Created Nov 11, 2026
8 Dance Show Seating Plan Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
Families love knowing exactly where they'll be sitting. No queuing an hour early, no saving seats with coats, no squabbles over the front row. But a dance show seating plan is only as good as the details that go into it.
Still deciding whether you need allocated seating at all? Start with our guide to seating plans vs no seating plans. If you're going for it, here are the mistakes we see most often.
1. Guessing the layout instead of asking the venue
Venues change. Seats get taken out for wheelchair spaces, a row disappears for a camera platform, or extra chairs appear on the floor. The plan you used three years ago might not match the room you're walking into.
Ask the venue for its current seating plan and check it's the layout for your date. If you're in a school hall with temporary chairs, decide on your layout early and make sure whoever sets up the room follows it exactly.
When you set up your event on Stage Stubs, upload the venue's plan, a photo or even a rough drawing. The more detail we have, the faster we can build your plan. Here's what to include.
2. Seat numbers that don't match the room
Families follow what's on their ticket. If the venue numbers seats right to left, skips row I, or starts the balcony at row AA, your plan needs to do the same.
With temporary seating, label the chairs to match your plan the day before, not an hour before doors. Better still, walk the room with the plan in your hand and check a few seats in each row.
3. Forgetting the seats you can't sell
Every venue has seats you won't want to sell. Think about:
- The tech desk and the seats around it
- Your videographer's or photographer's position
- Seats behind pillars or right next to speakers
- Anything that blocks an aisle or fire exit
Tell us which seats to leave out when you send your details and they won't appear on the plan at all. If some seats have a slightly restricted view, you could sell them at a lower price instead. Our post on promotional seating explains how, and how much to charge for dance show tickets will help you set the numbers.
4. Not holding seats back for your own people
It's easy to sell every seat and then realise you've nowhere to put the chaperones, your guest of honour or the parent who's helping backstage between numbers.
Hold a few seats back from sale before tickets go live. Aisle seats near the back work well for chaperones who need to slip in and out. You can reserve or block seats at any time and release them later if you don't need them. For more on looking after your helpers, read supporting your backstage team.
5. Treating accessible seating as an afterthought
Wheelchair spaces need a companion seat next to them, and step-free rows should be clearly marked so families can book with confidence. Get this onto the plan from the start rather than shuffling people around on the night.
Our guide on making your dance show accessible for every family covers what to ask your venue and how to handle carer tickets.
6. Assuming every performance uses the same layout
Running a matinee and an evening show? Or two casts across a weekend? Check whether anything changes between performances, such as front rows removed for little ones sitting out front, or a section closed for a smaller audience.
If the layout is the same, Stage Stubs lets you copy your plan to a new date in a couple of clicks. If it's different, tell us so we can build each one correctly. Not sure how many shows to run? Read one show or three: how to decide.
7. Approving the plan without checking it properly
When your seating plan is ready (usually within one working day) you'll get an email asking you to review it. It's tempting to click accept and get tickets on sale, but take five minutes first.
Check every performance for:
- The right number of rows and seats
- Seat numbers that match the venue
- Correct prices for each section
- Wheelchair spaces in the right place
Once you approve it, the layout and seat count are locked. You can still change prices and hold seats back afterwards, but moving rows means starting again. If something's not right, choose Changes Are Required and we'll fix it.
8. Not telling families how to find their seats
A perfect plan won't help if families arrive and can't work out where row K is. Sign each section and row clearly, give your front of house team a printed copy of the plan, and have someone at each entrance to point people the right way.
Scanning tickets on the door speeds things up too. See how in get your audience seated fast with our ticket scanner app. And when you tell parents your tickets are on sale, mention that seats are allocated so they know to book early for the best spots.
Your seating plan checklist
Before you set up your event, have these ready:
- The venue's current seating plan, or a photo or drawing of the room
- Number of rows and seats, and how they're numbered
- Sections (stalls, balcony, floor seating)
- Wheelchair spaces and companion seats
- Seats to leave out (tech desk, camera, restricted view)
- Seats to hold back for staff, chaperones and guests
- Prices for each section, plus child, concession and free tickets
- Whether each performance uses the same layout
How Stage Stubs makes seating plans easy
You don't need to draw a single seat. Send us your details and our team builds your seating plan for free, usually within one working day. You check it, approve it and tickets go on sale straight away.
After that you can hold seats back, change prices and copy the plan to extra performances whenever you need to. Stage Stubs is free for event organisers, with a small booking fee paid by ticket buyers.
Ready to get your next show seated without the stress? Create your free event today.
