OMG! Just sat through 4.5 hours of a dance recital!

[BC]

Don't get me wrong, I love my niece and also like watching the other girls & guys dance, but really! My niece was in 6 of the routines and it lasted almost 5 hours. Why don't they break them up into groups by age and have like the little ones the first hour, the middle school next and then high school last. It was mixed all up forcing you to have to stay through it all and on top of that they have a grand finale with everyone in it. It became very repetitive. I know I will get flamed by some of you and maybe I was just having a bad day, but I really think it could be done differently. Opinions from others that have kids taking dance.

 

[LisaNJ25]

I feel your pain. My kids dance recital is next weekend. My 4yo and 5yo dance and they are not in the same time slot. One is in the 1pm show and the other is in the 6pm show. Its going to be a long day. They are each in 1 dance.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

That is love because I would not sit thru 5hrs of recital unless it was my own kids.

 

[BC]

At least it sounds like yours is broken up into 2 shows by age or class, giving you an idea of what time they will be dancing. That is what I was suggesting. This just had a start time of 2pm and that was all we knew. It indeed started at 2pm, but lasted until almost 7!

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

Don't get me wrong, I love my niece and also like watching the other girls & guys dance, but really! My niece was in 6 of the routines and it lasted almost 5 hours. Why don't they break them up into groups by age and have like the little ones the first hour, the middle school next and then high school last. It was mixed all up forcing you to have to stay through it all and on top of that they have a grand finale with everyone in it. It became very repetitive. I know I will get flamed by some of you and maybe I was just having a bad day, but I really think it could be done differently. Opinions from others that have kids taking dance.

My daughter has her recital next Tuesday. Same thing. Hours and Hours long. She is in only 1 dance this year though so it shouldn't be too bad.

I know all the dances are mixed up , no rhyme or reason. I won't even know when her dance is until I go to the dress rehearsal on Saturday. I have to get there when it starts and hopefully she won't be one of the last dances.

Alot of the dances are the company girls. Plus solo after solo after solo. That is what drives me nuts. There should be some kind of audition if your kid wants to do a solo. But they take anyone who pays the $90.00 a half hour.

Some of the solo dancers are just plain aweful.

 

[daisyduck123]

My DD took dance for over 6 years.
Her recitals were 4-5 hours long.


When she finally decided to quit I was

 

[EnchantedPrincess]

Wow.. 4.5 hours dance recital is long. At my dd's dance studio, they break down their recitals to two days and multiple performances - a 1pm and 7pm performance on day 1 and a 1pm performance on day 2. They are each 2 hours long. Dancers do not perform at all 3 performances unless you are doing multiple dances (and you could even be lucky that they are all on the same day at the same time). My daughter is only in one dance and hers is in Day 2 at 1pm so we don't have to be there at all on the first day. Last year, they actually had a shorter recital for the younger kids ages 3-5 which last for only an hour. I don't know if my family can sit through almost 5 hours of recital.lol

 

[bdoyledimou]

try three 12 hour days of dance Competitions.. 5 weeks in a row!!



the Recital wasn't that bad only 4 hours... but seriously... these kids put a LOT of work and time into it.. enjoy!

 

[momof1princess]

i know how you feel, OP! DD's first year of dance, her recital was over 4 hours long, she was in two separate numbers, each at different ends of the show! my parents are both disabled, and my dad just couldn't sit there any more, he left after DD's first number.
we've switched dance schools, and her current teacher does things differently-she writes an original production each year, sort of like a play, and it's about 2-2.5 hours long, including the finale. DD only takes one class, so she only has 1 number, thank goodness!

 

[minkydog]

No flames from me. There's something about sitting through hours of watching other people's kids dance with teddy bears, umbrellas, flower hoops, hats, canes and various other props that make me wanna say "JUST KILL ME NOW!"

Our dance school has two recitals, back to back. One is at 2pm and the other is at 6pm. The majority of the kids will dance in only one recital. The more mature dancers often perform in both recitals. It's really nice when those groups come out and dance, because they're actually good! I usually go to only one show, since they're going to do the same dances at both (DD17 is a HipHop Company dancer and she does Broadway-style.) Thank goodness she has decided to separate from her dance school. Don't get me wrong, they have been good to her but she has far outstripped what they can teach her. So now she has a really good professional teacher(with connections ) mentoring her. The new teacher does competitions, music videos, et al, and NO RECITALS.

 

[BC]

Well, at least I know I am not the only one that feels it is too much! Thank goodness none of the solos were allowed in this one, if so I would have had to stay through that also as my niece does several of those.

I know what you mean about the competitions because she travels all over for those too. She is in "Company" also. She is a really good dancer and I think it is good exercise and good for her self esteem, but there is so much politics involved with the teachers putting the kids that have the most money or Moms that offer to volunteer the most in the top classes. I could not believe how you have to pay for classes and then also pay to go to these competitions and if you do a solo in a recital, you have to pay for that, even though you have paid for classes all year, meaning you gotta pay to dance a dance they taught you during their recital...Geez! She also has become involved in the pageant scene which I do not care for at all.

They also just had "tryouts" for next year's classes, which she is anxiously awaiting the results. What happened to the days like when my daughter took dance and each year her group just "graduated" up to the next level!

 

[emer95]

Our girls took dance for exactly ONE year and then we took them out. We were shocked that they expected us (and them!) to put in such a ridiculously long day for them to put on a two-minute dance, and then stick around for the finale at the end. Insane! They were ages 3 and 4 at the time, and all together it was a 7 hour day. I thought my parents were going to lose their minds sitting there. we tried to leave after their performance (3 hours into the recital) and were told we couldn't because of the finale. When it was finally over I told my girls, "We're done with dance on Saturdays for a little while." and they said, in unison, "Yay!" That's when I knew our family would never, ever be a dance family again. Thank God!

