Structure of Shows

[Freddie]

Slight ramble to start with but I will get to the point eventually ...

I'm just listening to a radio programme where the interviewer and Ian Broudie of "Three Lions" footy anthem band The Lightning Seeds are talking about the old vinyl LP format vs. the CD format, and how the order of the tracks is structured differently for the two media formats.

In the old days you'd get to the end of the first side of the album, flip it over and start the next. Or not. So they'd start and end each side with a "starter" and a "finisher" or however you'd say it (he's singing now so I can't remember exactly how they put it, but hopefully you get the jist (gist?) of it).

So if we are doing a one-set-show, the structure would probably be different than if we were doing a two-set show, or even a three-set show (I've never done one, but I have no idea of the different structures out there in different places).

What kind of shows do you do, and how do you structure them? Where's the big dramatic bit and where's the soft, flowy bit? Don't give away any trade secrets but do you have a "journey" that you take the audience on, and how does it change for different types of shows? EG the GP vs. people who are interested in and appreciate the dance? Lotsa questions there, typical ramble!

Another question even - if you are producing a show and have a lot of different dancers on, how do you structure that? And what changes if there is an interval?

 

[SmilingMarie]

Lotsa questions! My initial thoughts are:
one-set GP audience: veil entrance (single, double, triple space permitting) - I always go for the big 'ka-pow' entrance. then some baladi and finish with drum solo and maybe throw in an up-beat pop at the end if I'm dancing with audience members.

one-set ME audience: always think of the setting - is it a wedding? where are the audience from. I prob take more care as I want tomake sure my music is appropriate for the setting/occasion and that I know all lyrics. I will probs open with veil if appropriate (unless doing a zeffa or something), then a baladi or a classic and also an upbeat piece - something popular.
two-set ME audience: two piece cossie in the first set, one piece cossie in the second set. more folklore in the second set, eg assaya, khaligi etc. If it is a wedding I'll probs throw in a wedding song too. I think it is nice to do two sets so you can show more skills - but with an ME audience my experience is that you also have to be more flexible as they tend to interact more (dance with you, get you up on a table etc).

Structure of shows: make sure soloists and groups are mixed, that there are some pros in between and that all the fusion is also evenly distributed throughout. Often, 'the big star' will be the last to go on but if you are doing a long show this might not always be the best. it is also nice to open with a good dancer doing something nice and up-beat to get the party started
if you have an interval in the middle I guess you'll want to repeat this structure so you have two nice openings and two nice 'grand finale'-s. But this can be hard, organising a hafla with lots of people doing different things - esp if they dont tell you the music and style beforehand.

 

[Freddie]

Woah - triple veil? Wow!

I'd love to end a set with a drum solo but most of the dancing I've done has included audience participation at the end. But yeah, I should have done it before the audience participation song eh? Duh!

Dancing on tables - that's something that tends to happen in some of the restaurants I danced at in the past - I was OK with it if there was a ceiling I could press one of my hands against.

 

[SmilingMarie]

Woah - triple veil? Wow!

Yeah, it's sorta my thing

This is what it looks like *tries to attach photo*
Pic is from NADA AGM in Leeds 2008, photo by Sabrina Owen.

 

[Samira_dncr]

I'm not sure if you are asking from the perspective of a performer or the perspective of an producer. As the organizer of the Las Vegas Intensive, I can give you a brief idea of how we structure our shows in Vegas...but only from the producer perspective.

We have 2 pro-shows at the event. Our friday show is a little more on the classical side. It's in a formal theater. Our Saturday show is at the convention center and right after our cocktail party, and it's a bit more rackous. When we go through our list of audition submissions, along with our overall impressions we mark each performer based on what show they would be appropriate for...given the "feel" of what they are doing. The more humorous & edgy stuff ends up at the "party" show...if that makes sense.

Each of our shows has 2 sections. We do our best to make sure that the start & end of each section is on a "high" note...pieces that are energetic and powerful. From there we try to make sure that we alternate the group and solo pieces. It's better to watch solo/solo/group/solo/solo/group than group/group/solo/solo/solo/solo...right?

We also try to make sure that there is a wide variety of styles. So if we have 2 solos next to each other, we don't want them to be the same. Oriental next to folkloric...not oriental next to oriental, if that makes sense.

We also put the main headliner at the end (obvious), but if we have more than one headliner, then we have one of them end the first act.

There are other factors we consider. We work hard on creating a show with diversity. So we want dancers and performers of all ages, shapes, genders, styles, etc. '

Whew...that's all I can think of at the moment. I hope that was helpful.

 

[Freddie]

Samira that was really helpful actually, believe it or not when I was writing my post I thought about Las Vegas and wondered how things were done there! How spooky lol! God knows why, I've never been to the USA, and the closest thing we have to Las Vegas here is Blackpool hahaha but it is interesting to see how things are done at the pro commercial end of things.

It sounds like you have a good filtering process there. Do you dictate the colour of costumes or consider that at all? I only ask because that's one of the things that I have heard other people thinking about when organising shows, to enhance the variety. I've never had to audition for anything because round these parts people either know you or they don't, from haflas or restaurants. Liverpool is a small city even in comparison to other British cities, it feels more like a village sometimes.

 

[username28]

Introduction and Finale

Can I have you guys one more help?
I wonder, can the Introduction part and Finale be different piece of music?

Thank you

 

[Darshiva]

Yes they can be.

 

[Ariadne]

Wow, old thread here. The funny thing is though that I have been thinking about this:

So if we are doing a one-set-show, the structure would probably be different than if we were doing a two-set show, or even a three-set show (I've never done one, but I have no idea of the different structures out there in different places).

What kind of shows do you do, and how do you structure them? Where's the big dramatic bit and where's the soft, flowy bit? Don't give away any trade secrets but do you have a "journey" that you take the audience on, and how does it change for different types of shows? EG the GP vs. people who are interested in and appreciate the dance?

a lot lately and wondering additionally what the different progressions are for different styles of BD. Is the progression different for Egyptian style vs Turkish vs Greek etc and so on?

 

[Kashmir]

For stage show, as opposed to restaurant/party gigs, I like to mix solo and group items. Start and finish each half with an attention grabber (first time I tried a subtle Egyptian style start and people continued chatting a long to their friends )

Might have a guest dancer either closing the first half or second to last in second half. (I prefer to finish with a big group number)

In addition, I will use a lot of folkloric dance for variety. I also like to run a theme or connections through the show. Last year there was a tight script and linking comedy acts as well. This year we've been earthquaked