May 8, 2017 Preparing for Recital

Hello MCDA Families!  Can you believe it’s recital week?!?  We’ve been hard at work getting our dances ready for the stage.  Please remember that we strive for our recitals to be celebrations of our dancers’ recent hard work, not sources of stress for them (or you!). Below, we have some tips for how to make recital day go smoothly.

Recital Prep Checklist

This week, it’s a good idea to make sure you’ve got everything you need for the recital.  

⃣   costume prepped/hanging so that it’s wrinkle-free by Saturday

⃣   makeup that is appropriate for you dancer’s skin tone and age

⃣   shoes

⃣   tights (if necessary)

⃣   accessories

⃣   make sure to remove nail polish before dress rehearsal

⃣   plan to leave all jewelry at home

⃣   make sure dancer’s name is written in permanent marker (discretely) on all items

 

Pack your recital bag

If your dancer is in multiple dances, you’ll want to have a bag packed with the following:

✔ shoes

✔ extra tights

✔ water bottle

✔ makeup (for touch ups)

✔  extras for hair (bobby pins, hair ties, hair spray, etc.)

✔  all costume items (including accessories)

✔ safety pins (just in case!)

Prep for multiple dances

Dancers that are in multiple dances in the same show will want to arrive as early as possible so that they can make sure they are prepared.  Each costume should be set out in a way that facilitates and easy change.  

For instance:  

⇒ Shoes need to be organized together with the costume, shoelaces untied

⇒ Tights need to be scrunched together so that the dancer can step into them and pull them up

⇒ Buttons/clasps/zippers should be undone so that the dancer does not have to unbutton/unzip while changing

⇒ Bobby pins should be available and organized to help with securing hair accessories or taming flyaways

⇒ Check in with a buddy before the show and ask that they be available to help with zipping/buttoning costumes, bobby pinning hair, etc. so that if a dancer needs help backstage during a change they have a plan for who to ask

Stage makeup

Because of the stage lights (which are very bright), your dancers need to wear a little bit of makeup on stage.  This is so that their eyes and smile can be seen while they are dancing.  There are lots of videos/tips out there that we think put too much makeup on children (and frankly, take too much time!).  You may want to practice putting on the stage makeup once before the day of the show in order to address any questions/challenges you may face before dress rehearsal.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrRF5fb7nzg&t=69s

Additional notes about stage makeup from MCDA:

• You can ignore the brand/color names mentioned in this video, but the general idea of natural colors and simple highlighting of natural features is what we’re going for.
• Foundation for the youngest (ages seven and younger) dancers is not necessary
• Some lipstick/lip color is necessary – but it doesn’t have to be as dark as in this video
• Under the eyes and white eyeliner pencil is also not necessary, but can add some nice definition for older dancers if you already have some white eyeliner hanging around.  

Recital Hair

For most dances, a neat, clean, mid-height ponytail is all that is necessary.  This video has some good

information about how to get hair into a ponytail with no flyaways.  You don’t need to use detangler if you don’t want to, but spraying some water may be a good idea to help smooth the hair down.  (NOTE: you won’t do the pull-through pony at the end of this video).  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al9E5uOxeGU

 

Visit our Performances and Events page for up to date information about our upcoming spring concert including

1. Concert date and location
2. Dress rehearsals and show orders
3. Concert picture and DVD order forms