How to Make Your Dance Show Accessible for Every Family

Every family should get to see their dancer on stage

Your show is the moment families have been waiting for all term. For some of them, though, getting through the door is the hard part. Maybe it's a grandparent who uses a wheelchair, or a little brother who finds loud music too much. They want to be there just as much as anyone else.

The numbers say this affects more of your audience than you might think. The Family Resources Survey 2024 to 2025 found that one in four people in the UK are disabled. Fill a 200-seat theatre and that could be dozens of people in your audience.

Most of it costs little or nothing. It's about asking the right questions early and telling families what to expect. Here's how, step by step, and how Stage Stubs can help with each one.

1. Start with the venue

Access starts long before tickets go on sale. When you book or rebook your venue, ask the manager these questions and write the answers down, because families will ask you the same things later:

• Is there step-free access from the car park or drop-off point to the auditorium?
• How many wheelchair spaces are there, and where are they? Are there companion seats next to them?
• Is there an accessible toilet, and is it close to the seating area?
• Is there blue badge parking, and how many spaces?
• Does the venue have a hearing loop?
• Is there a quiet room or foyer space where someone could take a break during the show?

If your usual venue falls short, it's still worth knowing exactly where the gaps are. You can then tell families honestly and plan workarounds, like reserving the seats nearest an exit or the toilets.

If you're planning your next show from scratch, our free dance recital planning checklist helps you get the venue and everything else booked in the right order.

How Stage Stubs helps: Once you know your venue's layout, the Stage Stubs team builds your seating plan for free. Tell them where the wheelchair spaces and companion seats are, and they'll be marked on the plan so families can see exactly what they're booking.

2. Make booking easy for everyone

Booking is where most families work out whether your show will work for them.

Mark accessible seats on your seating plan. If families can see exactly where the wheelchair spaces and step-free rows are, they can book with confidence rather than hoping for the best. Not sure whether you need allocated seats at all? Read seating plans vs no seating plans.

Create a wheelchair companion ticket. Pair each wheelchair space with a companion seat so nobody has to sit apart from the person they came with.

Think about carer tickets. Many theatres offer a free or reduced ticket for someone attending as a carer. You could do the same, or keep a few seats aside and hand them out yourself. Whatever you go for, say so on your event page.

Hold a few seats back. Accessible seats can sell out quickly to people who don't need them. It's worth keeping them aside until a week or two before the show, then releasing any that are left. Our post on how many tickets each family should get covers more ways to keep things fair when demand is high.

Keep checkout simple. A quick, mobile-friendly checkout helps everyone, especially anyone who finds fiddly forms hard work.

How Stage Stubs helps: You can set different prices for the same seat (adult, child and so on), so adding a companion or carer price is simple. You can also take seats off sale and put them back on later, which makes holding accessible seats back easy. And at checkout, families can pay with Apple Pay or Google Pay on any device. See all the Stage Stubs features.

3. Tell families what to expect

If someone doesn't know whether they'll get in, find a seat or be able to nip out when they need to, staying at home can feel easier. Clear information sorts most of that.

Add an access section to your event page. Use the answers from your venue questions and keep it short and factual. For example:

The theatre has step-free access from the main entrance. There are four wheelchair spaces in row A, each with a companion seat next to it. An accessible toilet is on the ground floor next to the auditorium. If you have any access needs, email us at [your email] and we'll help.

Include it in your ticket announcement. When you tell parents tickets are on sale, add a line about access and who to contact. Our templates for announcing show tickets to parents make a good starting point, so just add your access line at the end.

Share running times. Let families know how long each half lasts, when the interval is and roughly when their dancer's class is on. This helps anyone who struggles to sit for long periods plan their day. You can also print the running order in your programme; see what to include in your event programmes.

Warn about special effects. If your show uses strobe lighting, haze, smoke or very loud music, say so on the event page and on the night. Strobe warnings matter for audience members with photosensitive epilepsy, and the same goes for your dancers.

Make it easy to ask. Give one named contact and one email address for access questions.

