Problems with dance troupes?

Muneera Dance

New member
I was wondering if any other people who are in bellydance troupes also have or have had difficulties and how people have overcome them?

I was recently in a troupe practising to do a performance but a lot of people dropped out and the troupe eventually fell apart.

The main issues were people not turning up to train, people getting bored of doing the same dances every class, and lack of motivation as only one performance was booked. I also found that as a student in the class we had very little input into helping with the choreos, booking events, chosing music etc etc.

Have other people had similar issues or other ones and what are the best ways of having a really successful and ultimately happy bellydance troupe?
 

Maria_Aya

New member
It happens, its natural, but also its a subject of bad managment of any situation from the "teacher/leader".
Its very sensitive and difficult and always like walking on ice to keep the balance between dancers and all of them stay together.
Puting them work together is a good idea.
Also cutting at the first sight the problems !!!
Even cutting heads lol

Maria Aya
 

Caroline_afifi

New member
Yes to all what Maria said!

It is like this.. there is no such thing as a bad troupe, only a bad leader.

It sounds harsh and I even make it sound too easy, it is not.

Good dancers dont always make good leaders. You have to be quite tough to lead and most people need to be liked more than they actually want to lead.

People are afraid of looking like the baddy. The thing is, I realised long ago that people talk about you no matter what so it is actually better to be very straight with people.

People will resent you for this but the good ones will respect you for it.

Reading up about group dynamics is useful. There is the model of 'forming, storming and norming' that most groups go through. so understanding how these dynamics work does help you cope with it when your group goes through the 'storming' part.

Understanding the various roles and positions people take on is also very useful. Quite often, the real leader is not the person you think it is.
 

Muneera Dance

New member
Thanks Maria and Caroline.

I can defintely understand that it must be very difficult to be a troupe leader and imagine trying to keep everyone pleased is never going to be easy.

I really felt as though the group never came together and I think everyone felt as though it was just another class but going over the same dances every week. It never felt like we were actually getting anywhere if that makes sense?

I agree though - cutting problems at the first sight is the key. Not worrying about being strict with the group like you say is aso important, otherwise the group falls apart like a
what happened to ours.

I really hope I find another troupe soon though as I was so excited when this one came together and really didnt have any idea about how dificult it could be.
 

Jane

New member
Keep in mind it's not just belly dance troupes that have issues, it's any group of people ;)

The troupe I was part of for a while got weird dynamics after our original teacher left and we got a new dancer to replace her. I left after two years because: artistically I wanted to go a different direction, our integrity values were at odds, I was feeling held back as an artist, our venues sucked, and we fought over money.

I think one of the main problems is many troupes are made of friends from class. Just because someone is your friend does not make them a good co-worker, a responsible person, or a talented dancer.

Overall it was a good learning experience, but I would never consider being part of a troupe again. I think with a strong leader, likek-minded and comitted dancers, and a written contract, it can work. It's just not for me.
 

gisela

Super Moderator
I am having troupe problems as well:( The girls are awesome and nice dancers but I think we are having problems with commitment and organisation. As we don't have a leader and that kind of was the point for those who founded it, the administration is sooo bad. Agreeing on practice dates and places and getting everyone to answer back in a mail-discussion is just impossible. I want to dance with them but we just don't dance that much together. It is so frustrating. Can this even work, to have a troupe without a leader? Do we need to get special assignements and roles to make it work?
 

maria_harlequin

New member
Also, make sure that you emphasize on honest, straight-forward communication - if anyone has a problem, encourage them to say it out loud. This can be anything from costume choices, practice dates, who gets to be the soloist...you name it. Few things can break a troupe faster than gossip.

I can't emphasize on how important honesty and communication is in the dance world - well in any world for that matter be it family or business. but it's amazing how overlooked it is. For example, my teacher picked a certain group of students for her teacher training course - and of course, those that weren't picked were miffed and there were a lot of hurt feelings. What my teacher did right away was go talk to these students and explain. Some found out that the reason they weren't chosen was because she thinks they were suited more for performing. That cleared up A LOT of issues because if she didn't talk to people right away - imagine the strife between the teachers-in-training and the normal dancers.
 

shiradotnet

Well-known member
I agree with Caroline - the troupe leader, whoever it is, sets the tone. And Gisela, if you don't have someone taking ownership of the tasks the leader would perform, you have chaos.

