1 Aug 2024 · 2 min
Amanda Barr and a co-host share ways to make the backstage area at dance concerts fun for kids. They cover party entertainers, craft stations, and games that keep performers engaged and happy before they go on stage.
Hi, friends.
Welcome to no Bullshit Business Tips by the Dance Principals United team. Each week we're dropping short, actionable tips for you to grow the studio of your dreams. You can find this video on our free Facebook group at Dance Principles United, or check it out here on the podcast as a bonus episode every week. Hope you love it.
Hi, friends. We're back with you today with our no Bullshit Business Tips. And we are super pumped about today's session.
Absolutely. Now, we wanted to talk about backstage at the concert because we so often think about the onstage, but what about the backstage and really thinking about it from a child's perspective. Right?
Exactly. And like Amanda and I, probably most of you who are listening to us right now, was that kid at the concert that did, you know, 10 routines? You were so busy, you were getting changed all of the time. But what we like to think about is that kid that just does one routine in the concert.
Absolutely. And seeing it from their perspective, because if they're just in that one routine, how long are they backstage for? You know, if the show goes for two hours, did they have to arrive an hour early? Are they there for three hours? Are they there for longer? Perhaps? You know, are they being chucked in the side of a dressing room going, shh, shh, shh? And someone being told, telling them the whole time to be quiet. Which isn't a great fun day for the kid, right?
Absolutely. And so what we'd love you guys to think about is some things that you could maybe do backstage that might be able to entertain those kids, help them to have an amazing time so they don't go out and go, I never want to do a concert again. This is the worst thing ever. And their mum pulls them out, but they come out going, oh, my gosh, it was like a party backstage. It was so much fun.
Absolutely. And I think, like, a party, that's the key, Right. When I like to think about backstage, I think about things like what happens at a child's birthday party, because that's what it should be like. You want the kids to have the best time ever. You want the concert to be incredible, not just on the stage, but off the stage as well. So what kind of things could you kind of have there? I guess.
Well, Amanda, I know you've gone next level with this at your school and actually had, like, party entertainers come in now. I am actually doing that for the first time this year. Amazing. Yeah. And I'm super pumped about it because I just think, like, I've hired a little tiny Room for it. There's not a lot of kids that aren't doing multiple routines, but there's enough that probably are going to be bored backstage. And so we're going to have a couple of party entertainers in there, which I think is really cool.
Absolutely. You know, you could get a kids party entertainer, you know, for not a lot of money, to keep the kids entertained. Perhaps instead you could use some of your senior students and you could create a disco room. You know, you could play party games, like musical statues or whatever. You could learn TikTok dances. And I think that's key. Right. If you could get an extra room to put them in so they don't have to be quiet. Yes, that's absolutely key.
Yeah. And so they're not getting in the way. Like, you don't want the kids to feel like they are getting in the way.
Absolutely. And that's what I worry about with that once a week kid. Right. That they're just like told to sit in a corner, be quiet, and they just feel like they're not actually part of the entire event. I think that's a big thing for those kids. And they don't feel part of the community.
Totally. And like, if you don't have the resources to do that just yet, you could even have like a craft station Loom bands is very popular with my kids. Those bracelets that everyone's wearing, the Taylor Swift. The Taylor Swift bracelets that everyone's like, absolutely. But like, there's always those things. You can get super cool craft packs from even Kmart and places like that and just have like a fun area for them to chill out in.
Absolutely. That's what we do for our preschools as well, because we didn't want to hype them up too much in preschools. But having that craft kind of area was so good. We just used like, really easy, cheap things from Kmart and they had an absolute blast. They got to take home their artworks. And, you know, the parents love that as well because they want to see that they had so much fun backstage. Not. Oh, it was so boring.
Totally. So that's our tip for today, guys. We hope you love it and we'll talk to you soon.
