Dance Recital Season 2018

The Bean's dance recital is now over - she totally crushed it! I documented little bits along the way and thought I would share how we survive dance recital season. Her dress rehearsal and the showcase happen a week apart. We conquer each a little bit differently and I will detail it all for you below!

The Rehearsal

This year her final dress rehearsal was on Sunday evening. The first thing I always do is make sure I have her call times well documented! I snap a picture of her schedule and I make sure to have her call times on a post it in her make up bag. Sometimes we luck out with call times, but this year they were pretty spread out.

Our plan was to have her rehearse for Jazz and Contemporary, run out and grab dinner then go back to the auditorium for her Hip Hop rehearsal. This worked really well! In the past, we've been able to just stay at the auditorium but it was kind of nice to have a little break this year! We went to Copper Branch for dinner - it was perfect!

At the rehearsal, the Bean dances each routine twice, so for instance with Contemporary, they run through the dance once, they have a little meeting with the teacher then they start all over again! Once Bean is in costume with her hair and makeup done, I sit in the auditorium to film her dance. We can't film at the actually showcase so I like getting her dances on film during the rehearsal. The Bean loves watching her dance in the week before the big recital! The Bean is on the far right in the very front in the picture above.

 

The last thing I should mention for the recital is the packing list! I have a packing list that we reference when we are getting ready for the rehearsal and the show - I use the same list for both so that the rehearsal is a bit of a practice for me as well. If anything is missing at the rehearsal, it's no big deal, but I want to make sure I note it and add it to the list for the show! I'll share the packing list a little later on in the post!

The Show

The Bean dances three dance styles - Jazz, Contemporary and Hip Hop. Each routine gets performed in two shows. They have to overlap in at at least one show, but she could end up dancing in four shows total! Each recital is color coordinated, so for example she could dance Jazz in the purple show, Contemporary in the yellow show, Hip Hop in the green show and then all three in the red show. Does that make sense? I didn't really know what to make of her schedule this year - she only danced in 2 shows! Meaning that she danced all three styles in the span of two shows. This means less time at the auditorium which is great, but it's a little more rushed to get her hair switched up and her costumes changed twice!

It was nice to only be at the auditorium for two shows, but the tough part was that these two shows were packed and they were back to back! She dance the purple show at 2:00 and the yellow show at 6:00. So our Sunday afternoon was all about dance but we didn't have any other dance the rest of the weekend. There are definitely pros and cons to each scenario!

Here is the packing list that we use when we are getting ready for the show (and the rehearsal!):

Some of these things her responsibility (the costumes and the shoes) and some are for me (the makeup and the hair stuff). This year, we packed for the rehearsal and I just left most of it packed for the show. It is so much easier to have a bag ready by the door that we can grab when we're ready to go.

Before packing her dance bag for the very last time this year, I suggested we clean it out and boy did we find some gems! A race bib, some knee pads (because why not?), some bobby pins, a Hamilton button and a broken hockey puck. What a strange assortment of objects! Why was she lugging these things to dance every week!? She definitely didn't know!

The morning of her dance show, the Bean requested breakfast in bed! So she lounged with some avocado toast (and water!) before it was time to get ready!

After breakfast we started on her hair and makeup. I always start by straightening her hair. I straighten it well and give it time to cool before we do anything to it. This way it's so much easier to get it back to straight throughout the day (even after sock buns and boxer braids!).

All of the Bean's costumes get packed, except her first costume. Knowing that we'll have to do many quick changes during the show, I much prefer to have her ready for her first dance at home. This way there's little stress when we arrive and she's ready to go. She had Jazz first this year, so we hung her Jazz costume in her room instead of packing it. Another little tip that might be evident in this picture - I keep everything together - the costume, the hair piece and the shoes. So that when she's putting it on, it's all there and then when we pack it up for later on, I do the same so that everything is always in one place. This tip definitely isn't groundbreaking but it's a life saver during the quick changes! We just don't have time to look for little hair pieces when we're rushing!

As soon as we get to the auditorium, the Bean and I head backstage to get her set up at her table. Before we find her spot, I check the poster that tells us the order of her dances, and of course, I snap a picture. I also try to figure out about what time she'll be dancing. This is a wild math equation that I try to work out, but I can usually get pretty close to her dance time! I find it so much easier to have a time in mind than to have to keep an eye out for who just danced and how many more dances there are until her.

The Bean's routines are 'New York, New York', 'Boom' and 'An Iceberg Melting.' I watched the Yellow show this year. We can use the term watch lightly thought because it's a little bit of watching and still a lot of backstage time. I typically help her get ready, make sure she is good to go with her group, go back to her spot to make sure her stuff for the next change is ready then run out to the audience and watch until she dances. As soon as she dances and the clapping is done, I run backstage to meet her at her dance bag. I usually beat her there so I get her costume ready and any hair stuff ready. Once she gets there, she grabs her costume, runs to the bathroom to change and then meets me back to change her hair. Then we repeat this process until she's danced all of her routines!

When I'm not running out to the audience to watch (because I don't watch every show) I stand by the monitor just to watch her dance. It's usually pretty crowded around the screen. So I sneak in to watch her dance, then go back to her table to meet her.

Whenever the Bean has dance events, I always make sure we have lots of water and snacks on hand. It's hard to keep track of regular meal times when she's dancing but we are careful to make sure she is fueling her body with good food! She always loves treats on dance weekends, but I try to push treats until after she's danced so that there's no crash! This year, we packed pears, strawberries, cashews, granola bars and a chocolate treat for the end of the night!

The last thing I should mention is that we really cross our fingers for a seemingly logical progression of hair. This year, she had to wear a sock bun, boxer braids and a straight half up half down and I was so hoping we could go from straight to sock bun to braids. I mean, you win some you lose some and this year we lost in the hair department - both shows started with the sock bun, then it was boxer braids and last was the half up, half down. Not my preferred order but we did it!

I'll be back tomorrow with a fun recipe!