I get questions all the time about how long dances, recitals, and intermission should be. Here are my top 5 recommendations!
1) Most dances should be around 2 minutes. Especially for our younger dances. Older dances can be closer to a minute and a half. Large productions can be around 3 minutes.
2) One recital or show should stay under two hours. More than two hours and you tend to lose your audience.
3) Intermission should stay under 15 minutes.
4) Limit the breaks in between dances. I love using tags. Tags make for a quick and smooth transition that keeps the audience engaged. Tags should be 30 seconds or less. You may need to have a longer slightly longer tag for your youngest dancers. Sometimes our little ones need more time to get on and off stage.
5) If you need more time in between dances for a costume or set change fill the time with announcements, script that is inline with your theme or show, skits, or even audience participation games such as trivia.
What are your guidelines? How long is too long?
Happy recital planning!
