Thread: Question!! Ending a Party

When you end a party .This question is only for parties...You have your Finale play..How do you end?? Do you run out of the room as the music is ending OR when the music ends do you end like you end a song..Then bow and thank them etc etc

Reason I ask my mentor taught me to run out on que,which is how I used to do it.. And I never really liked doing that. Now I have moved on to bigger and better parties =) Yay!! And feel very novice about my party endings. I am not talking about house parties..I am talking about catering hall parties w/ a DJ.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks!!

Soak in all of that applause :)

Usually my last number is a drum solo, then I have a 'finale' bit -- which I generally edit from the end of my opening song. This piece is :45 to 1:30 long.

I hold the pose at the end of the drum solo for about 16 beats, which cues the audience that I'm done and saying goodbye now so they can start applauding ;)

I make the rounds, bowing to anyone special (bride, groom, person who hired me, birthday boy, anyone who danced with me, anyone who tipped me a lot, those who just interacted a lot facially and seemed to have fun, etc), gather up any props as gracefully as possible, and exit to the last strains of music still in character.

If I'm dancing to a cd I use an exit song but give myself a 10 second lapse to bow and thank the audience before I exit to the music.

Running out to the exit music without a proper bow is confusing to the audience, but walking out to no music at all ruins the energy of the show.

Originally Posted by Lauren_

Usually my last number is a drum solo, then I have a 'finale' bit -- which I generally edit from the end of my opening song. This piece is :45 to 1:30 long.

I hold the pose at the end of the drum solo for about 16 beats, which cues the audience that I'm done and saying goodbye now so they can start applauding ;)

I make the rounds, bowing to anyone special (bride, groom, person who hired me, birthday boy, anyone who danced with me, anyone who tipped me a lot, those who just interacted a lot facially and seemed to have fun, etc), gather up any props as gracefully as possible, and exit to the last strains of music still in character.

So you do not come back in then..When you leave you have left..Right?

Thank you I like the way you do it.. I have my drum solo and then my Finale music is 1:11 So that makes sense

Just want to say, good question!!!!!

Originally Posted by _Tanya_

If I'm dancing to a cd I use an exit song but give myself a 10 second lapse to bow and thank the audience before I exit to the music.

Running out to the exit music without a proper bow is confusing to the audience, but walking out to no music at all ruins the energy of the show.

Exactly that was my frustration..Thank You!!

Originally Posted by Yazeena

So you do not come back in then..When you leave you have left..Right?

Thank you I like the way you do it.. I have my drum solo and then my Finale music is 1:11 So that makes sense

Right. Nothing left to do -- I've already milked them for all their applause, bowed and curtsied (I don't really stop dancing and bow, I just sort of dance around taking deep curtsies with the music) and gathered all my props, so no reason to go back!

Originally Posted by Lauren_

Right. Nothing left to do -- I've already milked them for all their applause, bowed and curtsied (I don't really stop dancing and bow, I just sort of dance around taking deep curtsies with the music) and gathered all my props, so no reason to go back!

Lauren Thank you sooo much!! I really appreciate your help!
Ann Marie

You're so welcome!

Oh, one more thing -- 1:11 might feel a little long to you. Take your time going around and saying goodbye to your lovely audience, but you'll still have time left over unless it's a very big room.

You can either hold your pose, then dance around once as you did during your entrance, then start the bows and exit at the tail of the music. (Thanks to Aradia's workshop for this idea)

OR you can take your bows, say your goodbyes, gather your pros, bow, and leave, letting the music go on for a bit after you've exited. I don't like to do this because I'm always afraid the music operator will think they need to roughly cut my music when I'm gone and I hate that idea. (I wouldn't mind if they faded it out).

Rehearse it and get a feel, you'll know just when to exit.

I see nothing wrong with dancing out of the room to your finale if that's what the music calls for . . . then waiting a moment and stepping back in. I'm planning a future performance in which I intend to do exactly that. When I go out, I will have just retrieved the 4 yard veil I started out with and later dropped. I'll be pulling it behind me as a long streamer as I dash out. That happens at the final climactic phrase of the finale music. Then I'm out of sight, the music has stopped, the audience begins to applaud with wild enthusiasm (uh . . I hope), and I step back in and bow.
Rosette

If you're not sure they get that you're leaving (if you're exiting while music is still playing), you can wave or blow a kiss goodbye as you go.

I never, ever, ever use finale music when I dance at a party. never have in 20 years, never will. :) I don't do finale music at restaurants, either. I want to be able to choose when I'm done with my set, not have my prerecorded cd make the choice for me.

after the drum solo, I put a good 20 minutes (or more) of music on the cd. if it's a situation where I'm feeling that I'm done and I need to end the show, I don't have to sweat through a whole song waiting for the finale - I can do my bow whenever I feel like it and run. if the party is going great and the tips are flowing, I want to have the option to dance for another 10-20 minutes if I want to, and not be forced to run back to the dance floor to do my bow and then run out of music.

also, it's nice to have all that extra music on the end of the cd, because more often than not, if I've had people up to dance with me, they'll just keep the music playing and people will keep on dancing. it's good to have that option.

this is just me, but I'd never plan to bow and leave the party for even half a minute, and then come back, for fear that people will think, huh? I thought you were done? why are you back? even if they're happy to see you, I don't even want their brains to go there. know what I mean? at least keep the music going so the energy doesn't fade. it just takes a couple seconds for half the party to turn around and head to the bar to get another drink now that they think you're gone, and then it's hard to get them back.

when you are done and it's time to leave, it's easy enough to show the audience that your show is over, you're bowing, thanks for having me, bye bye - you don't need to have specific finale music to do that. if you're really tied to your exit music piece, you can do it right after the drum solo, and then head out to work the room.

Originally Posted by elisagamal

I never, ever, ever use finale music when I dance at a party. never have in 20 years, never will. :) I don't do finale music at restaurants, either. I want to be able to choose when I'm done with my set, not have my prerecorded cd make the choice for me.

after the drum solo, I put a good 20 minutes (or more) of music on the cd. if it's a situation where I'm feeling that I'm done and I need to end the show, I don't have to sweat through a whole song waiting for the finale - I can do my bow whenever I feel like it and run.

oooohhh, interesting!!

Trust me, if things were going really badly, I wouldn't feel like I had to wait for my finale!!

The restaurant where I dance is very...subdued. One person at a time might get up to dance with me politely, but it's really a restaurant, not a club. And the club where I dance has a live keyboard guy and singer who can't wait to get my music outta there and go back to their thing.

Most of my parties are for Americans, they don't want to bop around to middle eastern music after I'm gone, either!!

BUT I get the rare Middle Eastern party, and I might keep this in mind!

oh, I don't know, lauren. I'm dancing for the GP at restaurants, not clubs, too. same with my parties - usually they're for americans. for me, I can just never tell what the vibe will be like - maybe there will be a big birthday party at the restaurant where the birthday person is a great sport and will be cool with some interaction. maybe there will be a ladies group that will all want to jump up in a circle around you and learn some new moves. maybe there will be some children that want to get up and twirl with you and you want to be free to take the time to bring them out on the dance floor with you. it's just a bummer to have an opportunity like that come up and not be able to follow through because your last song is almost over.

sometimes at a party where the host has assured me that they're all a bunch of party animals, it will be so subdued that I can't get anybody up to dance with me to save my soul. other times, people will get up and have so much fun that I run out of music and have to play it all over again. :) it's all about having options. :)

but with THAT said, you know your gig best! if one tip song and a finale is working out, don't change it. :) and lol, I've been there with the singers (and the audience sometimes) wanting you to get the F off the stage so they can get back to their business. ha!