This is my daughter’s first year in dance. At the age of 5, she understands there will be a recital. While May 15 and 16 have been circled on my calendar since September, the exact time of the recital still seems arbitrary to my tiny dancer.
Therefore, it is very hard for her to comprehend all of the effort that will go into a two-night performance. Even once it is over, I don’t know that she will realize that each ballet lesson, week after week, was meant to prepare her for that performance.
As doting grandparents, friends and other family members fill the seats in the auditorium this spring, many of them won’t understand the time that was spent in preparation for the show. They did not witness the hundreds of pliés that were performed just to be able to do a few on stage that night.
Even though the attention will be on dancers, don’t forget about their support crew. The moms and dads that sit in the waiting room each week, the teachers – bless their hearts – that are tasked with keeping a room full of students focused on routines, the costume designers and stage crew that all come together to create a performance worthy of the smiles on those faces.
As we embark on the 2015 show season, I can’t help but draw some similarities. Trade shows, seminars, workshops, etc., all last for just a few days. However, organizers have been working for the better part of a year or more to pull together an event worthy of your attendance.
From securing a venue and lining up speakers to contacting exhibitors and arranging the food, there are a lot of jobs to be done for each and every event. Again, let’s not forget the support crew.
What would a trade show be without the companies or a seminar without the presenters? With most events, there is usually a volunteer crew or part-time helpers that come in at the last minute to assist with small but important duties throughout the event.
It would be very remiss of me not to mention the sponsors that step forward with funding, which either enhances the event, reduces the cost of admission or both.
It can be easy to walk through the entrance doors and overlook all of the work that went into a trade show, seminar, workshop or other event, but this year I encourage you to take a look around.
If you see someone who is working hard to make your experience a good one, be sure to thank him or her for their efforts. That way, if there were to be a picture taken of the cast and crew at the end of the show, they will be all smiles, just like on the faces in the pictures hanging on the wall at the dance studio. PD
- Karen Lee
- Editor
- Progressive Dairyman
