Strike A Pose With Dance Recital Program Printing
You’ve led rehearsal and instructed your dancers, and now you’re about to put on a dance recital. What’s the last step of the puzzle? Your dance recital programs, of course! Printing custom dance recital programs is the special touch that turns a regular recital into one that dancers and their families will remember forever.
Keep reading to get the scoop on how to print your very own dance recital programs, including dance recital program examples, design tips, and more!
Custom Dance Recital Programs
There are many reasons that make dance recital programs a great addition to your event. Your dancers have worked hard to prepare for the recital, so your programs acknowledge their efforts and tie the event together. A well-made program is a keepsake for participants and their proud parents, which they will look back on with fondness for decades.
Programs also provide context for the audience about the dancers and the recital, so they understand the order of dances, who is dancing which pieces, and any important historical context for the art that they are seeing.
The best dance recital programs thank and acknowledge everyone who contributed to the recital, including the technical team, musicians, community sponsors, parent helpers, school administrators, and more. Anyone who contributed to the recital in any way will feel a thrill when they see their name in your recital program.
Dance recital programs can also raise revenue. By selling space for local businesses to place advertisements in your programs, you generate funds for your program or school. You can even raise awareness about your own future events and drum up excitement for upcoming recitals.
How to Create A Dance Recital Program
As we’ve seen, there are many clear arguments in favor of printing custom recital programs. Your next question might be, “well, how do I do this?” Never fear: this guide will lead you through the important decisions that you’ll make during the printing process.
Dance Recital Program Design
Design and printing go hand in hand, so we’ll start off with the key design decisions you’ll make in order to set yourself up for printing success.
- Decide on a size. The two most common booklet-style program sizes are 5.5x8.5 and 8.5x11. Both sizes provide plenty of space for you to include the information you need, including dancers’ names, the setlist, a welcome note from the director, and more. Larger programs allow more space for advertisements and headshots of the dancers.
- Strategize content. Once you’ve settled on a size, it’s time to take your content into consideration. Here are some of the elements that you might consider including in your recital program:
- Welcome message from the director or teacher
- Historical context for the piece
- Setlist of dances, composers, performers, and choreographers
- Biographies of the dancers
- Headshots of the dancers
- Photographs of the rehearsal process
- Information about upcoming recitals or courses
- Advertisements from local businesses
- Messages of love and support from dancers’ families
All of these elements contribute to a high-quality program that dancers and their families will treasure for years.
- Plan the number of pages. One feature of booklet-style programs is that they consist of folded pieces of paper, and they are therefore printed with page numbers in denominations of four. As you’re designing your program’s interior, remember to keep the page numbers in mind. If you find yourself with an odd number of pages, consider adding between one and three pages of photographs, in order to reach a page number that is divisible by four. Audiences will love getting a glimpse into the rehearsal process.
Designing your own custom dance recital program is rewarding, but it can take significant effort. Luckily, there are lots of dance recital program examples online, and the ZoePrint design team is happy to assist with your design. We can even create a design for you!
Dance Recital Program Printing
Once you’ve finalized your design, it’s time to print your programs! Program printing involves making many choices. Here are the decisions you can make in order to receive the recital program you’re dreaming of.
- Express your style in color. Choosing to print in black and white or in color is one of the most visible choices you can make throughout the entire printing process. Color printing makes your covers and photographs pop, whereas black and white printing is a more subtle and affordable choice. If you’re planning to include photographs in your programs, we encourage printing in color so that readers can fully appreciate the photos’ details.
If you’re trying to save money but still want attractive programs, one great compromise is printing the covers in color and the interior pages in black and white. This is the perfect option when you want bright, colorful covers that will attract attention and encourage readers to flip through the programs but aren’t including interior photos.
Look your best on paper.One of the biggest advantages of professional printing is the multitude of paper options. Your printing company can offer you many paper options that provide different effects. Some of the most common papers for program interiors include:
- 70# uncoated text
- 80# gloss text
- 100# gloss text
- 100# dull text
Gloss text papers are best when you’re printing in color and have photographs, as they will lead to increased clarity and brighter colors.
You can use the same paper for both the interior and the covers, or you can choose a sturdier cover paper so that your programs hold up for years. Some of the best cover paper options include:
- 80# uncoated cover
- 100# gloss cover
- 100# dull cover
Understanding paper types and weights can be tricky, so ask your printing company if you have any questions.
- Estimate the number of attendees. Now we’re at the last step in the printing process: deciding how many copies of your dance recital programs you want to print. This means doing some simple math: multiply the number of performances by the highest number of possible attendees per performance.
When it comes to estimating the number of programs to print, it’s usually better to print too many than too few. Therefore, add some extra copies as well, which allows for souvenirs for your dancers and additional copies for proud families, and voilà! You’ve found the right number of programs to print.
Now that you’ve considered these six points, you’re an expert on dance recital program printing!
Print Your Dance Recital Program With ZoePrint!
When you’re ready to print your dance recital programs, ZoePrint is ready to work with you. Our decades of experience, affordable prices, and speedy shipping mean that we can provide the excellent programs you deserve at the best possible price.
Whether you’re just starting to brainstorm ideas or are ready to print, the ZoePrint team is here to help and answer any questions you might have. We offer many paper and printing options, so ask us if you have specific requests.
To print dance recital programs that will make your next performance one for the memory books, order online or request a custom quote today!
