Dr. Maha Gingrich
By Dr. Maha Gingrich
It is time for high school graduations and dance arangetrams (dance graduations), and its grand preparations that mimic weddings along with student and teacher rehearsals, stamina practices etc., just to name a few. Many teachers are busy with preparations. I celebrated an 86th arangetram of my dance academy in June 2024. Which means, I have gone through this arangetram stress 86 times.
That sounds funny but that is the truth. My goal is to make it as easy as possible for parents. Their stress is to invite people, find a venue and make dinner arrangements.
An arangetram is a monumental task, often as difficult as planning weddings. I want to congratulate the many dance teachers who make this happen. Recently, my student Shefali Parmar, who completed her arangetram with me despite moving to Raleigh, celebrated her daughter’s arangetram. Supriya Desai who celebrated 30 years of teaching in that area has blessed my student’s daughter with this achievement. My students worked hard and were ready to meet the challenges of the one and only arangetram day. All the excitement and hard work comes to fruition.
It becomes one of the most memorable times of their lives. It passes too quickly once they are on the stage. Their adrenalin is pumping and stress levels are high. However, their positive experience is now being passed on to next generations.
As parents, irrespective of whether you are planning a virtual celebration or in-person celebration, I have a few suggestions for organizing this very important and once in a life time event to reduce stress. I thought I will share the 10 most important planning tips with all the readers, just in case you are also thinking of planning an arangetram in the future or know of someone who may be planning. In my opinion, the key to a successful arangetram with reduced stress is planning, planning and planning.
This planning includes many things such as dance practices in person or virtual, setting the date, finding a venue to accommodate your expected audience, invitation cards or evites, budgets, ordering costumes, planning lunches and dinners. If you are anything like me, I am not good at asking for help from anyone.
Here are my ten major suggestions:
Plan for the event in advance and have a budget limit in mind. Start saving as soon as you can. Do not postpone anything for later, as Murphy’s Law may take over. Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.
It is a major event in the student’s life and the family’s life. There is a lot of pressure for the parents to make this event perfect. Do not compete with others. Find the level that is good for you and do your best.
Set the date and book the venue first. After you book the venue, plan ahead on invitations/evites, costumes, decorations, guest list, menu for the reception etc.
The number of attendees should match your venue. Make sure you know the capacity of the auditorium and match it with your guest list. Cut down or add to the guest list as needed. Remember to gather the email or physical addresses of your guests well in advance.
Book your photographer and the videographer in advance. Write up a contract if you wish. Set up your expectations with their tech capabilities for a virtual show if needed and be very clear about your event needs.
It is a stressful time not only for parents but also for the student. An arangetram is the culmination of many years of training, investment and hard work. Let the student focus on the dance. The student rises to a new level of performance, and moreover, develops the discipline to achieve a long-term goal. Students have to meet many expectations and it is not easy for them. Help the student to relax and keep them engaged with rehearsals.
Take some time off for the event. Do not do what I did by working all the way to the arangetram day. You will be guaranteed to stress out. Make sure you take at least a week or two off before the event and take a couple of days off after the event to recoup and get your house back together.
It may also be the time for a huge family gathering. Your house could be full of guests with different needs. Couple of days before the event, you cannot cook and clean or even let them cook as they do not know your house. Make sure you understand their needs and plan ahead to arrange for food either by catering or by asking your friends to send a major dish or two to help you.
Parents have to seek help from close friends and delegate the work. I was blessed with many good friends who literally taught me to seek and accept help during my daughter’s arangetram. Assign tasks to friends and delegate clearly and reaffirm the duties a week before the event.
Most important of all, enjoy the arangetram. It will never come back again!
For questions or comments, contact Dr. Maha Gingrich via email at GingrichMaha@gmail.com.
