06/18/2026
There is a strange silence after recital.
For weeks, sometimes months, there has been “that recital vibe” throughout the studio. Kids going over their choreography, getting excited for their big moment. Teachers watching their ideas come to life. Parents asking more questions than any other time of the year. Studio owners carrying a thousand details in their heads and pretending, the best they can, that everything is under control.
And then, just like that, it is over.
The curtain closes. The audience heads home. The costumes are packed away. And there we are, lying in bed, thinking about how many people told us, “It was better than a Broadway show,” while we replay all the moments of pride.
Not only pride in ourselves, but pride for all those kids and adults who ended the season with more confidence, more courage, and stronger skills than they had when they first danced into the studio at the start of the season.
How cool is that?!
That is the part that “normal people” do not always understand. A recital is not just a show. It is a season of a child’s life. It is a family memory. It is a teacher’s heart on display. It is a studio owner’s dream happening in real time.
And when it is over, there is pride, relief, exhaustion, gratitude, and sometimes a little sadness too.
So to every teacher and studio owner sitting in the quiet after recital, please take a minute before you rush to what is next.
We did something so cool!!!
Somewhere, a child is falling asleep feeling proud.
Somewhere, a parent is replaying the moment their child walked onstage!
-Rhee Gold
