Audience participation...some tips and what to avoid?

Emma_Williams

New member
Sooooo I have my first ever restaurant gig coming up..this is so exciting for me but also very very scary but a good scary :). So some of it will be including audience participation. Does anyone have any good hints or tips or anything that always goes down well???
Equally what to avoid?? what could embarrass or offend??

I would really appreciate everyone responses.

Thanks

Em xxx
 

Greek Bonfire

Well-known member
First and foremost, watch out to see who might be pretty drunk. Then if and when they get too close, develop reflexes like a sprinter so you can really get out of their way before any scenes start up. Also, look at people's faces - if they seem like they are enjoying your dancing, do some interacting; likewise, if others come across as hostile, approach them tentatively and if they don't change their attitude, move on.

But most of the time it's a lot of fun!
 

Eshta

New member
Hi Emma,

I would advise sticking to basics until you have more confidence with audience interaction - by that I mean don't attempt anything too 'clever' just yet, that can come with time!

As a rule of thumb dance "for" the ladies at the table rather than the men, and try to gage their reaction to you early on, before you even begin the audience interaction section. Some people genuinely go to a restaurant for (gasp!) dinner and don't really want to be bothered by you.

Look for the tables of only ladies! I often find they enjoy it when you dance at their tables, and tend to be up for getting up for a dance with you.

You can try getting people up to dance with you if you feel confident enough, but anticipate that they will often expect you to show them something they can do, if they even get up at all! Try showing them a hip drop or a shoulder shimmy if this happens, and then you can pose together with them doing their move for their table who will probably enjoy it!

If they don't want to get up, don't bully them too much, but you can spend a few moments dancing at their table if they seem interested. Try not to fall into the 'must show every trick I have' trap! You'll end up a sweaty mess and it's a bit overwhelming for anyone watching.

On the other hand if you get someone dancing very enthusiastically (or also for when you get the drunk idiot who won't leave your dance space), I quite like pulling up a chair, sitting myself down and clapping them on as if to say "yeah, you don't need me when you have this person!" Or if I'm at their table, I'll nick their seat and pretend to be after their food or drink while they are dancing.

Gosh I'm such a clown, must try to be more "professional"!

Hmm, but you need the confidence to pull off anything where you try to go for humour.
 

PracticalDancer

New member
A few questions, because they will give some direction --

First, what kind of audience do you expect? (Arabic or non?)
If Arabic, do you know a debke?
If non, what kind of non-arabic audience is it that patronizes this restaurant -- families or individuals? gender?

this information will give important details to help guide you!

:)

Regards,

Anala
 

Crystalllized

New member
When people get put in the spotlight sometimes they get nervous and do very strange things. Make sure no one is inappropriate! In addition to making sure you aren't getting super drunk people up to dance, don't let people get too close to you or touch you or do bad "suggestive" dancing.

If they start dancing suggestively "freaking", wag your finger and tell them you will teach them how to BELLY DANCE and that belly dance is beautiful and graceful.

If they dance too close to you, play your zills right out in front of you or do snake arms, something to give you distance before you can get them sitting again!

Sometimes people won't want to sit down after they have gotten up. Don't spend 5 minutes on one person. Other people want a turn to dance or interact with you. If the person up dancing can't take clues that their time is done (clapping, thanking them, motioning for them to sit down or Eshta's suggestion of taking their seat) then just let them stay up dancing and move on to the next group of people.

If you are at a family restaurant, this stuff shouldn't really happen, but one of the places I dance at a bar/lounge and have to be really on guard to control the audience.
 

Crystalllized

New member
Oh yeah, and have fun. Don't take audience participation too seriously. People are out to have a good time and want to be entertained.

Also check with the management to see what they envision for audience participation. Some places want less of audience participation with more focus on a beautiful performance and some places want 5 minutes of "performance' and the rest screwing around with audience participation.
 

Eshta

New member
Oh yeah, and have fun. Don't take audience participation too seriously. People are out to have a good time and want to be entertained.

