What even IS a Dancewise Show?!

Hi lovely!

Miss A here 😊 All Dancewisers know how important our yearly show is…

STOP! I bet you pictured a village hall somewhere, sat on a plastic chair watching a show filled students doing the Grade 3 Jazz amalgamation dressed as baby ducks, didn’t you?

That is so not what a Dancewise show aims to be!

Read on to find out a bit more about the show, what being involved look and feels like, and how performing live on stage can be the catalyst to a powerful transformation in your child’s confidence!

What is the show?

Hmmm this one is super hard to just describe – it’s always sooo much more in real life. In short, each year Dancewise spends two terms working on technique, vocabulary, moves, performance skills…. All of the super important stuff about being a dancer.

Then in the third term we put all of it into practice in our show. These aren’t your classic ‘Dance Studio Showcase’, these are professional shows in professional theatres. They are all bespoke to us and tell stories for the audience to get lost in. We explore all sorts of important and trending issues to make them as relevant to you as they are to us, and use the experiences of the cast that we have to further enrich everything. In show term, each class are taught a dance that fits into the overall narrative being told. They spend the term rehearsing and building their confidence and performance skills. Then, finally, they perform their dance in front of their beaming friends and family.

We go all out on the show and it’s the highlight of our year! The staff and students get a major buzz from doing it each year – plus, audience are left feeling full of joy, optimism and excitement!

Can my child do it?

Absolutely! Anyone can! It’s not about talent or the amount of time you’ve been with us – we will teach them al of that and ensure that they look great on stage. There aren’t any auditions to get in; if you’re a Dancewise student, you can do the show.

For those students looking for a new challenge then we have options in most numbers for featured characters or moments to show their skills.

When do rehearsals take place?

We like to keep everything super simple for you. The rehearsals happen in the classes; they do their normal warm up and work on technique, then during the combo section of the class the teacher will build on a dance week to week to create their show dance.

There are a couple of extra dates to be aware of as they’re compulsory if you want to do the show and they can be found here:

Where is the show put on?

Right now our regular home for show weekend is at The Point in Eastleigh. It’s a specialist dance venue, is super comfy front of house for our guests (with a well stocked bar for the interval!), and it’s huge backstage with enough dressing rooms for the size of cast we usually bring along. The Point always go out of their way to make sure the cast are looked after in a great venue, and we’ve had brilliant feedback from you that you enjoy watching the shows there.

What does it cost to be involved with the show?

This is easy. It’s already paid for. There’s nothing extra to pay.

Our tuition seems higher than others, that’s because we bundle the whole Dancewise experience into one easy, convenient and consistent monthly amount. So here’s a little rundown of what’s already included:

Production fee
Costume
Dress Rehearsals
Tech Rehearsal
Souvenir Programme
Digital download of the show

You say the dress runs are compulsory. Do you mean compulsory?

This is a tough one because yes, we do mean compulsory. We really encourage everyone to check the dates before signing up, and to hold off signing up until you know that you’re free.

The dress runs are super important for building confidence and trust for the cast, many of whom are very little and need consistency. They also help the backstage team start to ‘rehearse’ what they have to do so that every student makes it on stage on the night.

The tech rehearsal is out of our hands as the theatre won’t let anyone on stage that hasn’t rehearsed in the tech run.

We really, really want the experience to be utterly amazing for you so do double check the diary before signing up to avoid any disappointment

Is my child needed at both shows?

Yes please! Both shows are exactly the same, so that the cast get more than one opportunity to do their performance and there’s some flexibility for their families when they’re choosing when to come and see the show. So yes, please do factor in your child being at the theatre for both shows.

What do they need to wear?

Each cast member will be given a beautiful, high quality show costume to wear on stage then keep afterwards. They’ll be fitted for it, get a chance to rehearse in it and then will wear it during both performances. There may be bit and bobs you need to provide (tights mostly, if they’re needed) but we’ll make sure you know about any of that well ahead of time so you have plenty of time to get hold of it.

You get get their costume journey started by sending us through their measurements and booking them a spot in the cast here:
>>> https://forms.gle/A2UZjXhpHnshYubNA

Where do I get tickets?

The Point handle the box office themselves so as soon as tickets are available we will publish it on our social media channels. There will be a weekly countdown to the show day that includes a link to the booking page of The Point’s website. All refunds and exchanges are handled by The Point and are controlled by their booking policies too.

I’ve heard the words ‘Director’s Piece’. What is that?

The Director’s Piece is an awesome project we run each year that anyone in a Starchaser class and upwards (7+) can take part in. It’s a project based around telling a unique and captivating story through dance (each year is a different story), and focuses really hard on story telling skills, performance skills and team work.

The cast will often learn special skills, like lifting, partnering, martial arts, stick twirling, capoeira, swing dance, circus props…. It’s always different!

The Director’s Piece forms a mini show within the main show and sees most of the cast get an extra 25 minutes of time on stage. It’s. Absolutely. Huge!

Because of the extra amount of training involved (it’s three additional hours of dance training on a saturday – but it’s not like joining the army, it’s a blast!) there is an additional cost to do Director’s Piece (we’ve tried doing it for free and can’t find the way that works best for the cast and the team). But the value you/your child gets for the money paid makes it a very worthwhile investment!

How do I get my child involved in Director’s Piece?

That’s super, super simple. Just ping us an email and let us know and we’ll send over the info for you.