Happy recital week! We are excited to present The Eras Tour (Fresh Coast Dance Version) -- a journey through modern musical eras from the 1920s to the 2020s! Our dancers were thrilled when we shared our theme, and while a few were shocked to find out we were featuring music other than Taylor Swift, I think we’ve expanded their musical horizons a bit! This post includes a great deal of information on show day logistics, so please read carefully! If it is an urgent matter like a dancer or volunteer illness/emergency, please email with the subject line: URGENT.

Stage and Dress Rehearsals:

Schedules and details were previously emailed for your dancer’s rehearsal. I’ve attached a master schedule if you need a reminder. DRESS REHEARSALS ARE IN FULL COSTUME, WITH MAKEUP AND HAIR OPTIONAL (hair should still be neatly pulled back in a bun or ponytail). Please check out your dancer’s dressing room before or after rehearsal. Dancers with costume changes may set up their costumes prior to their scheduled rehearsal time if they know their assigned area, otherwise they may find their dressing room after they run their dance on stage. We will have signs posted throughout the lobby with dressing room assignments–please take note so you know where to go on the days of the show!

SHOW DAYS/TIMES:

SATURDAY, JUNE 8th 6:00 p.m.

SUNDAY, JUNE 9th 3:00 p.m.

*Call Times Before Show:

Creative Dance and Ballet/Tap Combo Classes (Ages 3-7): 30 minutes prior to show time

All other classes ages 7 and up: 45 min prior to show time

Company Dancers: See separate schedule

Volunteers: Please arrive 45-60 minutes prior to show time

Dancer Arrival/Check-In

Please proceed directly to their assigned dressing room or the Cafeteria with ONE parent/guardian to check in with the class/room volunteer. New this year: we will have wristbands for your dancer’s designated pickup person. No one is allowed in the Cafeteria or Dressing Rooms without a wristband. If your child is assigned to the cafeteria, we will have a spot for them at a table labeled by class. Please find your child’s class volunteer and check in with them too–this is who you will check out your dancer with at the end of the show. Make sure your child is settled before leaving for the lobby. If your dancer has full costume changes, make sure you have a plan with another parent or plan to come back and help with changes at intermission or in between their numbers.

Dancers Backstage

All Creative Dance, Ballet/Tap Combo Classes, Teeny Bop Hip Hop (generally ages 7 and under) and ALL BOYS will be assigned tables by class in the cafeteria where they will stay when they are not on stage. We need parent volunteers from each class for each show to check in/out dancers, stay with them backstage, help line up and lead them to the stage. Please sign up if you haven’t already! 

Foundations I is assigned to the Activity Room Dressing Room, located inside the cafeteria with curtains for privacy for costume changes. Dancers in Teeny Bop Hip Hop who are also in other numbers should use this space to set up their costume change. No men are allowed in this area. 

Girls in Ballet I, Tap I, Jazz I, Ballet II, Jazz II and Tap II, Hip Hop and Musical Theater are assigned to the Board Room Dressing Room. No men are allowed in this area.

Company Teens, Teen Jazz and Teen Ballet are assigned to Dressing Room A behind the stage. Company Minis and Juniors are assigned to Dressing Room B behind the stage.No men are allowed in this area.

Any boys who need to change costumes will have a separate curtained area inside the cafeteria.

Adult Dancers, please plan to arrive in costume or use restrooms for changing.

Please bring coloring books/crayons/pencils, iPads/tablets or toys that are not messy. We are not responsible for lost items, so only pack what you feel comfortable leaving with your dancer. 

ABSOLUTELY NO PHOTOS/RECORDING IN ANY BACKSTAGE DRESSING AREAS! If your dancer has their own device, please make them aware as they MUST follow this rule! This is for the safety and privacy of our dancers and is also a rule from Dominican.

Make sure they have a water bottle–no colored liquids. Snacks are ok if they aren't messy (think Goldfish, graham crackers, fruit snacks). Nothing that will stain the costumes. Please clean up after your dancer at the end of the show.

During the Show

The recital should run approximately 2.5 hours with an intermission. Seating is assigned and you must purchase a ticket to enter the auditorium. Tickets will be on sale throughout the weekend via the website link so you are able to purchase tickets at the theater, but only online–there is not a box office. Please enter and exit the auditorium through the rear doors only, taking care to enter/exit in between numbers so as not to disrupt our dancers on stage.

Absolutely no flash photography during the show as this is dangerous to dancers on stage! Please refrain from recording the show to be courteous of other audience members. We have a new videographer who will be filming and editing the show, so leave it up to the professionals! I will send out an order form to purchase a copy–a great keepsake for dancers to watch year after year!

NO FOOD OR BEVERAGES ARE ALLOWED IN THE AUDITORIUM (with the exception of bottled water.) We will have beer, wine and bottled water for sale in the lobby before the show and during intermission! Cash or venmo only.

Dancers should plan to stay backstage in their assigned area for the entirety of the show. If your dancer needs to leave for any reason, you must check out with the class’s assigned volunteer. At the end of the show, volunteers will line up dancers to go back on stage for our finale. 

All dancers should plan to stay for the entirety of the show, as they will go on stage for a final bow during our finale. While we encourage everyone to stay until the end, younger dancers may leave after their last dance if they need to, however they MUST be checked out with their class volunteer.

Post-Show

After the finale, we will lead dancers back to their assigned dressing rooms/cafeteria where ONLY DESIGNATED PARENT/GUARDIANS WITH THE PICKUP WRISTBAND will meet them and check out with their class volunteer. Everyone else should wait in the lobby areas outside of the dressing rooms/cafeterias in order to keep things less chaotic. Older dancers should meet families in the lobby–no one without a wristband is allowed back in dressing rooms. Please make sure to clean up after your dancer and take all of their belongings! Dancers with costume changes may leave costumes overnight for the next show in their dressing room as long as they leave their area clean and organized. 

Volunteers

Please check in at least 75 minutes prior to show time so we have time to go over things. I’d like to brief all volunteers at once, so please be on time. If you are the parent volunteer for your class, you must wear a nametag so you will be authorized to watch from the wings if you walk dancers to the stage. Volunteers must stay in their assigned area and be attentive–we have more little dancers than ever!

End of the Season

Don’t forget to sign up on our website for summer classes! We will have one more audition date (June 22nd) If your dancer is planning to audition for our growing Company team. Company dancers and others interested in Company should plan to take summer classes to keep up their technique. Our fall schedule will be out early this summer!

BIG NEWS! We are beyond excited to move into our expanded, state of the art studio just one block east on Silver Spring later this summer! Four large studio rooms, more space for our dancers and our own parking lot! Follow our progress on our Instagram and Facebook pages!

Finally, I am so grateful for my incredibly talented teachers, hard-working students and supportive dance families! In three short years, Fresh Coast Dance has grown in ways I could not have imagined and I can not wait to see all that we will accomplish together in our beautiful new studio space!

Cheers to a fantastic show!

Jess Cigelske
Owner/Director, Fresh Coast Dance