5 Ways We Make Recital Memorable for our Dance Families!

This year is a special year for Positions Dance Studio, and we must say, we are in our feels! Recital 2021: Celebrate Good Times is just a month away! Check out one of our past blog posts to learn about what we’re celebrating this year. Most notably, Positions Dance Studio turns 50, a milestone anniversary that makes us want to hit the dance floor! 

One thing we’ve learned after 50 Years is that Recital Season is the sweetest, most rewarding time of the year for both our staff AND our students. It’s the moment where all of our hard work pays off and comes to life. More importantly, it’s the time where our students break out of their shells and create memories that will last a lifetime. 

We know how exciting Recital Day is for our students, so we absolutely LOVE doing everything we can to make it special. After 50 years of recital memories (and many more to come!), we know it’s the little things that you’ll look back on and cherish forever. Memories are priceless, and we’re honored by the opportunity to create a memorable family experience! 

Check out the 5 Ways We Make Recital Memorable for our Dance Families:

1. Dad’s Dance

Recital is a family affair! A crowd favorite in our annual recitals, our Dad’s Dance is a golden opportunity to dust off your dance shoes and show us what you’ve got! Our adorable dancers LOVE watching their dads have their big moment too! It’s a precious dance each year that is ALWAYS a showstopper! 

2. Recital T-Shirts

Have you checked out our T-Shirt design this year? Recital T-Shirts are a great keepsake that your dancer will wear proudly even after recital is over! Be sure to pre-order yours today to be sure your child gets the perfect size. All pre-orders will be available for pick up at the Dress Rehearsal on July 2.

3. Professional Dance Photos

We know you’ll cherish your child’s dance years forever. That’s why we partner with Lasting Impressions Photography to provide adorable photos of your child in their costumes. Photos will take place on June 6th and June 13th and sessions are by reservation only. The reservation window has closed, but please contact us if you missed out and we may be able to accommodate. 

4. Flower Bouquets

If you’re looking for a special gesture to honor your dancer’s hard work, flowers are a classic post-show tradition for performers. We partner with The Commencement Group to offer bouquets for preorder that are available for pick-up on recital day. It’s the most convenient option for our busy dance parents. Pre-order your flowers here! 

5. A Live Stream Option (New This Year!)

Because of the challenges we’ve all faced this year, we are ready to adapt to make sure everyone gets to take part in the wonderful memories. Ticket sales will begin closer to the day of the performance to ensure that we are working with the most up-to-date capacity guidelines. Those who are unable to attend for whatever reason will have the option to purchase a live stream of the performance. 

From costumes, hair, and everything in between, we know a lot goes into getting your child ready for recital. But at the end of the day, the thing that matters most is the priceless joy on your child’s face when they step on stage. We know that feeling will stick with them and we love providing small opportunities to make it memorable. 

Don’t forget to check the Recital 2021 Page of our website frequently for all the most important information. We update it whenever new details take shape. We can’t wait for an AMAZING performance! 

4 Signs That Your Child is READY To Hit the Recital Stage!

Did you hear?! A celebration is in order! This year, our Positions Dance Studio recital theme is Celebrate Good Times. If you’ve recently visited the recital page on our website, you’ve probably marked your calendars for the big day on July 3rd! We thank you for your patience as we continue to confirm all the details.

Have you ever met a child that is a natural-born entertainer?! You know, the ones that take every opportunity to get all eyes on them! Many of our students are similar, and it’s rewarding to see them find their home on stage. What’s even MORE rewarding is seeing our shy students move out of their comfort zones and into the spotlight!

So how do you know if your child is ready for their big moment on stage? Throughout the end of the school year, you’ll notice the excitement start to build! It’s the most adorable thing and we absolutely LOVE sharing the hype with our students! 

4 Signs That Your Child Is Ready to Hit the Recital Stage:

1. They CAN’T Stop Peeking at Their Costume

Over the past couple of months, we’ve been sending our dazzling recital costumes home with students. Check out some of our beautiful costumes on our Facebook Page! 

