Lack of support

[shiradotnet]

Oh, and I strongly feel that student recitals should NOT be marketed to the public. They should only be marketed to the friends and family of the performers.

Reasons:

• If the public comes and pays to see a recital, and sees beginner dancers, they will be left with the impression that belly dancing is amateurish and not a "real" dance form. Even if the announcement says the show consists of beginners, an entrance fee will make the public expect something that is worth what they paid for it.
• If you saturate your local potential audiences with beginner dancers, then they won't have any interest in hiring professional dancers. They'll think, "There's a belly dancer on every corner and at every city festival, county fair, etc. I see it everywhere. I'm tired of it. For my private party, I'd rather have something distinctive."

 

[Shanazel]

Demanding that students who want to watch the other acts first change back into their "civilian" clothes. No mingling with the audience while in costume! (And for purposes of this, I would even say it's not good enough to throw on a coverup, the student needs to change clothes.)

One of my major pet peeves here though I have no problems with dancers in coverups in the audience as long as they watch unobtrusively from the back of the venue and don't put themselves on show.

Last year a group of my students performed at a venue north of here. They were warned in direst terms to aovid emerging from back stage without a proper coverup. Imagine my little amateur group's amazement when the so-called professional group from the big city ran around in full costume, dashing in and out of the audience when their personal dances were up. I went so far as to mention the matter to a couple of "professionals" only to be told that professionals don't bother with coverups but my group could do whatever we were comfortable with.

I might also mention that though it was touted as a belly dance show we were the only belly dancers in the show; most of the rest did tribal related mishmash to to everything from hip hop to torch songs.

This is about what one can expect in this part of the country, a major reason why I hesitate to leave town for a "belly dance show."

Depressing.

Oh, the same group when notified that Salome would be teaching workshops here had only one question: Will there be a show we can perform in afterwards? There wasn't so they declined to attend.

 

[Darshiva]

I'd definitely attend a local student recital, but for anything outside of town I'd probably want to actually be part of the show.

The reason for this is that my husband is driving (still only have my learner's permit) so by necessity he is at the show. Traveling to see someone else's students perform is not his idea of a fun night out nor a good spend of money unless I'm planning on taking private lessons with said teacher & I want a good idea of their teaching skill.

 

[Roshanna]

The reason for this is that my husband is driving (still only have my learner's permit) so by necessity he is at the show. Traveling to see someone else's students perform is not his idea of a fun night out nor a good spend of money unless I'm planning on taking private lessons with said teacher & I want a good idea of their teaching skill.

I'm actually starting to feel quite guilty that my boyfriend has had to sit through so much dancing at local haflas that's less than thrilling even to an enthusiast... The events he comes with me to are the ones that are in our town or a short bus journey away, which tend to be mostly student groups and amateur troupes - the high quality professional shows are the ones I travel long distances to by myself, because he isn't usually willing to take the best part of a whole day and pay a significant bus/train fare to come with me.

So, the poor fellow has sat through hours upon hours of beginners wafting fanveils around, but hasn't seen any of the amazing performers who replenish my love of the dance. It makes me sad that he's only exposed to the lowest common denominator of bellydance, and he's been getting rather jaded about bellydance as a result. I might have to just drag him to a proper professional show at some point to restore the balance!

 

[Safran]

As for the original question - if I am in town during the event, then there is a pretty big probability that I will be attending. It is a nice way to keep an eye on what people are up to, and also to catch up and chat with other dancers. However, I do live in the capital city... when the events take place in other towns, I either prefer studios/organisers that I have stronger connections with... or just can manage to unite attendig the event with some other travel plans.

Most of the studios here organise their student recitals as end-of-season shows, and they never consist of only student performances. There are always soloists/teachers/guest performers, to make the programme more interesting and educational for the students too.

The biggest show takes place each May, and it welcomes groups and dancers from all over Estonia. Which means, it is usually a succession of three shows, to make sure that everyone fits into the programme... It is held in a very nice concert hall with good lights and sound system etc. To be able to provide dancers this opportunity to come together, and to cover the costs, the organiser usually charges a nominal fee from every participant, and that fee includes one free ticket to the show that participant is performing in. That saves from the hassle of agressively selling tickets to meet the costs, but we still get at least some non-dancer audience.

 

[SeeJaneDance]

Safran, that sounds somewhat similar to the annual recital the studio I attend does. Not as big, though. But there are student troupe, teacher, and local-ish soloists and troupes that perform, interspersed with the different levels of students. It's usually in a theater at the university in town, with a nice backdrop, theater lights, and professional sound. There is a ticket fee charged to everyone, including performers, to cover the costs, and the GP is invited (and some actually come), but I think that's largely because it's usually--at least as long as I've been going--a charity function. Any proceeds above the cost of the facilities go to a local charity. Last year it was to a foundation that provides guide dogs to blind people. There was a nice presentation at intermission. And the introductions clearly state the level of the dancers who are about to perform, so even though beginner classes are up on stage, everyone knows that they're beginners, and the professionals and troupes help to mitigate any boredom or possible misconceptions.

