Putting together the program is probably the most important part of a good show. The flow of the items can make or break it. There are so many different elements to consider when putting together a program and making a mistake can be disastrous (but not always).
At the end of each year, Melanie and myself sit down and plan out the next year. We draw up a plan of what we are going to teach (technique, styles, props, choreographies) to which class and when. Part of what informs these decisions is what will be danced at our shows. We carefully craft out what we'd like to teach each class and then arrange it so that 1. it flows nicely for the class and 2. we have a nice balance of styles and props in each show. When it comes to show time, we don't have to worry about having too many props or similar styles in the show because we've already worked that out. It's just the students solos and duos that need to be carefully arranged.
I'm usually the one who plans the order of the program. I create a table with headers: number, name of dance, dancers in the piece, what costume they are wearing, and length of dance.
It's pretty obvious the function of the headers number and name of dance, so I'll skip those.
Having a column with a list of dancers in each piece makes an easy reference to ensure that each dancer has enough time to change into their next costume.
The costume column has 2 functions: 1. so that when I hand out the program to the dancers they know what they are wearing for each item they are in (yes, I know they should know, but from experience it's best to give them the list), and 2. if their are any quick changes, we can see the complexity of the change (we try to aim for easy quick changes).
Length of the dance enables me to check that we don't have one half way longer than the other.
You should never put too much of one style or prop close together. The audience will get bored if they have to watch 2 veils pieces, a wings and then another veil. The same applies for solos and groups. If you have lots of solos in a row, it also get boring. I try to separate solos with groups (duos and up), only occasionally having 2 solos in a row if they are of different styles. You don't want your audience to get bored. Changing styles, number of dancers and props keeps the audiences attention.
I hope these tips help you the next time you are putting together the program for our show. What tips do you have for me?