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 Recital
Theme
Starter Kits
By Rhee Gold
Themes, music, and staging ideas to jumpstart your imagination
If you’re not already well on your way to planning next
spring’s recital,
these three recital theme starter kits may be just the thing
to help you jumpstart your creativity. Along with ideas for
the theme you’ll find creative production notes, suggestions
for music selections, and ideas for choreography that will
make your show special for your students as well as the
audience.
Choose one of the themes we’ve come up with—“Let It Shine,”
“Hometown Memories,” and “When I Grow Up”—and take the starter
kit into a brainstorming session with your faculty and staff.
Pick it apart and keep what you like—maybe come up with your
own twist on the concept— then add everyone’s creative input
and you’ll have the recipe for a successful show! Don’t be
afraid to take chances or try something totally different than
what you think your audiences will expect. In some cases you
may learn what not to do, but I’ve always found that most of
the chances we take end up being what audiences remember most!
After you browse through the starter kits, turn to page 90 to
find tips on how to make your next recital experience a smooth
process from start to finish. But first, read on to learn the
basics about downloading music from the Internet. Once you
have familiarized yourself with music download sites, you’ll
discover that an entire universe of music is right at your
fingertips. Whether you purchase music from these sites or
just use them for research, they are a valuable tool that
today’s school owner can’t live without.
Recital Music Made Simple
Do you ever wish you could find all the recital music you’ll
ever need? Here’s how!
Once you’ve decided on a theme or concept for your recital,
visit any music download site, like iTunes. Don’t know what to
do once you’re there? Let’s use the recital starter kit for
the “Let It Shine” theme on page 84 as an example. Start with
the keyword “shine”—you’ll find a couple of hundred options,
and you can listen to 30-second snippets of each song. You can
narrow your search by utilizing the “genre” search option on
the site. I use the following breakdown as a guide for finding
a song to suit a particular style of dance:
• ballet—classical, New Age
• tap—soundtracks, electronic, jazz • modern or
contemporary—alternative, New Age, spoken word
• jazz—blues, dance, pop, rock
• lyrical—Christian, gospel, easy listening, pop, vocal
• preschool or 10-and-under groups—children’s music (a huge
selection!)
Next, cut and paste all the information for each tune that
you’ve selected onto a spreadsheet; that way you can revisit
all your options later, before narrowing the list down to your
final choices.
After you’ve searched all the “shine” tunes, investigate
further by using additional keywords that are related to that
word, like “sun,” “moon,” “light,” “money,” “jewels,” and so
on. Before you know it you’ll have more music options than you
could ever use.
Now narrow down your list by listening to the complete song
and all the lyrics. Sure, you’ve got to like the melody
or the beat, but if the lyrics are x-rated you need to know
that up front. If you can’t understand some of the words, plug
the song title and the word “lyrics” into your browser, and
chances are you’ll find the complete lyrics. If you love the
song but not the words, you may choose to edit it or find an
instrumental version; if not, drop it from your list. Go
overboard with double the amount of music you think you will
need, just in case you change your mind or want to offer your
faculty several options. (If they are happy with their music
they are more likely to produce a great piece.)
Finally, download your music selections or purchase the CDs.
You’re ready to start choreographing!
Be sure to check out our these
articles containing our Recital Theme Starter Kits!
Let It Shine
Hometown Memories
When I Grow Up,
I'm Gonna Be . . .
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