Ballet Abilene Recital Details

Ballet Abilene presents "Broadway Bound", our 41st Annual Spring Recital, on Saturday, May 17, 2025. This production showcases each of our classes as well as pieces danced by our ballet company. There are two performances of the recital in order to accommodate all of our students' family members - 2:30pm and 8:00pm. All classes perform at both times except for the Baby Ballet classes (3&4's), who are assigned either a matinee or evening performance; please see the list below.

#1 DRESS REHEARSAL Friday May 16TH at the Paramount Theatre. The following is a schedule of when dancers arrive & rehearse:

All Baby Ballet classes

“Getting to Know You”, “A Bushel and a Peck”,

“You’re Never Fully Dressed without a Smile”, “Pixie Dust”

ARRIVE AT 2:10. BE READY TO REHEARSE AT 2:30

All other dancers in the 1st half of the show before intermission

ARRIVE AT 4:00. BE READY TO REHEARSE AT 4:30

All other dancers in the 2nd half of the show after intermission

ARRIVE AT 6:30. BE READY TO REHEARSE AT 7:00

Read through the recital order to find out if your dancer performs in the first or second half of the show. The entire show will last approximately 2 hours including intermission.

-DO NOT wear or let your child wear his/her costume or dance shoes to the theatre. This is a BIG NO NO! Carry your costume in a garment bag, shoes & other necessities in a dance bag & change in your assigned dressing room. Write your child’s name inside his/her costume & shoes.

-Please have your dancer’s hair & full stage makeup fixed (at home) according to your teacher’s directions for Dress Rehearsal. No jewelry is allowed except for rhinestone stud performance earrings. No nail polish except for clear. This is our time to practice EVERYTHING for performance.

-After dancers have dressed, all dancers must sit in their assigned section of seats at all times. Then we will be calling each class from their assigned section in the audience to the stage to rehearse. ABSOLUTELY NO RUNNING UP & DOWN THE AISLES DURING REHEARSAL!!! Not only is it dangerous, it slows down our rehearsal process. Parents, we understand that the children are very excited & sitting & watching rehearsal in a seat is difficult to do but we absolutely MUST have your cooperation with this. It is actually a vital part of the whole performing experience as well…learning by example. Please leave younger siblings who are not performing at home with a sitter if at all possible. We feel that this will help with the noise level & the possible dangers associated with small children running down the aisle of the dark theatre while parents are trying to film & photograph the rehearsal. After all, dancers will need a calm, quiet environment as they are concentrating & working very hard to produce a beautiful & entertaining recital for you.

-Please be patient, as dress rehearsals tend to run long. Plan on it. Bring water, non-messy snacks & quiet activities to keep occupied during wait times. ABSOLUTELY NO EATING IN COSTUME! That said, we feel that our strategically planned Dress Rehearsal schedule should help to shorten your length of waiting time considerably. After your dancer finishes their specific rehearsal, they are free to go. Many dancers love to stay and watch some of the rehearsal process, and as long as they are seated in the theatre and watching quietly, it is permitted.

#2 RECITAL is SATURDAY MAY 17th at 2:30 & 8:00. Senior I & II will have a warm up at the studio at 12:30. All other dancers should arrive at the theater one hour before the show if they are age 9 & older & 30 minutes prior to the show if they are between the ages of 3 & 8.

-Again, ABSOLUTELY DO NOT WEAR YOUR COSTUME TO THE THEATRE! We want our audience to be surprised when they see you perform. They won’t be if they have already seen you in full stage make-up & costume, walk across the street & into the theater. We simply cannot stress enough how TACKY this is! DON’T DO IT! Please protect your costume and carry it on a hanger & covered in a garment bag.

-Once dressed, dancers must stay in assigned dressing areas until a member of the Ballet Abilene staff comes to line up the class & lead them to the stage or waiting area. Parents, absolutely DO NOT leave your 3 or 4-year-old baby ballerina unattended in the tunnel. Once a staff member has lined up the class, then you may go back out front & enjoy the show. That will happen before the start of the show so that you won’t miss a thing. We’ve purposely put all of our younger dancers in the first half of the show so that for the second half, they may go out & sit in your lap or seat (if you reserved one for them) & watch- another vital part of the performing experience for the young aspiring dancer! You will go back down to the tunnel & retrieve your young dancer AT INTERMISSION so that she/he may watch. Then, everyone is encouraged to participate in CURTAIN CALL…. And JUST LIKE IN YEARS PAST…. We will have a short pause towards the end of the show (before the last few numbers) where you may simply send your little dancer up the aisle to Ballet Abilene staff who will be waiting to take all participants to line up for curtain call. You DO NOT get back up to take your dancer down there. We will do it for you! Stay seated & enjoy the show!

- After the curtain closes on our show, all of our older dancers & teachers hold hands to form a large circle on stage, creating a “holding pen” for the younger dancers. The curtain will open after applause and you may make your way down the aisle and up towards the front of the stage. We will have your little one safe & sound waiting for you : ) Just to clarify, PLEASE DO NOT walk up on the stage. We will bring them over to you by the steps. The Paramount staff really appreciates your cooperation with this!

Looking forward to a wonderful recital!

THANK YOU! Ms. Lisa, Mrs. Nancy & the entire Ballet Abilene staff