Stage performance ideas to excite a cultural or school festival
When it comes to school festivals, one of the biggest highlights—beyond all the food stalls and games—is the live shows and performances on stage! Instrumental music, singing, dancing, theater, juggling, and more…
The festival stage is the perfect place to showcase activities you’ve been practicing regularly.
And since it’s a special occasion, you might be thinking, “I want to practice something new and show it off!” For those of you who feel that way, here are plenty of recommended show ideas for your school festival! Show a different side of yourself and help make the festival even more exciting!
- Ideas for stage events and attractions that will liven up a school festival
- Cultural Festival: Ranking of Popular Booth Ideas
- [For High School Students] A roundup of recommended attractions for the school festival
- Recommended plays for a high school cultural festival: popular, crowd-pleasing ideas
- [Middle School] Cultural Festival Attractions: A roundup of popular exhibits, games, and stage performances
- A roundup of recreational activities to liven up cultural and school festivals
- Magic that excites crowds at cultural and school festivals
- A show-stopping party trick that energizes the crowd at a school cultural festival
- [Non-food] Cultural festival attractions: from classroom exhibits to stage events
- Costume and cosplay ideas to heat up your school cultural festival
- [By Genre] Cultural Festival / School Festival Booth Catalog [2026]
- Ideas for exhibits recommended for school culture festivals. Film screenings, too.
- Recommended Plays and Musicals for Cultural Festivals, School Festivals, and School Performances
Stage performance ideas (91–100) that excite audiences at school cultural festivals
Samba
A samba show is great for energizing cultural and school festivals thanks to its lively rhythms and dance.
It’s a quintessential Brazilian music style with a fast tempo in 2/4 time.
Authentic Brazilian samba uses instruments like the repinique, apito, and agogô.
These names may be unfamiliar, but if you don’t have them, you can substitute with a stick tambourine or a marching bass drum.
It works well on a hall stage, and it would also be exciting to present it like a parade outdoors on the school grounds.
Soran Bushi
Soran-bushi is a dance that gets everyone fired up with the loud calls of “Soran, soran!” A large-scale performance where everyone’s movements are perfectly in sync is truly breathtaking.
Matching happi coats or costumes add a sense of unity and make the performance look even more impressive.
With choreography that matches the powerful lyrics and melody, every audience member is sure to think it looks “cool.” Soran-bushi originally comes from Hokkaido and is said to have its roots in songs sung during herring fishing.
That’s why commitment is key when dancing Soran-bushi! Even if you make a mistake in the choreography, the trick is to carry on as if you didn’t—own it.
Stage performance ideas that excite school cultural festivals (101–110)
haka
The haka is a traditional dance of the Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand.
You may have seen it when New Zealand’s national rugby team performs it before matches.
Participants stomp their feet, clap in rhythm, and dance in time with loud chants.
Although the haka is often associated with men, women can perform it as well.
There are some haka that are restricted to men or to women, and others that can be performed together.
A mixed-gender haka performance would make for a powerful and impressive display.
hip-hop dance
If your school has a dance club or you have people who are good at dancing, how about a hip-hop dance performance? TV shows where schools compete in dance skills are popular, so the audience is likely to get excited when they see hip-hop.
Bring out the appeal of hip-hop, which doesn’t have fixed forms, and showcase a sharp, individualistic dance.
Currently, middle school PE curricula also require dance that incorporates hip-hop rhythms.
Since hip-hop has become more familiar, it might be a good idea to practice as a class and perform it on stage.
ensemble
If you want to experience the joy of creating something together, ensemble performance is the way to go.
You can achieve a beautiful ensemble even with instruments you use regularly in music class, like the melodica or recorder! Ask classmates who take piano lessons or can play the guitar to join in, too.
You might discover that someone unexpected can play an unexpected instrument, so doing some research on that is essential.
It could also be great to film your preparation and practice process and then edit it like a documentary film for the final release.
Coin Appearance Magic
I’ll introduce a simple yet surprisingly impressive coin appearance magic trick.
Prepare a single coin.
This surprising trick, where a coin appears from an empty hand, uses muscle control to move the coin.
The movement of the palm is the key to the magic.
Practice and memorize the hand movements before performing for real.
In large gymnasiums, it might be hard to see, so projecting it on a screen is also recommended.
Arrange the school song
@yomii_tiktok During class, I turned the school anthem into EDM and played it without permission, and then the principal... lol#Yomii Prank TranslationDuring class
♪ Original song – Yomii – Yomii
Arrange the school anthem by blending tradition with surprise.
By boldly giving the normally solemn anthem a modern twist—EDM, rock, jazz, and more—you can deliver both astonishment and laughter to the audience.
Start the intro in the usual way, then suddenly switch up the rhythm and melody midway for maximum impact.
Add visual surprises like choreography or costume changes to boost excitement.
It’s also effective to list only “School Anthem” on posters and programs, surprising unsuspecting attendees.
While honoring tradition, this challenge of bringing in a fresh breeze will create a truly special memory.
