If you think practicing for a dance recital is nerve-wracking, then you should try planning one. Compared to just mastering your assigned parts through practice and perseverance, staging something as “light” as a community dance recital already entails much more.
Even if you’ve sought out the help of events professionals, you’ll still have a lot on your plate. Be prepared to do a lot of budgeting, problem-solving, public relations, logistics, and even some stress reduction techniques. Though much of the work happens months ahead of your scheduled date, the real drama often starts around one month prior. Here are just some of the most important things that you should keep in your final checklist:
- Confirm the Venue
At this stage of your preparations, you want to make absolutely sure that your venue is ready for your recital. Just a quick confirmation via email or phone call is enough.
Being one of the first things that get sorted out doesn’t prevent it from having any last-minute complications. You want to make absolutely sure that you’ll have a place to perform in, and it all starts with confirming your venue.
- Have the Participants Try their Costumes and Props Out
By this time, the event participants should have the costumes and props that have been ordered. Make sure that everyone has tried on items that they are going to wear. At this point, there will still be enough time for adjustments and alterations when needed.
You want to have everyone’s costumes and props finalized in advance. This doesn’t just guarantee that everyone looks the part, it’s also important to keep everyone suitably comfortable and safe.
- Check Your Decorations
Decorate the venue as early as possible. This can include installing backdrops or preparing your props. Always take your ingress time into account. For some theaters and concert halls, rentals may be continuous for different clients year-round. This means that they might not be able to give you more than a few days of preparation.
This should be considered well in advance of the final date. During these occasions, enlisting the help of a professional might provide the least trouble. For instance, aside from letting you rent their ready-made stage backdrops, a backdrop rental provider can also assist with the installation of these very important stage elements.
- Work Out the Schedule with Your Photographer
Of course, everyone wants a record of their big day. It’s the culmination of months of hard work and preparation. So make sure to have someone concentrated solely on covering your event.
Aside from assuring that your photographer will make it in on the day itself, you want to schedule a shoot during one of your dress rehearsals. This will allow you to better promote your show later on.
- Print Out the Programs
With your photo shoots hopefully done by this point, you can also include pictures of dress rehearsals in your layout to help promote the show.
Once you have everything laid out, count how many pages it will end up having. Consider if you want it in color or in monochrome, as well as what type of paper you want it printed on. To help you recoup some of your costs, you can even reach out to local companies for sponsorship deals.
With everything settled and ready, all that’s left is to encourage everyone to practice as hard as they can. At this point, you’ve done all you can. But if you’ve done everything right, you’ll have helped everyone experience the thrill of performing live—no matter how small the audience. This makes for a fine reward after all your effort.