And the truly insane thing is, after paying for the weekly lesson, costumes, and recital fees, we had to pay $15 a piece to sit in the auditorium to watch our own children perform. What were the recital fees for?

My heart goes out to you, OP! I'll never sit through another recital again as long as I live. And they always happen to be on the most gorgeous days!

 

[BC]

You're right...the weather here today was 90 degrees and beautiful! Great beach day.

Another reason I don't like this dance setup, is because my niece takes 4 days a week, 3 of them ending around 630-7pm and one of them is not out until 815pm! Then she has to go home, eat, get homework, bathe and it is always late when she gets to bed. She is an honor student, but I don't know how she does it!

 

[paintnolish]

Haha. I had to click on this to see if you were in my area! We sat through almost 4 hours today for dd's recital, capped off by the teachers' dance. Ugh.

 

[clori]

My oldest dd just turned 4 before her first recital. I was concerned about making the recital since I was pregnant and due June 16th and the recital was June 12th. I ended up with a 10 day old baby the day of the recital. My sil said she would watch the baby for me for 1.5 hours or so. I thought by then dd would have danced her 1 tap routine and didn't care if I didn't get to focus on the rest.

It turned out that the recital went on over 7.5 hours. After dd did her routine we left for a few hours. It was strongly discouraged but I played the new baby card. I was told to bring dd back at the 5 hour point so she could get her trophy. I couldn't believe it. Trophies were only given for perfect attendance and size was based on number of years with the company. As soon as dd got her teeny tiny trophy we left but it wasn't even over.

Since dd liked dance we switched to a new studio that was less than 5 minutes from the other one that just opened up. This studio now has 3 recitals the same day 11, 2 and 5pm. These are both non competitive dance studios. Unless there are unusual circumstances each kid dances in just one recital and they try to have siblings in the same show. Last year dd did end up in two recitals but I was asked if that was okay due to all the siblings. This year both girls are in the same recital. There are about 20 numbers and my kids are in 7 songs total (ballet, tap, hip hop/jazz, and dance team for the oldest). Everyone gets a certificate and the same size trophy.

 

[4nana]

I hear you ! Our 10yo DGD is in 6th year of dance, so we know more about dance recitals now that ever intended . A couple yrs ago she started a new dance school, so no more 5 hr recitals, thankfully it's broken down in 2 nights. She's in 5 routines and we wouldn't miss it for the world, love to see the sparkle in her eyes, her progression, the costumes, and just how hard they've all worked the past year.

Believe me, when you have 13 grands (6 local) involved in something several times a week, if your spirit is willing, you find yourself sitting at many different activites . Thankfully we enjoy going, as it not only gives us some bonding time with grands, but helps keep our old spirits young.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

How about 4 hours of middle school jazz bands?

 

[alisonwonderland64]

Wow 5 hours?! That's crazy. At the studio I went to, they split the recitals up into 3 shows over one Saturday (I think they're at like 11, 2, and 4:30). The first two shows are all younger kids and are about 1-1 1/2 hours, while the final show (the one I was always in) was mostly all older girls and was a bit longer, probably around 2 hours or a bit more. Which was always more than long enough for me, given how tiring those were (I was usually one of the crazy people that was in like a quarter of all the dances in the show). I can't imagine having only one long show, that would not be fun .

I was also working at another studio's dance recital this weekend, and they organized their recital into 3 different shows (a little over two hours each, with an intermission), in which some of the dances were the same and some were different each show, and because their recital only had some of the dancers in it, a lot of people were coming late/leaving early, and that seemed like a pretty good system. Even at the first studio I ever went to (unfortunately...), their shows were only about 2 1/2-3 hours and we thought they were plenty long then, I can't imagine having to sit through (or dance through, in my case...) another two extra hours of that...kudos to all of you who make it through these epic recitals! As someone who knows the world of dance recitals all too well, I can imagine what it must be like!

 

[dreamer17555]

My DD dances. Her studio does 3 shows. One on Friday, Two on Saturday (one afternoon,. one evening) It is a mix of kids and ages at each show. Company girls (those who do competition) dance every show (meaning Cat does all 3 shows). For the rec students they do their best scheduling so even if in multiple dances that they are only in one show but its not always possible. Our shows are about 3hours or so. We have tons of comp soloist but the only solos performed at recital in graduating seniors (I love this. Its so moving and sweet).

Very few people leave mid show. All the students are given a trophy at the end of their show (if in multiple shows you select which one you would like to receive it at)

Since Cat does comps (with those 12 hour days) I dont even blink at recitals. In fact we often go to friends recitals just to support their dancers. Those dancer work all year for that night.

Becca

 

[xCourxCorex]

Yikes that's a long recital!
I work at the studio I danced with for 9 years, and we have 2 large "full-length" recitals (dancers in grades 1+) each runs around 2-2.5 hours.
We also do 5 "mini shows" which consist of about 4-5 classes of preschool and kindergarten-age classes, plus the older company girls. Those shows are only about 1 hour long, which is great if you have a little one. There's no need for a 3 year old to be at a dance recital all day for 2 small numbers.

Ours are "mixed up" - there is no real pattern of dances, it may go from 3/4th grade tap to Senior company lyrical to 1st/2nd grade ballet. Part of the reason is people get bored watching the same type of routines over and over again. I would not want to sit through a straight half-hour of all 6 and 7 year olds. The changes in age/level keeps the variety throughout the show. Also, there are usually lots of dancers in multiple numbers. Having all your routines be back to back would mean waiting for costume changes, and probably no change in hair or theatrical makeup.

Stinks about your long day, OP. I wonder if any parents at the dance school have suggested multiple, shorter recitals vs long big one.