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 that excite at school festivals (21–30)
Comedy contest
It’s a competition where students form pairs or groups and perform manzai or comedy sketches in front of everyone to see who’s the funniest.
Teachers and others serve as judges to decide the winner.
Some acts are hilarious while others bomb spectacularly, but no matter the outcome, it makes for a great memory! Upperclassmen with more experience tend to be funnier, so it might be worth trying every year.
Who knows—you might witness the birth of a future comedy star!
line dance
A line dance, where all the dancers stand in a row and perform the same choreography, is fantastic when the whole class gives it a try and makes for a perfect show at a school festival.
If you incorporate props into the line dance, it creates a clear sense of visual unity—so why not give it a shot?
Human Beatbox & Dance
Known in Japan as “voice percussion,” human beatboxing is a technique for producing drum sounds, scratches, and various other sound effects using only the mouth and a microphone.
While it’s often associated with a cappella, combining it with dance can create even more innovative and stylish performances!
DJ
In recent years, DJ performances have been drawing attention as stage acts at school cultural festivals.
There are many videos on YouTube of DJs performing at these festivals, and they’ve racked up a lot of views.
Especially for high school students, there might not be many chances to go to clubs or attend DJ events, but seeing a DJ set in person lets you feel the energy build and the crowd come together.
If you can perform as a DJ, why not take this opportunity to show off your skills?
School Idol
These days, there are many idols—not just those from the AKB groups.
A school idol show is where you copy their dances and perform them on stage.
It’s especially recommended for people in dance clubs or circles! And of course, it gets even more exciting if you not only copy the dances but the songs as well!
No more Movie Thief show
The striking video and high-level dance from the “No More Movie Thieves” campaign that bans camcording in theaters! How about copying it and turning it into a school festival show? The costumes are also memorable and impactful, right? The official campaign has released a new version as well, so try copying that one too!
Quiz show
It’s the kind of quiz show you often see on TV—sure to get everyone excited! We recommend letting not only students but also general attendees participate.
If your school has a Quiz Research Club or similar club or circle, definitely give it a try.