1. Find out about performances or recitals in the Friday or Sunday section of the local newspaper.

2. Include in your first paragraph the name of the group or organization performing, the place of performance, the dances, choreographers and the composers of the music, and the date of performance.

3. If you can find out the works being performed before the performance, gather as much information as possible about them. Read about the companies, choreographers and the works ( the reference section in the library is a good place to start to look for information, then try the card catalog). Try to listen to a recording of the music that will be danced to (again, the library is a good source -- if our library doesn't have it, this is a good time to try the public library). Some ballets and dance companies are on videotape -- the MCC Library has started to collect some of these, and the public library may have some.

4. Strike a balance between describing each detail of the dance and offering only general comments, which are basically meaningless or obvious. Describe the dance both objectively and subjectively, but avoid rhapsodizing in purple phrases or condemning in round tones. Give your opinions, but be fair.

5. Jot down notes after work or at the end of the movement about what you have just seen. Attend the performance with a friend and discuss it afterwards, but don't write your reports together if the friend is a classmate.

6. Briefly describe each work or each movement of a longer work. Comment on the individual dancer's performances (be sure to mention major dancers' names) and the ensemble work. Discuss how the dance fits -- complements or counterpoints or contradicts -- the music.

7. Lighting, costumes, and scenery are often integral to a performance. If they are important, be sure to comment on these elements and credit the appropriate designers.

8. Read other dance reviews -- both of the performance you attended and other performances. Sources include the local newspapers, New Yorker, dance journals, local magazines.

9. Interview dancers involved in the performance, if possible.

10. If you use quotes or paraphrases from outside sources in your review, document them according to the MLA Style.

11. ENJOY!