Virtual Recital in backyard - dance shoes
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Live From Our House, Part 1

June 23, 2020
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How we staged (and survived) a virtual dance recital

As with most studios, our end-of-year recital in June caps off our entire dance year.  Even though we typically would have Nationals and the World Dance Championship in July and August, the recital is where we say goodbye to our seniors, honor our teachers, and celebrate the journey we as a school community took over the course of the past year.  

As the coronavirus closures wreaked havoc on carefully laid plans across the globe, studio directors found themselves being forced to make decisions regarding their end-of-year events.  As the date drew closer, it became apparent that we would have to severely alter our expectations.  After initially postponing the recital, our studio director made the call to cancel it as an in-person event (due to the uncertainty of when the venue would be allowed to reopen).  Instead, it would be a virtual recital, performed from our own homes on the given dates.  It would be conducted via Zoom over two days, and guidance was given on all the aspects of staging the show remotely (backgrounds, flooring, lighting, etc.).

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Making the Plans

My first reaction was sheer panic (don’t worry, my girls didn’t know how much I was freaking out inside because they were too excited with making plans).  My house is pretty small, and I had no real space for them to do this except for outside.  The decision was made that it would be held in my backyard.  When I saw the elaborate plans that many other dance families were making (building outdoor stages, elaborately hand-painted backdrops, colorful balloon archways, etc.), I felt like I should do something a bit more than throwing my girls in the yard with a piece of plywood.  So in typical Danielle fashion, I decided that I would invite a few people over (at the time, small gatherings were just given the green light in hard-hit Jersey) to make it a truly memorable event for my daughters.

Reclaiming the Yard

Without having much choice, my son became my in-house Grounds and Maintenance Department; together, we inspected the area to see what needed to be done.  Much to our chagrin, we had quite a bit of work to do to get the yard ready.  He mowed the lawn and power washed the chairs, I weed-whacked the perimeter and hosed down the vinyl fence, and the girls scoured the area for divots, debris, and pine cones.  Our dog Dolly provided Tommy with steady work (Doody Duty, as I call it) in addition to the yard chores, so that constantly interrupted the tasks already in progress.  Eventually, the yard itself came together the day before the recital, and we were pretty pleased with our efforts.

Tech Specs

Did I mention that my son is also my IT department?  With his reluctant help, we installed a WiFi extender (link here) because the signal was cutting out during the girls’ rehearsals earlier in the week.  Jayden’s and Jocelyn’s laptop has been their go-to device for all their virtual instruction, so we positioned it on a chair and experimented with how close to place it to capture their entire bodies for most of their routines.  Thankfully, we already had a JBL portable speaker (click here) to amplify the sound, and that hooked up to the laptop easily.  My IT Manager (Tommy) would be on hand to work the camera on/off controls, which took so much pressure off my shoulders.  All it cost me was a few packs of watermelon gum – money well spent, as far as I’m concerned.

Privacy, Please…

Changing Tent
The “bones” of our changing area

Because we were having a live audience, we realized that we needed to have a changing area that provided some privacy (if we were in a dressing room at a venue, however, my girls would have no qualms about parading around in their birthday suits).  For many of their performances, there was only a number or two in between; we would have to perform several quick changes in just a few minutes.  That would leave no time to run inside to throw the new costume on, so we erected a very makeshift structure to shield them from view (but was still in close proximity to the stage).  Using a 12’ x 12’ tent as the backbone, we placed shower curtain rings on the metal rods on the two exposed sides of the structure. From these, we hung some shower curtains (I know what you’re thinking – “FANNN-CY!”).  I took some foam flooring from an exercise room and their two gymnastics mats and made a patchwork floor (so their costumes would be protected from the grass and dirt).  Their portable ballet barre became their clothes rack, and a folding card table became their makeup station.  To keep the shower curtains from separating when hit with a strong breeze, we used the clips from garment hangers to pinch the ends together.  Honestly, the whole thing looked a bit like a homeless encampment, but desperate times call for desperate measures!

Changing Tent
Hey, is that my shower curtain?!

Setting the Stage

Stage Performance Area
A simple, clean look to set the stage

For the performance area, I didn’t want anything too busy in the background that would detract from the girls themselves; the white vinyl fence would provide the perfect backdrop (after I scrubbed the bird droppings off, of course).  To spruce it up a bit while keeping the overall effect simple and clean, I bought two balloon bouquets from a local party store to set on either side of the camera’s view; this also gave the girls a visual guide of where they should aim to stay so the camera could capture most of their movements.  Thankfully, we already had a tap board (a plywood sheet with a thin layer of melamine screwed onto the top of it) that we used as the “stage.”  It was laid right on the grass, and the girls practiced with it quite a bit so they could get the spacing of their leaps, turns, and aerial tricks placed just right.  

Virtual Recital - Outside Production
We started the show with our production number and these smiles!

Friday, Day 1

We were blessed with beautiful weather the first day of the show; because it didn’t start until 5 p.m., the sun was mercifully heading towards the horizon, so its rays weren’t as strong as they were at midday.  We put out some refreshments for the guests, arranged the chairs, and set up the tech.  I crossed my fingers and held my breath for most of the day, but I needn’t have worried – everything came together!  Except for a bit of glare that hit the camera on the laptop (and nothing really could have been done about that), things went as well as could be expected.  When the show was over, we headed inside the house for some cupcakes and watermelon with our guests.  The girls were presented with several bouquets of beautiful flowers from our family and friends, accepting the congratulatory wishes and gifts graciously.  At the end of the night, they both thanked me for making it such a special day.  My heart turned into a glob of goo, so I knew our efforts were all worth it.

Turns a la seconde
Thanks to my friend Robyn for taking pictures!
Cupcakes
“Happy Recital Day to you!”

For Day Two of the recital, see Live From Our House, Part 2 (when we hit a bump in the road).

Work hard, have fun! – Danielle

Did your studio host any end-of-year events? How did they go?

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