I think it is nice to share here among piano teachers......

I had my dress rehearsal yesterday and it is better than last year! Parents will drop off their child(ren) anytime between 3:30pm to 6:30pm, sit in the recital hall, wait for their turn (the wait is depend on the traffic of the students at the time they arrive). I have each student play on stage with proper stage manner at least once and up to 5 times. I am totally into the benefits of dress rehearsal and wanted to share it with you:

1. Get used to the concert grand piano.

The keyboard or piano that we play at home to teacher's studio is not ask good as this grand piano in Keyboard Concepts. Each piano is different, we have to get used to the piano that we will perform to make a good performance.

2. Get used to your dress.

When playing at home or at teacher’s studio, we do not usually dress up. So we want to practice at least one time playing piano in our dress for formal recital

3. Get used to the stage.

Playing on stage is different than playing at home or in teacher’s studio. In order to have good performance during recital, it is better practice at least one time on the stage.

4. Learn proper stage manner on the stage.

Proper stage presence are about bowing. Students must bow before and after playing.

5. Get used to having other people as audience.

Depending on the time they arrive, we have a semi-formal way of playing their pieces on stage with audiences that they do not know and will comes and leave and students has to get used to it.

Things that I observed from dress rehearsal:
1. Some students play slower than in studio because they are nervous.
2. Some students totally forget about dynamics, they just play the whole piece without dynamics.
3. Some students cannot adjust their playing into this grand piano, the balance is off.

I am glad that I have a dress rehearsal two weeks before my formal recital so that I can see how each student sound like on stage and possibility give them suggestions for improvement.

How about you? Do you have a dress rehearsal?

I'm not a teacher, but I try to do dress rehearsals before I perform.

Not that it seems to help--so frustrating!

I do dressed rehearsals for competitions and festivals. But for a recital, it might be pushing it.

Our dress rehearsal is always the hour before the recital. They learn the line up, play their piece once and then wait in the green room. It's not just the stage, it's the lighting too that is new. Parents are not permitted in the auditorium during that time.