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REHEARSALS, RECITAL, AND PERFORMANCES
Great Mills High School Theater
General Information:
Please be prompt. The sooner we have all students present to start, the likelier we can dismiss on time. ALL REHEARSALS ARE CLOSED. To ensure the safety of our performers, only dancers and backstage moms attend rehearsals. No siblings, parents, relatives, or friends are permitted at any rehearsal without special permission from Mrs. Dunaway. All dancers will wear cover-ups to and from the theater. Performance shirts are great! Please note that food and drink are not allowed in the theater.
Blocking Rehearsals at Ballet Caliente - SCHEDULE TO COME!
1. Dancers should arrive as they would to a regular class; class uniform on and hair up.
2. Backstage moms do NOT attend blocking rehearsals.
3. NO food or drinks are allowed in the studio.
4. Assistants will take attendance, be responsible, and care for your child for the duration of the
rehearsal.
5. Dismissal times will be emailed. Rehearsal dismissal times are approximate.
6. At the conclusion of rehearsals, students will be brought downstairs to be picked up by parents.
Performances at Great Mills High School, June 7 and 8 - Dancer’s Call 5:45 p.m.
REHEARSALS ARE CLOSED TO ALL EXCEPT BACKSTAGE VOLUNTEERS.
Dancer Release
Be prepared:
Audience Etiquette
1. Every year we get questions asking about audience etiquette. Please read on and remember, part of one’s agreement as an audience member is to take seriously the pleasure of others, a responsibility fulfilled by quietly attentive (or silently inattentive) and self-restrained behavior. After all, you can be as demonstrative as you like during bows and curtain calls.
2. If you bring a child make sure etiquette is part of the experience. Children love learning new things, but parents should judge carefully when deciding if a child is ready for a 2.5 hour ballet.
3. Make sure all cell phones, beepers, and signal watches are OFF. And don’t jangle the bangles.
4. Electronic equipment with lighted screens (digital cameras, cell phone, etc…) are extremely distracting and ruins the viewing experience for those around you. Please remember cameras are NOT allowed and phones should be OFF.
5. Note to lovebirds: When you put your heads together, you block the view of the person behind you. Leaning forward also blocks the view.
THOU SHALL NOT TALK, or hum, or sing along, or beat time with a body part.
6. Please wait for a pause between dances or intermission before exiting the auditorium.
7. Take it easy with the atomizer; many people are highly allergic to cologne and perfume.
8. The old standby: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Great Mills High School Theater
General Information:
Please be prompt. The sooner we have all students present to start, the likelier we can dismiss on time. ALL REHEARSALS ARE CLOSED. To ensure the safety of our performers, only dancers and backstage moms attend rehearsals. No siblings, parents, relatives, or friends are permitted at any rehearsal without special permission from Mrs. Dunaway. All dancers will wear cover-ups to and from the theater. Performance shirts are great! Please note that food and drink are not allowed in the theater.
Blocking Rehearsals at Ballet Caliente - SCHEDULE TO COME!
1. Dancers should arrive as they would to a regular class; class uniform on and hair up.
2. Backstage moms do NOT attend blocking rehearsals.
3. NO food or drinks are allowed in the studio.
4. Assistants will take attendance, be responsible, and care for your child for the duration of the
rehearsal.
5. Dismissal times will be emailed. Rehearsal dismissal times are approximate.
6. At the conclusion of rehearsals, students will be brought downstairs to be picked up by parents.
Performances at Great Mills High School, June 7 and 8 - Dancer’s Call 5:45 p.m.
- Full costume, make-up, and hair are required for dress rehearsal and are vitally important to insure uniformity. This allows for any correction prior to the show.
- Dress rehearsal/performance make-up should be applied at home. For young dancers, put tights on at home.
- Dancers should wear Cover-ups to the dress rehearsal/performances and change into their costume in their assigned dressing rooms. Performance shirts are great!
- DANCER DROP OFF: Take your dancer to the back entrance of Great Mills High School near the tennis courts. Older dancers in Ballet 5 will take your children to their assigned dressing room. The backstage mom volunteers will take attendance and care for your child for the duration of the rehearsal. Please do not try to escort your child into the building.
