When I was a student I was eager to perform. I loved it. It was my drug of choice. It made my stomach turn and my heart race, but I loved the thrill of connecting with an audience. Dancing and performance are a very personal thing. It means different things to difference people. I had been a performer since I was a small child in various capacities as singer or musician. I have discovered that when you combine something that is very personal to someone with the ability to make money or not to make money, you can at times reach conflict. There are several categories of dancers: Professional, recreational/hobbyist and student. Each of these categories of dancer brings something beautiful to the art in their own way.
Students perform at Haflas and in studio run shows that feature student performances. Student performances remind me of why I love to dance. The joy, the fear, the small mistakes and the bravery to continue are what make their performances so enjoyable. The fact that you get to watch someone discover dance reminds you why you started in the first place. Their costumes can be home made or purchased, although if purchased tend to be less expensive than the semi and pro varieties. Students, even advanced students, should not be paid to perform. It is inappropriate for students to dance at restaurants for money or for private functions for money (or for free in place of a professional dancer). Showing some friends or family members at a party what you learned in class is one thing, billing yourself out as a paid performer is another.
Recreational dancers perform at haflas, stage shows, festivals, and may belong to troups. They do not dance for a living and view the craft as more of a hobby. They may own a couple of nice costumes and maybe even own one or two professional costumes. They can be very talented dancers, but do not tend to view Belly Dance as a business. They tend to shy away from charging appropriately for their time as they see it as "just something they love to do."
Professional dancers perform for paid gigs at corporate functions, restaurants, weddings, private parties and engagements. They own several professional level costumes which they cycle through on a regular basis. They are required to maintain an excellent selection of costumes to provide their clients with variety. In the restaurant circuit, many of the regular customers cycle through a series of specific restaurants and expect to see a variety in costume, dancer and music.
Professional dancers are aware of certain standards of quality: arriving on time, hair and make-up done, high quality costumes, jewellery, ability to play zills continually, veil, ballroom shoes and appropriate music choices for their venue.
Belly Dance is not a regulated art form. This is part of its beauty and part of the problem. The reason belly dance is so accessible is that you can express yourself and don't have to be a certain body type to do so. No one will ever tell you to eat cotton balls in Belly Dance. In fact, they might encourage you to eat more cheese! Where this comes into conflict is that the standards are subjective regarding quality of performance and rates to charge.
After I had been dancing for 2 years, I had the opportunity to perform a gig at a stranger's birthday party. I contacted my teacher at the time and she gave me very little advice. If I were teaching me at the time, I would have told my student how while it was a fun sounding idea, it was really appropriate for her to do. I was at a stage in my life where I still believed the world was a generally safe place. Unfortunately, when your work uniform is a bra and belt, the world can often turn ugly quite quickly.
The people who booked the gig wanted me to show up to a house party at 11pm at night. When I arrived, everyone was completely drunk and I was very very young. The room I was given to change in (I should have shown up in costume) had a big open window that was not covered. I hid behind the bed. Too young and timid to question. My costume was pretty for a student, but not professional quality. I was lead out into a garage to dance where the women glared at me and the men whooted like I was a stripper. The birthday boy was so drunk, he grabbed my veil and whipped my ass with it. The beads snapped and the next day I had a welt on my ass.
After I performed I went inside. The birthday boy followed me, as did his wife. He peed with the bathroom door opened and propositioned me in front of his wife. I laughed it off and ran as fast as I could. Thankfully I had been paid at the beginning of the night. I called the next day and demanded that they fix my broken veil. The wife denied what had happened.
I thought I knew so much at the time, but really, I didn't know anything. I was so upset at how I had been treated. But when I look back at it, what did I expect? I was showing up at a house party at 11pm at night. Everyone would be drunk by then. And I went by myself, as a young woman. I also took payment for a skill that I was not a professional at, and so I was marring my own field with my inexperience.
Performing is fun. As dancers, we all want opportunities to show what we've learned and to get something out of our investment of time and money. But when we are paid to perform there are certain levels of professionalism and expertise that are expect of us. My dear friend Jamilee Abir has a wonderful article on her website about professionalism and performing. http://www.abirscasbah.com/
To the students and recreational dancers: make sure to consider what you are charging and if you are really qualified to charge and perform. Speak to your teachers and mentors about gigs that come up. And remember: restaurants and other venues are always looking for the cheapest thing they can get. But good dancers aren't cheap and cheap dancers aren't good.
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