Need Recital Themes and Dance ideas?

Question:

Need Recital Themes and Dance ideas?

I need some really "wow!!!" kinda recital themes and songs to go with the ideas.

I also need song and prop ideas for girls ages 4-6 and ones 14-18. An idea for ballet class is Have a classical song and have the girls dance with ribbons on a stick. Its a cute idea but I need more ideas like that for jazz acro lyrical and the kiddies!!

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Wow, We've done so many things over the years! I'll try to remember some of the better ones for you:

"All Disney" music would be obvious, anything from movies, TV shows, whatever....we used old Disney and new Disney for our 2 acts
"Ship's Ahoy" music that has to do with the ocean, sailing, sailors, water, etc. was in the 1st act, the 2nd act was set around a cruise ship and stuff you'd do on a cruise
"Dancin' through the Year" we did a calendar theme, had a couple dances for each month that had something to do with that month...we started with "Calendar Girls" (3 & 4 yr olds...very cute!) then used whatever theme each month already is known for....Jan. was winter, Feb was love, March was kites and wind, April was showers, May was flowers, June was start of summer, July as patriotic, August was school days, Sept was the changing seasons, Oct was halloween, November was thankfulness, and Dec was Christmas (the Nutcracker of course!)
"From Past to Present" we used all the different styles of dance from years ago til now. We used the Charleston, and big band swing, hippie stuff, disco, 80's stuff....you get the idea.
"Magical Castle" this one was all about fairy tales, we used any fairy tale idea we could come up with.
"A Day in the Life" we came up with different jobs and occupations and themed dances around them....police, firefighters, a dance teacher, a stay at home mom, executives, waitresses, drs and nurses, bus drivers, cab drivers, professional dancers, etc.
"TV, Movies, Broadway and More" we obviously used theme songs to TV shows and music from movies and Broadway shows that were popular
"Planes, Trains and Automobiles" everything had to do with transportation, from flying to going to a ticket counter to waiting for a bus.

I am really big on using props. I always try to incorporate something, especially with the younger ones!
We have used hula hoops, balls, dolls, teddy bears, stars (both big ones and on sticks), flowers, jump ropes, books, mops, brooms, steering wheels, cardboard cars, flower pots big enough for the girls to be inside of, trash cans, tool boxes, fishing poles, kites on stiff wire so they look like the fly, suitcases, rolling office chairs...the list goes on.

I hope that this has inspired you some. You just have to let your imagination flow once you get an idea. Think of everything you possibly can on a certain theme even if it seems impossible. Then once you have a ton of ideas start to narrow down your list to what you can feasibly pull off. Some of the outrageous ideas can spur on other ideas that you may actually be able to pull off.

Good luck with your show!!