dancer feels comfortable. Teachers share their vision for their routines and from here I get to work bringing the vision to life.

March:

Design & prepare show program. Like the costumes, this also takes a month or two. Turning a vision into a program has been fun but challenging over the years

April:

Begin teaching dancers their second dance in each style. As well, we begin to introduce the final number to practice during class.

May:

With the colour and branding in mind, awards and medals are ordered as well as the show programs.

During this month, I get out to visit all the classes, see their dances in person, chat through the running order which has been worked on since January, checking sound & lighting details are correct, prop requirements and wings entering and exiting. Whilst I am also out and about, dancers nominate a dancer in the school to win the ‘Dancer’s Dancer Award.’

June:

Dress rehearsal is always full on! I can often leave the rehearsal feeling anxious and with a massive to-do list but I was once told, the dress rehearsal is there to iron out any kinks, if it was carnage, the show will be perfect, if it wasn’t, then that’s when you need to worry!

SHOW DAY! Usually starts at 6am for me, that’s if I got any sleep at all! I am usually like a child at Christmas. I check my phones and emails constantly and someone joins me on the trip to the theatre to ensure all phones are covered (for those just in case moments).

Once at the theatre, the team jumps in to set up for the first 30 minutes, a full team meeting is delivered then we welcome our dancers in.

The next few hours are always a blur, extremely quick, very sweaty and can be quite emotional but when those curtains open the buzz that is felt is electrifying!

On my way home I usually cry, a mixture of sheer exhaustion and a lot of overwhelmedness that we did it! I have always celebrated with a chinese and a glass (or two) of prosecco and definitely an early night!

The next day, it’s packed up! That year of planning gets packed up in one day in our sweats, hair tied back and lots and lots of tea!

July: start again….

If you have been a part of our shows or are excited for your first one, we can’t wait to share this experience with you, it’s an amazing opportunity and so many dancers love dancing on stage with their friends! It can be daunting taking to the stage if you're 3 years old or 53 but we’ve got you covered!