Our Annual Recital is truly a production! It takes dozens of man-hours to set up and prepare for a weekend full of dancing and celebrating everything our students and staff have accomplished during this year. While we are “all hands on deck” as far as the staff is concerned, and there are people that we hire specifically for child care in the cafeteria and security staff for the venue, we still would not be able to put together the fabulous recital experience we have every year without our amazing parent volunteers.

Our volunteers work in several different areas around the recital including helping in the front of the house with snack and gift sales, ushering and raffle sales, security inside the theater, and behind the scenes help in the cafeteria assisting with supervision and helping the dancers change. We are greatly appreciative of all of our volunteers, and we make sure that they are able to assist with the show while also being given time to see their dancers perform.

Some of our previous volunteers were kind enough to share their favorite things about volunteering below:

Angelica Jurado:

“I love being able to see the excitement on the faces of all the dancers as they get ready to take the stage. It’s the realization of everything they have been working so hard toward the whole year, and you can see how much it means to them.”

Russel Gobetz:

“I like being able to help out with scenery or I’ve helped with the snack table at intermission. The help is definitely needed because you may not be able to tell, but it takes a lot of time and effort putting the recital together. I also get extra time to hang with the guys in Dad’s Company which is also a good time!”

Diane Kinnear:

“It’s so much fun to watch as the little ones head down the hallway to take the stage. You also get the chance to really see how much effort it takes just to put the whole recital together. You see how much goes into making sure every class is taken care of and things run smoothly. From the audience it looks like things move right along, but backstage you get to appreciate what went into making it look that way, and the people who are making that happen.”

Sometimes volunteering at the Recital becomes a family effort, as with our next two examples!

Tara and Rigel Zeledon:

Tara – “I love the hustle and bustle of the backstage area. There is so much going on and so much happiness and anticipation for the performance. I love being able to help make the show a happy memory for the dancers.”

Rigel – “Helping with scenery gives you the best backstage view because you get to see the dancers in the last moments before they get to perform. The excitement, the jitters, and how cute the little ones are waiting for their first real performance on stage make the show a lot of fun to be a part of.”

Melissa and Tom Henderson:

“My husband Tom and I enjoy volunteering at the recital every year because it is a way to see the dancers up close and personal, catching everything behind the scenes.  No one can imagine all of the activity and action that takes place while people are sitting enjoying the show.  Everyone is constantly moving, running to change costumes, helping with costumes and hair and entertaining all of the young dancers in the cafeteria.  Once you experience it, you realize how important it is to take part in helping the dancers have the best possible recital.  Our daughter Faith and our son Thomas also really appreciate us being there to help out.  It has become part of our Dance Connection tradition! If you haven’t done it yet, definitely give it a try.”

We are so grateful for the amazing volunteers who help us make sure that recital is the best possible experience for everyone involved! If you are interested in becoming a Recital Volunteer, click here to sign up!