Organizing Your Dance Party
Dances
are fun. Creating them is fun. Organizing them can be deadly dull. Miss a step?
Total disaster! So we've turned to some experienced event planners to create
a "A Girl's World's" step by step checklist that will take the guess work out
of your dance plan. You might want to "save" this file and then print it out
as a text file on your printer. There's a lot of information here!
Getting Started
- Find 6-10 other girls/guys who are willing to work together.
This will be the core of your dance party committee.
- Don't forget, two clubs can work together to sponsor a dance.
Try linking up with another club or the Associated Student Body leaders (the
Student Council). Two grades can work together -- like seventh and eighth.
Or, two neighborhoods. Or two blocks on your street. Consider sharing the
fun and the work!
- Now, find an adult sponsor to help out. Try asking a teacher,
a community or recreation leader or church leader. This person will be the
grownup who will be responsible for the dance party. They'll handle finances,
facilities contracts, the contract for the band or the food or the hall.
- Now it's time to get volunteers or appoint girls and guys
to do very important jobs on your dance committee. Check out "Jobs to Do."
Jobs To Do
For a successful dance, you need volunteers on your committee
who will fill the following roles. Print out this list and have copies for your
first organizational meeting.
- Chair
The chair is in charge of the organization, look and feel of the whole sheebang!
Being enthusiastic, positive, organized, a problem solver, keeping your "eyes
on the prize" - seeing that a great time for everyone -- these are the goals
of a good chair. The chair should keep in mind that putting on the dance should
be as much fun as going to it. To keep it fun, the chairs job is to find out
what needs to be done, figure out who should do it, and see that the jobs
are completed.
- Assistant Chair
What happens when your chair gets sick with the mumps? Who's going to help
the chair remember to get flowers or some small gift or a card to say "thanks"
for everyone who worked on the dance? Who's going to call the committee and
sponsors up on stage so that the gang at school can cheer? Who's going to
lend that extra hand? The assistant chair, that's who!
- Treasurer/Prize Wrangler
This is the kid that organizes the team to sell tickets during lunch and before
and after school. If you're having a raffle for charity or to raise money
for your group, this is the kid that organizes that and works with the sponsor.
Don't have enough money in the treasury for a dance? Need prizes for a dance
contest? This is the kid who organizes a team to go out to the local pizzeria
and bookstore and sport shop and skateboard store and gets donations.
- Decorations
This is the girl who plans how to make your theme "a happening thing" on time
and on budget. Having a Sadie Hawkin's dance? She organizes the kids to get
hay bales and paint washable murals on the gym wall and cover the tables and
make centerpieces. She dresses the entrance and the stage and changes the
whole look of the school with a few lights and a fog machine.
- Music
Want a DJ? Or a live band? This is the kid who pulls together a team to listen
to audition tapes and choose just the right person. This kid arranges for
the sound system to be set up, tests the mikes and speakers.
The music chair looks at the contract the adult sponsor is about to sign and
makes sure the band is scheduled to be on stage, warmed up before the start
of the dance. The music chair approves what songs the band will play, and
finds out what time the band will take breaks. The music chair deals with
stage lighting, approves special effects like strobe lights and fog, and makes
sure there is backup equipment -- power cables and a extra boombox and CD's
available just in case the band doesn't show, which does happen. The music
chair finds out where the fuse boxes are in case the power goes out and has
emergency lights (even flashlights) on hand if it's a night dance. If your
school is prone to pranks or theft, the music chair puts a guard on the sound
and music equipment, and on the fuse box. The music chair helps with set up
and tear down of the music equipment and sees to it the band and DJ have a
pitcher of water and glasses available, along with a plate of cookies so no
one in the band falls over from hunger.
- Refreshments
This is the girl or guy who plans to have water and glasses available as the
bare minimum, and arranges for cake, munchies, punch, soda, pizza etc. as
your budget can afford it. The refreshments chair finds volunteers to make,
transport, setup and refresh the food during the dance, then sees that the
leftovers are thrown away and the tables and area cleaned up. With the approval
of your school, the refreshments chair can also work to find a food sponsor
-- a local pizzaria or grocery store willing to donate a big cake in return
for a note on the flyers and a big thank you banner over the food table.
- Activities
This girl or guy plans everything that is going to happen at the dance from
start to finish. Games? Contests? Photographs? Carnation/flower sale? Special
raffles? King or Queen chosen for the night and crowned? Prizes given out?
A break midway through the dance to bring the committee and sponsor on stage
to say thanks? Fun stuff for party-goers to do like a "jail", or picture area,
etc? The activities chair plans fun stuff to do and then finds volunteers
to run all the activities.
- Publicity
This is the girl or guy who plans and creates the posters, flyers, balloon
giveaways and special events that will get everyone at school to want to come
to your dance. The publicity chair pulls together volunteers to do a skit
at a morning assembly or a pep rally. The publicity chair will write articles
and ads for the school newspaper, and make the morning announcement list for
homerooms.
- Communicator
This is the girl or guy who takes notes at meetings and then gets a copy of
those notes to kids who missed it, were out or were sick. The communicator
keeps the phone list and address of everyone on the committee and all volunteers.
She or he calls members the night before a meeting to remind them about the
day and time and what they're bringing. If there is an emergency change in
plans, the communicator calls everyone on the list to tell them about it.
(P.S. Your assistant chair can also handle this job if there aren't enough
volunteers.)
- Hall Manager
This girl or guy is in charge of seeing that the dance space is set up, ready
to go before the dance and then torn down after the dance. That means, organizing
a team to help the decorations chair hang the decorations, the refreshment
committee put out food, help the musicians with setting up their equipment,
help the grownup facilities manager plan for chair and table placement. The
hall manager makes sure the bathrooms are open and clean with lots of toilet
paper, and that the dance facility is open and accessible by handicapped students.
This kid makes sure there is a first aid kit on hand for emergencies, a working
phone in the building or nearby, and an emergency list of numbers prepared
just in case of trouble. The hall manager checks to see that the fire entrances
and exits are clear and open. The hall manager works with the school guard
to see that the dance is secure and safe and that the parking lots are unlocked
and ready for use. The hall manager helps organize a team to tear down and
throw away decor, clean up food and put away everything.
Questions:
1) Don't have many volunteers? Here's another way to organize
your committee:
- Chair
- Assistant Chair/Treasurer
- Decorations/Refreshments
- Music/Activities
- Publicity/Communicator
- Hall Manager, Setup/Cleanup
2) Do you have a lot more kids who want to help?
Everyone needs an assistant or a team of helpers. The more help, the more fun.
More Help!
Birthday
Parties for Kids! Creative Party Ideas Kids and Their Friends Will Love ,
by party expert, Penny Warner, takes the headaches out of planning parties with
quick, fun, and inexpensive celebrations. Written for parents and kids to use
together, there's ideas, suggestions, and tips for food, fun, favors, and age
appropriate games.
Our Editor's Top Pick!
Next Step
Get ready to pick a theme!
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Copyright © 2006 A Girl's World Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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