For the first time, we held Christmas mini-shows at our new Annex location and I have to say, I was absolutely THRILLED with the whole process! These mini-shows were the perfect blend of a professional performance and a laid-back atmosphere that we are sure to repeat again and again.

The holiday season is a wonderful time to celebrate the talent and joy of your dancers while connecting with your studio community. If you’ve been looking for an engaging way to make your holiday shows stand out without the headaches and stress of a fully-staged production, consider hosting mini performances! Here's how you can create a magical, stress-free experience for your dancers and their families.

What Are Mini Holiday Shows?

Mini-shows are short, festive performances that allow your studio to celebrate the season without the pressure of a full-length recital. Inspired by the magic of the season, we designed ours to:

Showcase our dancers' hard work and artistry.
Create a special intimate holiday experience for families.
Keep performances short and manageable for busy schedules.

This format works perfectly for studios of any size and can be customized to fit your theme or vision.

Why Mini Shows Work

Mini holiday shows have several advantages:

Time-Saving: Each performance is short (20-30 minutes), making it easy to schedule multiple shows every day or weekend.

Low-Stress: By scaling down, you reduce costume changes, technical challenges, and rehearsal demands.
Family-Friendly: Younger dancers and families with packed holiday schedules appreciate the shorter format.
Revenue Opportunity: Charge a small performance fee to families, sell additional tickets, offer themed merchandise, or include refreshments to boost income.

Steps to Plan Your Mini-Shows

Choose a Theme: Pick a theme that resonates with your audience. We chose the "Yule Ball" because our 2025 spring production is a Harry Potter theme!
Find a Venue: Hopefully, you have space to hold these shows at your studio, saving you a lot of money. If not, browse around for small venues that would be a good fit.
Plan the Format: Decide how many shows you’ll offer, the length of each, and which groups will perform. Ensure each show feels cohesive and includes a mix of dance styles.

To keep it extra simple, we kept almost all students on the nights they usually attend dance, so this was super easy for the families as well.
Each of our shows had about six dances plus a short awards session for promotions and pointe shoe certificates and literally lasted about 15 minutes! This allowed for plenty of time for photos, Butterbeer, and mingling.

Calculate Your Budget: A rough calculation of your expenses will help you determine your Show Fee for each dancer. We were fortunate to be able to keep their costs very low and still have a tiny bit of profit for our time.

Consider things like chair rentals, additional staff pay, backdrops, lighting, refreshments, ornaments, and decor.
This can absolutely be done on a small budget! We truly did not spend much money at all.

Charge a Show Fee: It made the most sense for us to charge a small Show Fee to the dancers and include four tickets each. This was our first time holding mini-shows in a brand-new facility, so we didn’t know how that many people would fit.
Simplify Costumes: Choose simple, affordable costumes with a festive touch or even a t-shirt or sweatshirt. This keeps costs manageable for families while maintaining the show’s visual appeal. For us, a T-shirt and a gold skirt were beautiful!
Consider Your Capacity: How much space do you have at each show? This will help you determine how many tickets you can sell.
Enhance the Atmosphere: Create a magical experience with decor, lighting, and music. For our Yule Ball shows, we used twinkling lights, snow-flocked trees, and elegant backdrops.
Involve Your Community: If you have enough space, invite families, friends, and local supporters. Consider partnering with local businesses for sponsorships or promotions.
Sell Additional Tickets: If space allows, consider selling additional tickets if families need more than their allotted amount.

Pro Tips for Success

Rehearse Smartly: Keep rehearsals during class times and provide practice videos for absent dancers or for practicing at home over holiday breaks or snow days.
Repeat Dances: Find as many classes as possible to perform the same dance in a different show.
Communicate Early: Start relaying information to your dance families as soon as you have it. Be sure all pertinent information is given at least 3 weeks in advance.
Add Fun Extras: Include photo opportunities with festive props, themed merchandise, or a "hot cocoa bar" to enhance the experience. One of our favorite things is to gift dancers a themed ornament every year!

Post-Show Reflection: It’s always important after any event to take note of what worked and what you would like to improve for next time. Make your notes within a few days of the final event to be sure you don’t forget anything important.

A Holiday Tradition Worth Repeating

Mini holiday shows are a fantastic way to bring your studio together, showcase your dancers’ talents, and spread holiday cheer. By keeping it manageable and magical, you can create a beloved tradition that families look forward to every year.

If you’ve been thinking about shaking up your holiday events, this format could be the perfect fit for your studio. Start small, plan thoughtfully, and watch the magic unfold!

Have questions about setting up your own holiday mini-shows? Looking for more details about what we did? Let’s connect! I’d love to share tips and help you bring your vision to life.