We had our final school show of the season in New City, NY, just over the border of Northern NJ at a fine ES for an assembly for their field day. Always a hyperactive day at any school, this was exactly the case today. We were asked to do the afternoon assembly for ~400 kids inside (yay!) in the gym. And we were asked to go lean on the education and fat on the music. It’s always tough to rethink the flow of the show, but we’ve become used to doing it. Less talk, more music.
So, actually, this one was different in that I decided to get the kids up and dancing for the different segments earlier than usual. It worked well on the immediate level in that the kids were physically involved during the music portions sooner. It did make it harder to gather the energy back to the ‘educational’ aspects, but it could be done with relative friendly techniques. We didn’t have to change a whole lot of the show and we finished up on time.
The teachers and the PTA loved the show, and we did it again, pulled off a great assembly and show. I remain so proud of the band members and the show itself to adapt to each situation with such professional skill.
A long two hour drive to and from, but good, honest work.