REHEARSALS ARE CLOSED TO ALL EXCEPT BACKSTAGE VOLUNTEERS.
- Dress rehearsal is treated as an actual performance with costume changes.
- For the safety of our dancers, no one is allowed in the back stage area at any time during rehearsal or
- performances.
- ON PERFORMANCE NIGHTS DANCERS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO LEAVE AND GO INTO THE AUDIENCE AFTER THEIR DANCE IS COMPLETED! ALL DANCERS MUST REMAIN BACK STAGE.
Dancer Release
- After the conclusion of the dress rehearsal/performances and after they have changed out of their costumes, dancers are released by class at the SAME back entrance where you dropped them off. Please be flexible.
- Dismissal time on performance night depends on the length of the intermission. If you are not in the audience please be there by 8:45 pm to wait for your dancer.
- Dancers will be released as a group only, by class. Dancers in Ballet and/or Jazz and/or Modern will be released with their Ballet class. As your dancer’s class is brought to this door the ushers will announce the class name. We will only dismiss one group at a time.
- When your dancer’s class is dismissed, we ask that one family member come forward to collect their dancer in the cordoned off dismissal area. Adherence to this policy will help make dismissal go faster.
- With the younger children this process takes some time, please be patient. Backstage Moms are not allowed to release children directly from the classrooms to parents. For the safety of all, we ask for your utmost cooperation in this area.
- Please bring your umbrella in case of inclement weather.
Be prepared:
- If your dancer needs to purchase/order any new tights, undergarments, or shoes, March is a good time to do so. Keep them aside for the performance so you do not need to scramble to find items during performance week. It is performance time for all local studios and sometimes the demand for these items outpaces the supply available.
- DO NOT IRON COSTUMES - If your dancer’s costume is wrinkled, hang it in a steamy bathroom. Tutus should be hung upside down. The fabrics used on costumes melt very easily and is almost impossible to repair.
- Several days prior to dress rehearsal have your dancer try on their costume at home to make sure it is complete. This includes shoes with elastic, headpieces, etc. Shoulder straps sewn in place not pinned.
- If you dancer’s skin color is dark, use a bit of foundation make-up on the shoulder strap to match her skin tone.
- LABEL each costume piece with your child’s name on the inside, particularly the shoes. Please be sure the labeling is not visible from the outside. Do not label shoes on the bottom, it can be seen from the audience.
- Then, place everything (tights, leotard, skirt, bows, hats, shoes, etc.) in a bag and LABEL the bag with their name and the dance title. Many dancers find laundry baskets the perfect size to hold the bulky tutus. Follow this procedure for each costume change and bring the bags to dress rehearsal, and the show.
- Label everything your dancer wears or brings into the building including jackets, clothing, shoes, games and make-up.
- Don’t forget shoes!
- During dress rehearsal and the performance, the class and backstage moms organize some things to keep the younger children occupied in the dressing rooms. Food and drink should be kept to a minimum. Most class moms ask for donations of coloring books, crayons, books, puzzles and snacks. No snacks containing peanuts or peanut products are allowed backstage. WATER ONLY to drink.
Audience Etiquette
1. Every year we get questions asking about audience etiquette. Please read on and remember, part of one’s agreement as an audience member is to take seriously the pleasure of others, a responsibility fulfilled by quietly attentive (or silently inattentive) and self-restrained behavior. After all, you can be as demonstrative as you like during bows and curtain calls.
2. If you bring a child make sure etiquette is part of the experience. Children love learning new things, but parents should judge carefully when deciding if a child is ready for a 2.5 hour ballet.
3. Make sure all cell phones, beepers, and signal watches are OFF. And don’t jangle the bangles.
4. Electronic equipment with lighted screens (digital cameras, cell phone, etc…) are extremely distracting and ruins the viewing experience for those around you. Please remember cameras are NOT allowed and phones should be OFF.
5. Note to lovebirds: When you put your heads together, you block the view of the person behind you. Leaning forward also blocks the view.
THOU SHALL NOT TALK, or hum, or sing along, or beat time with a body part.
6. Please wait for a pause between dances or intermission before exiting the auditorium.
7. Take it easy with the atomizer; many people are highly allergic to cologne and perfume.
8. The old standby: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.