My Stage Ready Checklist as a Dance Teacher

“End of Year” show season is officially here! In honour of “May-cember” I’ve compiled my top tips for ensuring dancers are stage ready.

Rehearse Entering and Exiting from the Stage

This is an easy one to forget about. If well-rehearsed your dancers will be more confident onstage. I ensure my dancers know for each piece if they are entering or exiting in a black out or on a lit stage. I also make sure they all know how to exit the stage. This includes direction (stage left or right?) and method (walking or running?). Try to rehearse this at least once a class early on so that entrances and exits are just as strong as the dancing. Younger dancers will need more practice with this as they aren’t as familiar with entrances and exits as your teens and seniors may be.

Practice Without the Mirror = Stage Ready

Practising without a mirror is one of my favourite steps! Depending on your studio set up you can cover the mirrors or have dancers turn away from the mirrors and perform towards the opposite wall. Since dancers can no longer rely on the mirror it tests how well they know the choreo and staging. It helps bridge the gap between the studio and the stage by removing the instant feedback from the mirror. By removing the mirror students are more likely to coordinate their head and eyeline to their dancing, enhancing their artistry. Additionally, many dancers will use more expressive facial expressions as they no longer feel self-conscious from the mirror. Taking away the mirror helps dancers produce an overall stage ready presentation.

Solo and Small Group Runs

Part of being stage ready is knowing the choreo even if something has changed. Have dancers perform the choreography in class either solo or in small groups as if the full group was dancing. This encourages self-checking and aids memorization. It also prepares dancers for a worst case scenario where a dancer is injured last minute and can’t perform or misses an entrance. This can also be used in conjunction with games like in this article by the Holistic Dance teacher.

Back-to-Back Run Throughs

This is a favourite tool of mine to help build stamina and use practice time efficiently. The goal here is to run the piece of choreography twice with a minimal gap in between. I aim for thirty seconds or less. Additional time might be needed if you have props. This method also helps dancers learn how to manage fatigue that can spring up due to quick changes backstage. I usually reserve this one for older dancers who are doing multiple routines in the same show as it’s no necessary for younger dancers.

In-studio Audience

This is a perfect way to get stage ready! Your in-studio audience can take many forms:

• a collection of stuffed animals playing the audience
• you and your teacher assistants
• another dance class
• another teacher or studio staff member

Stuffed animals are a great low-pressure audience, and allows you and your assistants to still demonstrate the choreography. This is a hit with preschool classes but some of my older dancers love this option. For more independent classes you and your teacher assistants can fill the role. If two classes are running at the same time you can arrange for each class to watch the other for the last few minutes of class. This is great community building and helps dancers get to know other dancers in the studio. I also like to invite in other teachers and staff members to act as an audience.

How do you like to get stage ready?

Share your tips and tricks down below! Looking for more articles for dance teachers? Check out my blog!