How Stage Stubs helps: Every Stage Stubs event gets its own landing page, so all your access information sits in one place that families see before they book. Share that one link in your emails, WhatsApp groups and social posts, and nobody has to go hunting for the details.

4. Consider a relaxed performance

If you're already running more than one show, think about making one of them a relaxed performance.

A relaxed performance is a show adapted for people who would enjoy it more in a calmer, less formal setting. As NODA explains, that includes (but isn't limited to) autistic people, people with sensory and communication needs, and people with a learning disability. It's also great for families with very young children who can't sit still for two hours.

You don't need to change your choreography. Typical adjustments include:

• Keeping the house lights dimmed rather than fully off
• Turning the sound down a little and skipping sudden loud effects
• No strobe, haze or smoke
• Letting the audience move around, make noise and come and go freely
• Setting up a quiet space outside the auditorium with a few chairs
• A short welcome from the stage explaining that it's a relaxed show and everyone is welcome as they are
• A shorter running time, or a longer interval

Relaxed shows also work well as an afternoon matinee. Be clear in the event name and description that it's a relaxed performance and explain what that means, so nobody is surprised on the day.

Wondering whether you can fill an extra show? Read should you run one show or three?

How Stage Stubs helps: You can add as many performances as you need and set different prices for each showing. So you could price your relaxed matinee a little lower, or make it the show where you keep extra accessible seats aside.

5. On show day: get front of house right

Your front of house volunteers are the first people families meet, so make sure they know the plan.

• Brief your front of house team. Make sure they know where the accessible seats, toilets, lift and quiet space are, and who to go to if someone needs help.
• Keep the queue moving. Long queues are tough for anyone who can't stand for long, so have more than one person scanning tickets if you can.
• Offer early entry. Let families with access needs come in a few minutes before the doors open so they can settle without a crowd.
• Keep walkways clear. Watch out for bags, buggies and costume rails in corridors and aisles.
• Have a named point of contact. One person in a bright lanyard or t-shirt is easier to find than a whole team.

If any of your dancers have access needs of their own, plan for those backstage too. Our guide to supporting your backstage team has more tips for a smooth show.

How Stage Stubs helps: Add your helpers to the Stage Stubs app and they can scan QR code tickets on their own phones, so you can run more than one queue. You can also download your admissions list from My Events before the doors open. Read more about the ticket scanner app.

Your accessible show checklist

• Ask your venue about step-free access, wheelchair spaces, toilets, parking and a hearing loop
• Tell Stage Stubs which seats are accessible so they're marked on your seating plan
• Add companion and carer prices
• Decide whether to hold accessible seats back until closer to the show
• Add an access section to your event page
• Mention access and a contact email in your ticket announcement
• Share running times and the interval
• Flag any strobe, haze or loud effects
• Think about adding a relaxed performance
• Brief front of house and set up a quiet space

Make your next show one everyone can enjoy

An accessible show doesn't need a big budget or a brand new venue. It comes down to a few good questions, a clear seating plan and telling families what to expect. Get those right and more families get to see their dancer on stage, which is the whole point of the show.

When you sell your tickets with Stage Stubs, a lot of this is already taken care of. The Stage Stubs team builds your seating plan for free, accessible seats and all. You can set prices that work for carers and companions, keep seats aside until you need them, and scan everyone in quickly on the night. Stage Stubs is free for studios to use, with no setup fees, no subscription and no contract. The booking fee is paid by ticket buyers.

Ready to start selling? Create your free Stage Stubs event today. Setting up your account only takes a few minutes. Want to see what's included first? Take a look at how Stage Stubs works for event organisers or check our pricing.

Keep reading

• Planning your Christmas show: what to do and when
• How to sell out your Christmas show
• How to tell parents your show tickets are on sale (with templates)
• Seating plans vs no seating plans
• Dance recital best practices
• Post-show tasks: everything to do once the curtains close

You can also browse our full range of free studio tools, including the budget planner, tiered ticket calculator and ticket poster generator.