Hi all,
Please write your horror stories from performance! I am interested to hear them. It makes things more interesting and a lot of us can really learn from them, I think.
Here's mine:
The day I debuted (Oct 11, 2001, not a smart choice on my part!) as a performer, I danced at a local restaurant which was very popular with bellydancers. I was told that people who were hiring all along the West Coast would be there.
First of all, they told me my costume was too racy for the restaurant (bra, belt, skirt combo), took me out if my silver/black costume, and recostumed me in a gold bra/belt with red harem pants. Too much gold looks bad on me, and I hated harem pants at the time. They also put a headband thing on me (that looked like an actual HEADBAND, not a crown), and told me I didn't have enough makeup on and slathered me with grease.
OK, fine. I can deal. I handed the lady my CD.
"Oh," she says, "We only have a cassette tape player."
I had practiced this song for a month prior to this performance/audition, but I still felt...calm down, it should be fine. I asked her to find something fast for me.
So my turn comes. I get out into the restaurant as the music begins to plaly (VERY slow violins, no drumbeat at all, and at the time I wasn't as fluid with different speeds as I am now so I was all confused). Even so, the music started to pick up, and thought it was OK...then I realized it was the same song I'd seen a gypsy dancer leap her way through about five songs previously!!! Either way, I thought I could salvage some of my pride, and danced anyway, around tables and patrons seated on the floor. This restaurant was Middle Eastern owned and frequented, so I felt pretty lousy dancing terribly (I thought) in front of them!
Then, the music STOPPED. I posed a bit, thinking it would start again...and the lady came out and stage-whispered "we started in the middle of the song, we are rewinding it to the beginning now!" So there I stood, while people sitting below me said 'they stopped her tape!' absolutely aghast.
The music starts again. I go to the other room, danced through the rest of the song, now totally humiliated and crushed. I was tipped only $1 (from the gypsy dancer whose song I was using)...and then the same lady came out again, WHILE I WAS DANCING, stopped me and stage-whispered "We are going to fade the sound out!" I nodded, angry and embarrassed, and waited to hear the beginning of the fade as I danced.
The music was turned down, VERY FAST! Like two seconds. So I tried to quickly salvage it by doing a quick pose. I can't even explain my feelings at that point.
Afterwards I came up and sat with the lady who had invited me there. I said "I cannot BELIEVE that just happened!" and the lady said 'Oh, you'll be fine with some training'...like she hadn't NOTICED the amazing unprofessionalism? Then the next dancer comes out, gorgeous, thin as a whip, wearing a beautiful white and silver costume that fit her perfectly. The lady I was with said, "Don't you just love her belly movements? She looks just like a little wood nymph!"
So...this lady was OK with the unprofessionalism and the ruined chances of any other belly dancer that had my experience.
What I Have Learned From This:
1. Bring more than one costume.
2. Don't LET people put makeup on you.
3. Double check that the venue has a CD player.
4. Never dance at that place again, or any other that treats dancers so badly.
Please write your horror stories from performance! I am interested to hear them. It makes things more interesting and a lot of us can really learn from them, I think.
Here's mine:
The day I debuted (Oct 11, 2001, not a smart choice on my part!) as a performer, I danced at a local restaurant which was very popular with bellydancers. I was told that people who were hiring all along the West Coast would be there.
First of all, they told me my costume was too racy for the restaurant (bra, belt, skirt combo), took me out if my silver/black costume, and recostumed me in a gold bra/belt with red harem pants. Too much gold looks bad on me, and I hated harem pants at the time. They also put a headband thing on me (that looked like an actual HEADBAND, not a crown), and told me I didn't have enough makeup on and slathered me with grease.
OK, fine. I can deal. I handed the lady my CD.
"Oh," she says, "We only have a cassette tape player."
I had practiced this song for a month prior to this performance/audition, but I still felt...calm down, it should be fine. I asked her to find something fast for me.
So my turn comes. I get out into the restaurant as the music begins to plaly (VERY slow violins, no drumbeat at all, and at the time I wasn't as fluid with different speeds as I am now so I was all confused). Even so, the music started to pick up, and thought it was OK...then I realized it was the same song I'd seen a gypsy dancer leap her way through about five songs previously!!! Either way, I thought I could salvage some of my pride, and danced anyway, around tables and patrons seated on the floor. This restaurant was Middle Eastern owned and frequented, so I felt pretty lousy dancing terribly (I thought) in front of them!
Then, the music STOPPED. I posed a bit, thinking it would start again...and the lady came out and stage-whispered "we started in the middle of the song, we are rewinding it to the beginning now!" So there I stood, while people sitting below me said 'they stopped her tape!' absolutely aghast.
The music starts again. I go to the other room, danced through the rest of the song, now totally humiliated and crushed. I was tipped only $1 (from the gypsy dancer whose song I was using)...and then the same lady came out again, WHILE I WAS DANCING, stopped me and stage-whispered "We are going to fade the sound out!" I nodded, angry and embarrassed, and waited to hear the beginning of the fade as I danced.
The music was turned down, VERY FAST! Like two seconds. So I tried to quickly salvage it by doing a quick pose. I can't even explain my feelings at that point.
Afterwards I came up and sat with the lady who had invited me there. I said "I cannot BELIEVE that just happened!" and the lady said 'Oh, you'll be fine with some training'...like she hadn't NOTICED the amazing unprofessionalism? Then the next dancer comes out, gorgeous, thin as a whip, wearing a beautiful white and silver costume that fit her perfectly. The lady I was with said, "Don't you just love her belly movements? She looks just like a little wood nymph!"
So...this lady was OK with the unprofessionalism and the ruined chances of any other belly dancer that had my experience.
What I Have Learned From This:
1. Bring more than one costume.
2. Don't LET people put makeup on you.
3. Double check that the venue has a CD player.
4. Never dance at that place again, or any other that treats dancers so badly.
.
