The end-of-season showcase: what it is — and why it is worth it

Every winter IDC takes to a big stage. The end-of-season showcase is one of the main events of the year and a tradition of the centre from the very beginning.

For the children it is not simply a performance in front of their parents but a full stage experience: professional lighting and sound, costumes, sets, special effects, photo corners and a large auditorium.

It is not an open class

Parents can see their child at work in the open classes, which are held for every group.

The showcase has a different purpose. The children prepare for it over several months: learning routines, going through run-throughs, working on their stage characters and learning to be part of a large programme.

It is an experience that cannot be fully recreated in an ordinary dance studio.

What lies behind one evening

Preparation for the concert begins at the start of the season, and the team plans some of the organisational decisions well in advance.

Behind a single evening lie:

• routines for every group;
• making or commissioning costumes, fittings and alterations;
• hiring a professional stage;
• lighting and sound design;
• set design and special effects;
• photo corners and gifts for the children;
• professional photography and video of the routines.

That is what the ticket price is made up of.

For IDC the showcase is not a way of making money but a chance to create a real stage for the children, and for parents to see the year's results in a full concert format.

"Why should I pay to see my own child?"

This is a fair question.

A ticket does not pay for the fact of being present at your child's performance but for creating the event: hiring the hall, the technical provision, the staging and everything that makes the concert professional.

Open classes remain a free opportunity to see the teaching process. The showcase is a separate large-scale project built on the principles of a real production.

Taking part is a choice

Taking part in the concert is not compulsory.

A child can carry on with classes and join the next concert, when the family is ready for it.

At the same time it is this performance that often becomes one of the brightest events of the year for children. Many of them fall in love with the stage even more afterwards and want to perform again.

What new families should know

Questions about how participation works, the cost, costumes and deadlines are best asked at the start of the season.

Routines and stage characters are prepared in advance, so joining a number at the last moment can be difficult.

It is also worth allowing time for run-throughs and dress rehearsals — they are an important part of the preparation.

How the showcase differs from a competition

IDC's senior teacher Yuniia Furman says parents often compare the concert's level with competitions and note that in scale and atmosphere it is a match for major events.

"Every year we try to make the concert stronger and more professional. And every time it seems impossible to top the last one."

But the main difference is not only in the production.

A competition always involves being judged, waiting for a result and nerves. At the showcase children can focus more on the performance itself, on the stage and on enjoying the process.

"It is a different experience. At the concert the children dance without a thought about placings and can genuinely enjoy the stage."

What happens backstage matters just as much: preparing together, costume changes, supporting each other and the feeling of belonging to a big team.

What it gives parents

At the showcase parents see not only their own child's group but the whole studio.

It is a chance to get to know the different directions, see other teachers' work and better understand why additional disciplines are part of the programme.

Acting, for instance, becomes clearer when you can see on stage the difference between a routine merely executed and a character lived. Acrobatics looks different when parents see it inside a finished piece. And discovering other styles often helps a child, or their brothers and sisters, find a new direction.

But the main thing that stays with you after the concert is a sense of togetherness.

"At the concert you feel especially strongly that we are not just separate groups but one big team, where children and parents know and support each other."

Why it is better to start at the beginning of the season

Families who join later in the autumn often still want to take part in the concert. But then a child has to catch the group up quickly, which can add unnecessary stress.

That is why it is better to start classes along with everyone else, while the programme is being built up gradually and the routine is being laid down.

"The teaching process has its own sequence. Starting in the middle is like opening a book somewhere other than the first page."

An early start gives a child more time to prepare, helps them feel more confident in the group and lets them live the whole road to the stage without rushing.

The easiest way to see what it looks like is video from past concerts — they are on the website and on our social media. And with any questions about the next concert, ask our administrators — we will tell you everything, with no small print.