Costume day can be pretty magical for our students, but what’s even MORE magical is the day they finally get to dress up and head on stage. We tell our students not to wear their costumes around the house to keep them looking fresh. But if you catch your little one peeking and begging to put it on, they are just itching to perform! 

P.S. Click here to check out some more costume care tips in our last blog post!

2. They Love Practicing Their Routine At Home

Are you seeing your child’s stellar moves every time you turn around?! For our older dancers, are their tik tok favorites being replaced by their recital moves? It’s official, they’ve fallen in love with their recital dance! 

Need the zoom links to follow along with their recital video? Email us! 

3. They Ask to Listen to Their Recital Song Over and OVER

Have you downloaded your child’s recital song on your devices? If your child can’t get enough and knows ALL the words, that’s when you know that they can’t wait to perform their routine. Pro tip: grab them a pair of headphones so the sound of their music doesn’t make you crazy before recital! 

4. They Can Perform Their Entire Routine For You With No Help!

The tell-tale sign of a performer who is stage-ready is being able to get through their whole routine without the help from teachers, videos, or classmates. That’s when you can be sure that they really know their routine. 

We strongly encourage all of our dancers to do mock performances at home. It’s one of the BEST ways to combat stage fright and engrain those dance moves into their muscle memory. Make it fun by creating pretend tickets, entering your living room theatre, and turning those stage lights on and off with the music! 

So… is YOUR dancer ready to hit the stage?! If you checked off any of those tell-tale signs, Recital 2021 will be a total hit in your house! We can’t wait!

If you’re loving these at-home recital prep tips, be sure to follow us on Facebook! Over the next couple of months, we’ll be busy posting our Recital Tip Series that is dedicated to helping parents out during recital week! 

We are SO excited to celebrate our students on the dance floor at Recital 2021! Continue checking our website for updates, as we’ll be updating our recital page with important details in the coming months. Happy at-home practicing!

5 Recital Tips for Dance Parents

Can you believe it?! Recital 2021 is just 3 short months away!! Here at the studio, we are gearing up to celebrate on the dance floor! Check out our earlier blog post to learn all about our recital theme this year, Celebrate Good Times! 

With the excitement brewing over here at the studio, we’d like to take a moment to make sure that all that excitement doesn’t turn into stress for our dance parents! We know that recital can be a lot of information. Especially for new dance parents, it can feel overwhelming. 

Whether you are a returning dance parent with years of recitals under your belt, or you’re experiencing your child’s very first recital this year, it’s our goal to make things as easy as possible. So we’ve put together a list of our top 5 tips for a smooth, successful, and joyful recital!

5 Recital Tips for Dance Parents:

1. Be sure to read your Positions emails!

This one is at the top of our list because it is simply the KEY to making sure you stay in-the-know. Over the next few months, our recital details will continue to take shape and we’ll be updating you every step of the way. ALL important information will go straight to your inbox.

If you haven’t marked your calendar yet, be sure to pencil in our photo day, dress rehearsal, and performance day in now! Access these dates HERE. 

2. Handle your costumes with care!

• Keep them hanging up inside their garment bags, away from pets and children.

• We know the kids will be tempted, but don’t let your dancer wear their costume around the house until AFTER recital. 

• Hang tutus upside down in the bathroom for a few days as shower steam flattens the wrinkles. 

• Keep small accessories and hair pieces with each costume in a bag or other safe compartment. 

• Be sure to save an extra pair of tights for recital day, or double check that yours don’t have runs or holes. 

3. Encourage your dancer to practice their routine at-home and perform for family members!

This is one of the BEST ways to limit pre-show jitters and nervous mind-blanks on stage. Practicing their routine at home without other dancers to follow ensures that they REALLY know their choreography well. In addition, getting used to having a set of eyes on them can make them comfortable in front of an audience before the big day! Plus, it’s fun for YOU to see their progress!

4. Practice doing stage make-up and hair before the big day! 

Getting your dancer’s hair and make-up looking stage ready can be one of the biggest challenges for new dance parents. We’ve got some tutorials for you! Click HERE for a great tutorial on ballet buns. Click HERE for a stage make-up tutorial. Dress rehearsal is a great time to try out these techniques, so be sure to leave some extra time and practice doing it exactly how you will for recital day!