A good troupe leader:

1. Sets a rehearsal schedule
2. Arranges a place to rehearse
3. Arranges opportunities to perform
4. Decides what approach to costuming the troupe will use
5. Creates choreography for troupe use
6. Figures out how rehearsal space, flyers, business cards, and other expenses will get paid for
7. Critiques and polishes dance technique of troupe members in rehearsal so that everyone dances the same way
8. Critiques and polishes stage presence skills of troupe members in rehearsal so that people learn to NOT have blank stares on their faces when dancing
9. Makes sure the troupe is READY for each performance. This means choosing which songs from the repertoire will be used for that performance, having a CD or iPod playlist with the music in the correct order, rehearsing the group in doing all necessary entrances, transitions, and exits for that specific performance, ensuring the troupe has a room to change into costume in, etc.
10. Makes the tough decisions about cutting someone from a performance if she has failed to show up for rehearsals, failed to achieve the necessary skills of knowing the choreo and mastering the necessary dance technique, or failed to conform to the costume requirements.
11. Deals with personalities in a way that minimizes drama and resolves interpersonal conflicts intelligently

Now, if a troupe consists of a teacher and her students, the teacher will do it all. Or, if it's a non-profit dance company there's probably an artistic director who does all of the above, plus hiring and firing the dancers. The troupes that tend to run into trouble are ones in which either 1) The teacher herself isn't very competent at doing all the stuff I listed above AND fails to delegate to someone who can, or 2) A group of friends form a troupe without assigning who will "own" each of the above responsibility to someone specific.
 

Kharis

New member
It is like this.. there is no such thing as a bad troupe, only a bad leader.

It sounds harsh and I even make it sound too easy, it is not.

Yes and no, I feel. It depends on how the troupe is formed. Hand picked, or random. Handpicked, and you've got a success story. Random, and it can be out of your control.

Good dancers dont always make good leaders. You have to be quite tough to lead and most people need to be liked more than they actually want to lead.

People are afraid of looking like the baddy. The thing is, I realised long ago that people talk about you no matter what so it is actually better to be very straight with people.

People will resent you for this but the good ones will respect you for it.

If a troupe organiser/leader includes all and sundry on the list, then expect disasters. You can't please everyone. I feel that the best troupes are handpicked, and if this puts someone's nose out of joint, tough. If it's a situation where it's a class troupe, then expect to have those who are not so competent and who will continually fall short in performance. In this situation keep choreo's achingly simple but tight by repeated drilling. Better tight and simple, than complicated and awful.

If you'r the type of person who's bothered by what people say or feel awful if you exclude someone, then don't run a troupe.
 

Caroline_afifi

New member
Yes and no, I feel. It depends on how the troupe is formed. Hand picked, or random. Handpicked, and you've got a success story. Random, and it can be out of your control.

Yes, but the way the troupe is formed is down to the leader. Even then it can go way out of control. There are of course things that arise that you could never forcast. How you deal with them and salvage the situation is important.

If a troupe organiser/leader includes all and sundry on the list, then expect disasters. You can't please everyone. I feel that the best troupes are handpicked, and if this puts someone's nose out of joint, tough. If it's a situation where it's a class troupe, then expect to have those who are not so competent and who will continually fall short in performance. In this situation keep choreo's achingly simple but tight by repeated drilling. Better tight and simple, than complicated and awful.

I think it depends on the group and the aim, sometimes the choreography is too simple and boreds the troupe! there has to be balance.


If you'r the type of person who's bothered by what people say or feel awful if you exclude someone, then don't run a troupe.

Absolutely
 

Geekella

New member
i disagree with the "there are no bad troupes, only bad leaders" phrase.

i'm a part of many different organizations. choir, band, theatre, and then bellydance

obviously if the leaders sucks, the group will most likely suck

but that's not the only reason why things like this can fall apart

a leader can give their all and be a great leader for all it's worth. but if they have students that lack certain things (like motivation, attention spans, the ability to cooperate, ect...), everything will fall apart out of their control

so it's a 50/50 thing. the leader must give 100% and the followers/students must give 100% back.

i've seen many fantastic leaders of different organizations/groups struggle with the thing they're running because the people they are leading lack some of the necessary qualities of a successful group.

it's like a chess champion trying to teach an ADHD kid how to play chess. they can be good, but the only way the kid will also be good is if he gives his all......and that would not involve spacing out, talking off subject, getting hyper and bouncing around.....ya see what i mean? lol
 

khalida777

New member
i disagree with the "there are no bad troupes, only bad leaders" phrase.

i'm a part of many different organizations. choir, band, theatre, and then bellydance

obviously if the leaders sucks, the group will most likely suck

but that's not the only reason why things like this can fall apart

a leader can give their all and be a great leader for all it's worth. but if they have students that lack certain things (like motivation, attention spans, the ability to cooperate, ect...), everything will fall apart out of their control

so it's a 50/50 thing. the leader must give 100% and the followers/students must give 100% back.

i've seen many fantastic leaders of different organizations/groups struggle with the thing they're running because the people they are leading lack some of the necessary qualities of a successful group.

it's like a chess champion trying to teach an ADHD kid how to play chess. they can be good, but the only way the kid will also be good is if he gives his all......and that would not involve spacing out, talking off subject, getting hyper and bouncing around.....ya see what i mean? lol

Word.
 
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