Recital procedures

As always, the safety of our dance family is our first priority. When students arrive at the rehearsal and recital they are to be signed in by a parent or guardian, and must be signed out when it is time to leave.

Students are not permitted to leave the venue while the rehearsal and recital is running. We will be using the outside hallway as a holding space for any boys. No student is to leave the backstage area during intermission, no exceptions. 

If a student needs to use the washroom during recital a parent volunteer will accompany them to one of the available bathrooms.

Only Dance Directions staff and registered parent helpers are permitted backstage. We appreciate that in some instances the only parent/guardian is male. However we cannot have any adult males in the back as students will be changing. We are unable to run messages or food to students, so please make sure they have everything before they come backstage for rehearsal and the recital.

Please try not to bring anything valuable, especially electronic devices. Mobile phones are not to be taken backstage or in the changing areas during the recital. Our studio and the venue will take no responsibility if an item is damaged, misplaced, lost or stolen.

Private videography and photography is strictly prohibited as we will have professionals attending on the day to provide these services for us leaving you free to sit back and enjoy the show in the moment!

Appropriate, respectful theatre behaviour is expected from everyone. Consuming alcohol and smoking/vaping are not permitted. 

ALL students are to have their name marked off when they arrive at the venue. If your child has any Medical Conditions that may require attention whilst in our care or are carrying any medication with them, please notify our supervisors when you sign in. It is best to arrive with hair and makeup done and ready to get dressed in costume. 

When being picked up, all children need to be signed out of the venue by their parent/guardian. Please avoid asking your child to meet you outside the venue or in the parking lot as a parent has to be seen for you to pick them up. If someone else is picking your child up, they need to have a permission note to show who will be supervising them.

What to bring

All children must bring a clearly labelled bag with extra hair spray, gel, hair elastics, bobby pins, and safety pins. Please ensure any medication required is packed and clearly labelled with instructions.

Your makeup must also be packed and clearly labelled as well as your dance shoes, tights, socks and dance underwear. Don’t forget your costumes too! These are best hung on coat hangers and protected in a costume bag that is clearly labelled.

FOOD AND DRINK - Costumes are easily ruined by food and drink stains. Students are not permitted to leave backstage area so please pack enough food and drink for the entire time. It is important they have something nutritious to keep their energy up as well as something that won’t stain – this means NO fast food, cheese snacks and chips, etc.. NO nuts or nut products. They also need to bring A LOT of labelled water – NO soft drink, or juice as it stains the costumes. This is for both the Rehearsal and Recital.

Children are discouraged from bringing any valuables including phones, iPods, iPads and laptops as the venue and Dance Directions will not take responsibility for any items lost, damaged or stolen. 

Finale/Presentation

We ask that all students stay till the end of recital. This is when we invite all dancers to come back on stage for our final bow. We then will ask students to sit and we will have a brief presentation of scholarships and awards. Some awards we will be presenting are 

• Hardest working Jazz group

• Hardest working Ballet group

• Hardest working Tap group

• Hardest working Contemporary/Lyrical group

• Hardest working Acro group

• Hardest working Hip Hop group

Scholarships are awarded to individual students that teachers feel have worked hard throughout the season.

Please keep in mind we unfortunately do not have enough scholarships and awards for every single student. Presenting these awards at recital teaches a supportive community as well as provides the opportunity for dancers to work towards something for the next recital season.

For courtesy and safety reasons, children will not be permitted to leave the theatre until the presentations are complete. The presentation will be both photographed and filmed by our professional crew, as personal photography is strictly prohibited. 

Video's

In conjunction with copyright and child safety laws, personal photography or video recording is strictly prohibited. We have hired a professional videographer who will be filming the show to capture these memories for you! Videos are available for purchase.

Photo's

Our resident photographer Joern Rohde will be on site taking photos throughout the show. These photos are available for pre purchase at a flat rate. Pre purchase these photos to receive access to the best of the imagery captured during the recital, groupings and individual shots on stage. These professional digital photos will last a life time. 

Costumes

To keep costs at a minimum, we provide all recital costumes to our students at a rental fee of $75+GST per costume. This must be paid via cash, cheque, Credit Card or E-Transfer no later than November 15th. Once paid, you may collect your costumes from the studio to be brought to Photo Day, Dress Rehearsal and Recital. 

Costumes must be returned immediately after recital at the theatre to our designated costume collector.

Costumes not returned will incur a $75 fee immediately.

Caring for your Costumes

Please keep your costume in a dry, safe area hung up. Costumes are not to be worn at any other time than Photo Day, Dress Rehearsal and Recital. Please do not attempt to wash or remove stains from any rented costumes as we will be laundering them as a group. If your costume does get stained, please notify the studio immediately for us to have a look and to fix the problem. Unfortunately any damage or staining to rented costumes once they have been collected may incur a fee of $75+GST to ensure we are able to replace the damaged costume. 

Shoes, Tights, Makeup and Extras

Specific shoes, tights, hair styles and extras can be found here. 

CLICK HERE FOR SPECIFIC CLASS REQUIREMENTS

Underwear must be skin-coloured and must not be visible beneath your child’s costume.

Please have your child wear recital underwear on photo day so we can ensure it is appropriate.

Finale

One of our favourite parts of the recital is our huge group finale in which all students come together on stage as a team for one final bow. Dancers will wear their costumes that they last performed in.

We will be practicing our finale at Dress Rehearsal on June 9th. This is one of the many important reasons for all students to attend so we can see what the final product will look and feel like on stage and the dancers have an opportunity to see what it will be like to be on stage with groups who they don’t usually perform with.

How to Find my Dancers Practice Videos and Music

*Please note that if your dancers music is not uploaded yet, it will be by April 15th.*

*Please allow up to 72 hours from your dancers class time for videos to be uploaded from that week.*