Pro Tip: Be sure to secure hair pieces with PLENTY of bobby pins, as they can easily fall off on stage. 

5. Organize everything the night before so you can really cherish the special moments with your child. 

A stressful recital day can take away from the magic that you and your child will feel on their performance day. Trust us, you’ll want to have plenty of time for pictures, smiles, and hugs. Pack your bag the night before, organize costumes, and plan your day out. Thank us later!

Putting this list together already gave us the warm and fuzzies that we feel EVERY single year during recital time. It is truly a magical time for all of our dance families. Parents, prepare to be amazed by your child’s bravery, beauty, and skill when they take the stage. 

To stay updated on ALL things recital over the next couple of months, be sure to check out Recital 2021 Info Page on our website. It’s our one-stop-shop for all of our recital information. We will continue to update it as details take shape. As always, contact us if you have any questions

6 Ways to Celebrate The Holiday Season With Dance

The holidays create such a special spirit among our young dancers and each year we LOVE being a part of their joy. While it’s a tough year for all of us, we are determined to make the most of it and create some holiday magic for our kiddos!

That’s why we’re dedicating this month’s blog post to celebrating the holiday season with DANCE! Dancers create special memories around the holidays. Between hanging a ballerina ornament, seeing the nutcracker, or doing a rockette-inspired kickline at the family party, we all have our own traditions! 

Looking for some extra holiday magic for your dancer this year? Ready to bring dance into your family’s holiday traditions? Check out these 6 Ways to Celebrate the Holiday Season with DANCE!

1. Shop ‘till you drop at our Dancewear Store!

It wouldn’t be the holidays if there weren’t special gifts waiting to be opened! Good thing we’ve got everything your dancer wants and needs right here at our Dance Store. We carry dance class staples, Positions logowear, small stocking stuffers and more! Check it out and hurry to our store today!  

2. Watch our Positions Dancers in their virtual performance of the Nutcracker. 

The Nutcracker is a part of every young dancer’s holiday wonderland! We share this classic tradition every year with our students. This year, our performance went virtual, live on our Positions facebook page. You can watch a playback of the performance HERE and be sure to like us on facebook to see more of our lovely dancers! 

3. Grab a kid’s ballet book for bedtime or join us for a virtual reading!

Storytime can be SO magical for kids! We recently did a virtual reading of Misty Copeland’s new picture book, Bunheads on our Facebook page. It’s our newest book that we carry in our store, so if you LOVE the story as much as we do, grab it as a gift.

Join us on Tuesday, December 22nd for a virtual reading of The Nutcracker! Just days away from Christmas eve, we can’t wait to share the excitement with our dancers!

4. Take advantage of our December Gift Card Special and give the gift of dance this year!

Have you heard about our awesome promotion?! From now through 12/24 when you purchase a gift card valued at $50.00 or more, you get an additional $15.00 gift card for you to keep OR gift! Positions gift cards can be used on class tuition OR in our store. Gifting a child with a new dance class can be the perfect gift for little ones who just can’t get enough dance!

5. Host a virtual watch party of a dance movie on Netflix.

There are dance movies GALORE on all the streaming services nowadays. One of our favorite holiday dance classics is White Christmas which is available on Netflix! This year, we are SO excited to watch Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker, a documentary of Debbie Allen’s groundbreaking production! Debbie Allen is a dance legend.

Did you know you can host a virtual watch party on Netflix? Check out this informational page. Viewers can chat virtually while watching at the same time. This would be great for family and dance friends to watch together, but from afar this year! 

6. Get crafty with some holiday ballerina decorations!

For those of us that enjoy a craft day with the kiddos, dancers love using their creative side! Check out these adorable ballerina crafts with snowflake tutus.

We hope this list helps you and your little dancers get into the holiday spirit! Pick one thing and roll with it… we promise it will create a treasured memory for your dancer.

From all of us here at Positions Dance Studio, Happy Holidays! We hope that amidst this difficult year, you can all find time to feel joyful with loved ones near and far. We are forever thankful for you, and we love seeing the holiday magic around our studio each year!