Rewarding Students for Dancing

[Farasha Hanem]

I'm with Mahsati and Yshka and others with similar opinion on this one, and I am a student. My teacher also has a supply of extra costumes and veils for student loan, and we use class time as rehearsal when we have an upcoming performance, which are always venues that cater to students. At Ren Faires, we do pass a donation basket, and that money is used for the troupe (buying a new tent or PA system when needed, for example). Sometimes we have enough to buy a nice dinner if we don't have any urgent purchases. And in our troupe, just like with others here, performance is strictly on a volunteer basis---our teacher doesn't hold a bellydance sword to us and force us to perform. So yes, I think it's safe to say that what Yshka and Mahsati and others have described is common practice.

Oh, and I always thought haflas WERE supposed to be parties.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, when there are certain costume pieces or props needed, the teacher and some of the older students scout for good deals for bulk purchases, and everyone who wants to places an order and pays for their own. Again, this is strictly voluntary.

 

[Duvet]

Duvet,
I am sorry for whatever experiences you have had with teachers, but this is precisely what most of the teachers I know do. I keep a supply of costuming items to loans to students for performance. I only charge for studio time rather than my teaching time for their rehearsals. I give free advice and help to my students constantly because I want to help them to improve. I learned this from my teachers who learned it from their teachers. It is part of being a teacher and mentor.

I've had no bad experiences in this area. I enjoy performing, and love dancing with my teachers. The experiences and oppurtunities I get is payment enough, and any extra loans of costume/props, or advice I get is a welcome bonus. I have grown a lot in ability and confidence because of it, and am grateful of it. I dance because I want to, and if I felt I was being used I wouldn't be involved.

This thread was not started because I'd been wrankled by something. It was a question and observation in response to people posting elsewhere about how sometimes newby dancers can undercut established performers, or don't present a professional enough image of the dance, and how teachers' should not be expected to go beyond the classroom contract. My OP was due to what I see teachers often do ask their students to do (ie dance for the GP for free because its fun, regardless of ability, and to get there at their own expense, in costume/make-up procured themselves).

I live in a very small corner of the bellydance world, and use this forum to widen my knowledge and gauge a larger response to what I experience. In my corner of the bellydance world I am not aware that teachers normally provide free rehearsal time or share out proceeds. But I might be totally wrong in this. My experience is limited. I'm sure different teachers around the world have different approaches.

 

[Farasha Hanem]

I've had no bad experiences in this area. I enjoy performing, and love dancing with my teachers. The experiences and oppurtunities I get is payment enough, and any extra loans of costume/props, or advice I get is a welcome bonus. I have grown a lot in ability and confidence because of it, and am grateful of it. I dance because I want to, and if I felt I was being used I wouldn't be involved.

This thread was not started because I'd been wrankled by something. It was a question and observation in response to people posting elsewhere about how sometimes newby dancers can undercut established performers, or don't present a professional enough image of the dance, and how teachers' should not be expected to go beyond the classroom contract. My OP was due to what I see teachers often do ask their students to do (ie dance for the GP for free because its fun, regardless of ability, and to get there at their own expense, in costume/make-up procured themselves).

I live in a very small corner of the bellydance world, and use this forum to widen my knowledge and gauge a larger response to what I experience. In my corner of the bellydance world I am not aware that teachers normally provide free rehearsal time or share out proceeds. But I might be totally wrong in this. My experience is limited. I'm sure different teachers around the world have different approaches.

Ahhh, okay, I see where you're coming from now. Good idea to ask about student performance here. Hope it has given you an idea of what others do when it comes to whether or not students get paid.

I'm not in the professional bellydance circle in my area, and come from a small-medium-sized town. I think the only professional opportunities (such as restaurant performing) are all either in the OKC Metro area or Tulsa. But there are a lot of art festivals, Ren Faires, and charity events in our state, so we have a lot of student troupes, and this is the part of bellydance that I see, so I don't know what may or may not go on professionally in my area.