 

[walladah]

I share most of the views already expressed

and i would like just to add one more case:

when there is no community as such, and you have been treated again and again as just a purse who buys workshops and shows, and the entire community has managed to overpass all trade union's decisions about the oriental dancers' rights in workplaces, then the only thing you can do is to pay back you what you have received so far.

I mean, you would better pay for the best and hardworking, instead of mediocre and those who use their students and unpaid dancers to prepare a low-lever show (dancers who have not enough money to invest even for workshops and classes will remain mediocre)

You would better support anything that the trade union might be involved and avoid anything you know that has maltreared people (i learned about an oriental productions director the other day who not only leaves all dancers unpaid, he also slapped one!!)

You would better keep your time and money to support the student and studio shows which keep on working with quality and respect to the art, to the students and to the audience.

You would also better keep the income you might have made to attend workshops with the best, because this is the only way, in a community which is not community and has destroyed all chances for oriental dancers to get decent jobs, to become good enough to create a market and audience of your own.

It might seem selfish, but i think that to support community you need to have one, in case there is not any, you support individuals you admire and respect.

 

[AyaKara]

The largest reason to me would be not actually knowing when/ where performances were held, since they're mostly word-of-mouth/website if you know the right dancers. I imagine cost & timing would come next. :think:

 

[Safran]

I've been trying to tackle the problem of lack of information. We have a small community, but a LOT is going on. So, last November I founded a monthly newsletter, which people can subscribe to, and that will deliver the dates, locations and links to all the events for the upcoming year to their e-mail boxes. The events' calendar was my main idea, but I am also trying to provide interesting articles - interviews with foreign dancers who are about to visit Estonia; product reviews; articles from different studios and Estonian dancers working abroad etc.

I mean, there is a lot of information going on Facebook, so stuff you might be interested in, may be flooded. But with the newsletter you know that once a month you'll get the whole list of events in your inbox and you have a complete picture more or less...

 

[Elisheva]

As an improving intermediate who is very much aware of her amateur status and in awe of the advanced, professional level dancers and their skill and dedication, I'd just like to let it be known that I really, really appreciate it when they come and watch shows that people of my level and below are performing in. I realise I have absolutely nothing to teach them, but it is so encouraging to know that they support our development and our fulfilment of the dance to the best of our ability. Everybody was once a beginner, and not many people would be pushing the dance to new and giddy heights now had they not been supported and encouraged when they were new.

 

[Darshiva]

Don't sell yourself so short. I'll be the first to admit I've learned plenty from my own students.

 

[nitewindz]

Why do I not attend a show when I'm not dancing in it? Lots of reasons.

Distance. I just don't like to travel far, and have turned down opportunities to perform in shows for this same reason.

Schedule. Life happens. Long ago when dance events were few and far between this wasn't a big problem. Now there are several events each month, and I can't be at all of them.

Focus. I enjoy all styles of dance. But if belly dance is just a portion, or the focus is on something that doesn't really interest me, I'll pass. For example, I'd go to a Belly Bollywood show or a folkloric show. But I'd probably skip a goth/burlesque show.

Price/Content. These two are hard to separate. I'd pay $5 or bring a potluck dish to a student showcase. I paid $25 to see Club BDSS. I would NOT pay $25 to see a student recital.

On the flip side, sometimes I am in shows only because my troupe signed up! If they did not sign me up I would not be there.

At a show that I'm in I always enjoy watching the other dancers. I don't leave early unless there is a real, unavoidable reason to do so.

I also wear a cover up - to protect my costume. Especially at events where guests are eating and drinking. If food or drink are going to dump on me, I want them to dump on the cover up not my costume, or worse, a silk veil that can not be washed.

 

[Kozmique]

I'm totally spoiled as I live in a big city where there are so many dance shows that they often compete for audiences on the same night. Recently I was torn between going to a local restaurant with excellent food and top-tier dancers, and an out-of-the-way dive with awful food and dancers of all levels. I ended up going to the latter because I wanted to support some dancers who had come to see me perform elsewhere the month previously. After all, those top dancers had to start somewhere, right? Anyway, that other showcase will come around again soon enough. I always try to attend shows as an audience member before signing up to dance. Partly to get a sense of what the space is like but also because I want to support the other dancers and not just breeze in and out again like a diva. It's not as easy when the place is far away, and I can understand how in areas with less concentration of dancers that may not always be feasible. But for me, the actual performance is only the tip of the iceberg as far as what dancing and being a member of the dance community means to me.

 

[LadyLoba]

My lack of show attendance is a distance thing too. (175 miles to the nearest one). If we did get bellydance in my hometown, I might have some of the same issues with certain individuals too. Overall I love my hometown, but it is small. There is a little clique of about 4 or 5 women here that would keep me from bellydance events if they became involved...and one person who..if I saw him in the audience I'd leave the building...so I understand not wanting to be involved in things due to personal conflicts.

There have been a couple attempts at bellydance coming here, but sadly, nobody took it seriously so it died out.