Concert Day
Concert Day
Concert day is such an exciting and special day for our students and their families. After all the hard work throughout the year, seeing the students dressed in their costumes, performing on stage and sharing the experience with their friends and families is what it is all about.
The memories made on concert day are so important. Believe me, as a mum of three adult boys now, I look back and wish I could go back and do it all again — only slower. I’d take a little more time, inhale every part of those days and soak up all the little moments that, at the time, you don’t realise will become some of your most precious memories.
So please enjoy it. Take in the excitement, the costumes, the nerves, the smiles, the chaos and all those little moments in between. These years really do go far too quickly.
We want the whole concert experience to be fun, exciting and enjoyable for our students and their parents, and you are very welcome to be part of it.
To help everything run smoothly and, most importantly, to keep all of our students safe and well cared for, please take a few minutes to read through the information below.
Drop-off
For all rehearsals and performances at The Art House, parents and guardians are asked to bring their children to the roller door entrance at the back of The Art House.
Check-in, Parent Helper Areas & Supervision
When students arrive, they will be checked in and shown to their assigned parent helper area. This is where they will stay between routines.
Parents are very welcome to stay with their own child and be part of their concert experience. You can help them get ready, assist with costume changes or simply stay and enjoy some of those special backstage moments with them.
Please keep in mind that if you then wish to return to the audience, there is no access from the backstage area directly into the auditorium. You will need to leave via the backstage/roller door area, walk around to the front of The Art House and enter the auditorium through the main entrance.
For child safety, only registered parent helpers with a current Working With Children Check (WWCC) may assist or supervise students who are not their own children.
Only our registered parent helpers with a WWCC are able to take groups of students from their parent helper area through to the backstage/stage area for their performance, and return them afterwards.
Parents are, of course, always welcome to help their own child with costumes, hair, make-up and getting ready.
Photos & Videos Backstage
Absolutely no photos or videos are permitted in the dressing rooms or changing areas. This includes using your phone.
With so many children changing costumes throughout the day, we really appreciate everyone's understanding and cooperation with this important rule.
There will be plenty of opportunities to capture those wonderful concert memories outside of the changing areas.
Costume Changes
If your child is performing in five or more routines, we strongly recommend that you, another family member or a trusted family friend stay with them to help with their costume changes.
This makes those quick changes much easier and less stressful — and lets our dancers concentrate on enjoying their performances!
After the Show – Sign-out
After the finale, students will be signed out one at a time from the same roller door area used for drop-off.
Our younger students will be brought out first, followed by the remaining students.
Please be patient with us during sign-out. We know everyone is excited to see their families, but we need to make sure every child leaves safely with the correct person.
Watching the Show
Some students may have the opportunity to watch part of the concert — for example, if they only perform in one half of the program.
If your child would like to sit in the audience, they will need their own ticket.
If a student leaves the parent helper area to watch part of the show, their parent or guardian is responsible for taking them around to the auditorium and returning them afterwards.
Please let us know before concert day if you are planning to do this so their parent helper knows where they are.
Backstage
We want the time backstage to be part of the fun of concert day too!
Students will be supervised by responsible adults, and the dressing rooms will have activities and a live video feed of the performance so they can watch the concert, spend time with their dance friends and enjoy the excitement while waiting for their turn on stage.
Thank you for helping us make concert day safe, organised, exciting and full of wonderful memories for our students and families.
We can't wait to share this very special part of the CMDA year with you all.
❤️
Arrival
On concert days, all students should arrive completely ready to perform — wearing their first costume, with hair and make-up finished.
Each student will be given an allocated arrival time closer to the day. Our senior students will arrive earlier, while our little ones will have arrival times closer to the start of the show. This helps keep backstage calm and organised and means our younger students aren’t waiting around for too long before their big moment!
Please don’t worry about arrival times just yet — these will be provided closer to concert day.
Sprouts, Seniors & Solos Show
Show starts: 11:30 AM
If you are watching from the audience, please be seated by 11:20 AM so everyone is settled and ready for the show to begin.
Night Shows
Both night shows start at 6:00 PM sharp.
If you are watching from the audience, please be seated by 5:50 PM.
Where to Enter
For all rehearsals and performances at The Art House, students should enter through the backstage roller door entrance shown below.
This is also where students will be checked in and directed to their allocated parent helper area.
We know there will be lots of excitement on the day, so allowing a little extra time to arrive, get checked in and settled will help everyone start their concert experience feeling happy and relaxed. ❤️
Be a Fabulous Audience!
Our dancers have worked so hard for this moment, and there is nothing better than performing to a warm, enthusiastic audience!
To a dancer on stage, atmosphere is everything. They can feel the energy coming from the audience, and your applause, cheers and encouragement give them such a wonderful lift. The more energy you give them, the more excited and confident they become — and it can completely change the feeling of a performance.
So please don’t be shy! Clap, cheer, encourage them and help us create an amazing atmosphere for all of our dancers. It means more to them than you might realise.
A few little things to help make the experience wonderful for everyone:
The Art House kindly asks that everyone remain seated during each performance. If you do need to leave the auditorium, please wait until the dance has finished. Re-entry will also only be permitted between routines, and The Art House staff will be managing this on the day.
Video recording and flash photography are not permitted during the concert. We have professional photography and video organised to capture the performances, and all families will receive a copy of the professionally recorded concert, so everyone will have those special memories to keep.
Please make sure family members and guests attending with you are aware of these guidelines too.
Most importantly, bring your biggest smiles, your loudest applause and plenty of encouragement. Let’s give our dancers the wonderful, supportive atmosphere they deserve and a concert experience they’ll remember for years to come.
We Need Our Wonderful Parent Helpers
Concerts simply couldn’t run as smoothly as they do without our amazing parent helpers, and we are always so grateful to the mums, dads and carers who volunteer their time to help us backstage.
We need parent helpers to supervise each class or age group and help make sure our dancers are safe, happy and where they need to be throughout the show.
As a parent helper, you’ll be allocated a class or age group and stay with them in their dressing room/parent helper area. You’ll become their go-to person for the show — helping with costume changes, make-up touch-ups, toilet runs, getting students ready and taking them to and from the backstage/stage area for their performances... along with all the other little things that happen behind the scenes on concert day!
If your child is performing in both night shows, a great option is to help backstage for one show and sit back and enjoy the other from the audience. That way you get to experience both sides of concert day.
If you’re able to volunteer, please complete the attached Parent Helper Form. I’ll send further information and allocations to our helpers during Term 4, so everyone knows exactly what they’re doing before concert day.
Sometimes we are lucky enough to have lots of volunteers for a particular class. If that happens, we may ask some parents to help with another class or take on another important role, such as student check-in and sign-out.
It is a very organised system, and we’ll make sure you have all the information you need. You certainly don’t need to have helped before — we’ll guide you through everything.
Thank you for being part of it. Our parent helpers play such an important role in making concert day safe, happy and special for our dancers, and we genuinely couldn’t do it without you. ❤️