Assign each class in your ballet studio a different holiday to represent such as Christmas, Easter, St. Patrick's Day and the Fourth of July. Dancers representing Christmas could perform a dance to an instrumental Christmas hymn. Easter dancers can dance to vibrant spring-like music, while St. Patrick's Day dancers might perform to Celtic music. Use the music of American composers such as Aaron Copeland to accompany Fourth of July dancers. Arrange your recital program according to the calendar order of each holiday.
If your studio only teaches ballet, theme your recital around different classical and romantic story ballets. Choreograph simple dances using the music of such ballets as "The Sleeping Beauty," "Giselle" and "Swan Lake." Your 12- and 13-year-old students who dance en pointe might even be able to perform simplified variations from the original choreography. This recital theme also allows you to introduce the stories and music from the great ballets to dancers as young as 3.
Create your recital around the broad theme of "fantasy and fairy tales" by choreographing dances for each class that reenact a famous fairy tale or mythical figure. You might have a class dance that tells the story of Little Red Riding Hood with a student's older brother or a teacher playing the wolf. Cinderella, Jack and the Bean Stalk and Hansel and Gretl are other fairy tales your students could reenact through dance. Little girls also love performing as fairies, mermaids and unicorns.
Take your audience on a worldwide tour by giving your recital an international theme. Choreograph your dances to music from different regions and continents and have your dancers wear costumes that reflect the traditions of that area. You might even invite students from Indian, Irish, Israeli and other ethnic folk dance schools to perform in your recital. This recital theme gives your students the opportunity to learn about other cultures and different kinds of music.