Also check with the management to see what they envision for audience participation. Some places want less of audience participation with more focus on a beautiful performance and some places want 5 minutes of "performance' and the rest screwing around with audience participation.

REALLY good point! Often with the 'audience participation' section, you'll find the restaurant owner (ie your boss) really wants you to drag people up as it tells the owner that the audience are having a good time, but actually the audience are petrified, just want to relax and enjoy the evening and you bullying them will ultimately detract from that! It's hard but you'll have to find the balance. So make sure that the songs you pick for the audience participation section are ones you could still dance well to if you have a full audience with 'sticky bums'!

Also, try not to forget about the other 90% of your audience who are still watching you, if you can try to make it interesting enough for them too. This can be really simple - once you've got your victim doing a few moves, you can gesture to everyone else as if to say "hey, isn't (s)he doing well?" maybe get them to clap along.

Sometimes you may get a real clown who's really up for it and you can turn it into a real show. I danced at an Indian engagement party a few weeks back and the groom was awesome, we turned it into a great comedy double act - at one point I tried to teach him to shimmy, and his response was to comedically convulse like he was being electrocuted. The audience were in fits of giggles, so then he carried on as if he was trying to teach me some moves, flailing around wildly. I did a big hip circle, stayed down, put my finger under my chin as if to say "what the hell is that supposed to be?!" and in perfect timing to the music, he paused, looked at me, back to the audience, gave a big shrug, and we carried on! The audience were still giggling about our antics long after I'd finished!

Oh, and another useful tip in restaurants: as you approach the table, be aware at what stage they are through their meal. People who have just arrived are often quite shy to get up; people with their meal in front of them are busy...well, eating (in a restaurant?! Who'da thunk?!)! People who have finished their meal are often the best bet. Especially if they've had a few drinks (but not too many or you risk the annoying drunk!)

Phew, so much to think about!
 

Daimona

Moderator
You probably already know this, but don't touch the customers as this may scare them even more. You might invite them with your hand, and Wish you good luck!
 

Chani

New member
I'm appreciating these tips as I also have my first solo performance - a 90th birthday party for a fantastic woman in one week's time.

Eshter, your wedding dance sounds wonderful. I hope to have the confidence to interact with the audience that way one day.

Em, Good luck. I look forward to hearing how you went.
 

Za Linda

New member
... if you get someone dancing very enthusiastically (or also for when you get the drunk idiot who won't leave your dance space), I quite like pulling up a chair, sitting myself down and clapping them on as if to say "yeah, you don't need me when you have this person!" Or if I'm at their table, I'll nick their seat and pretend to be after their food or drink while they are dancing.

Oh, that's brilliant! You sure have a lot of confidence, I guess from experience. I'd love to see how the audience reacted to this situation.
 

HubicRuzz

New member
Sooooo I have my first ever restaurant gig coming up..this is so exciting for me but also very very scary but a good scary :). So some of it will be including audience participation. Does anyone have any good hints or tips or anything that always goes down well???
Equally what to avoid?? what could embarrass or offend??

I would really appreciate everyone responses.

Thanks

Em xxx

Having seen a newbie perform at a house party a few months back, I would say the first thing is that if you do bring someone on stage to dance with you, take control of the situation and tell them to follow the dance movements you are doing. Otherwise if they start doing their own thing you can very quickly lose control of the situation which is what happen with this particular dancer I saw. IE not just 1 but 2 people who she got up to dance with, at separate times, start dancing very, very close to them to the point where you could almost sense some molesting of the dancer was about to start. And one of them was a young attractive female from the audience.

The other thing I have seen is to pick someone from the audience that already looks happy to see you there and being very animated. If you choose someone who is trying very hard to ignore you they might say something very rude to you. If that does happen just keep smiling and move on.

I would also avoid getting up men with partners, where the female partner is obviously not happy that their man is more interested in you. If you accidentally do that, get the female partner up at the same time as well. Otherwise she might want to jump up and scratch your eyes out.
 
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