How long between when you began lessons and your first performance?

[Taslin]

Well, From my main and new instructor( i'll call her) i have been taking classes for almost a month now and just now i am seeing how performance opportunities arise.

She is known for giving students consistent performance opportunities. She has set forth an opportunity for performance, that i am eligible to try for. so soon you say? Nope. The opportunity to perform would be almost 6 months from now, a month long intensive series has to be attended, then a skill level reached, then all necessary rehearsals made, and then.....you may be able to perform.

So w/ hard work 7 months in with this instructor you may have a chance for a student performance if you can put the work in.

 

[BellaBohemian]

It was 8 years for me before I even did my first student performance/recital (however you want to refer to it), but for me I just felt like I wasn't good enough (im very hard on myself and I regret to this day that I didn't get out there sooner!). Stage fright was nothing for me since I spent most of my life on stage in talent shows and stuff.

Looking back; I think if you go into BD knowing NOTHING then 8months should be a good place to start up a student performance. If you catch on quick or knew a tid-bit prior to classes I would say 6months is good for the first student performance. As for going solo, I agree that it depends on how comfortable the dancer is.

Personally, I would love to do a solo performance, I struggle to make choreography though so Im not yet ready for a solo. Group dances however I find very comfortable, plus the extra stage experience is wonderful!! :dance:

 

[teela]

I think it depends on your background, your abilities and other things. I started with a teacher who had a routine for each level and class. The routine would be performed by the class and those who did well moved up to the next level so I performed with in a few months. I changed teachers and ended up in a troup. Iwas happy but looking back at things, I think it was a bit soon. Within two years of beginning lessons I ended up sofarfrom anyone that could teach that I have had to rely on DVDs. Fast forward to about three or four years ago when I connected in with a group who have workshops once a year. Since then, I perform at the show associated with the workshop and my dancing has seen an great improvement. Am I ready to go professional? No. But due to where I live and work, I will never have the opportunity. I would say, start with had as, student shows, etc and work your way to the workshop shows until you are ready to go out on your own.

 

[Amulya]

The time line will be different for different types of performing. The usual types of performances are:

- Unpaid -
​

1. Recitals - students
2. Haflas/Parties - mixed level: students, hobbyists, semi-professionals, and professionals
3. Stage shows - hafla: mixed level students, hobbyists, semi-professionals, and professionals
4. Stage shows - workshop: mixed level students, hobbyists, semi-professionals, and professionals
5. Festivals - dance: mixed level students, hobbyists, semi-professionals, and professionals
6. Festivals - art/history/music/etc: mixed level hobbyists, semi-professionals, and professionals (students on occasion)

- Paid -
​

1. Stage Shows - dance: semi-professionals and professionals
2. Stage shows - workshop: semi-professionals and professionals
3. Festivals - dance: semi-professionals and professionals
4. Festivals - art/history/music/etc: semi-professionals and professionals
5. Restaurants: semi-professionals and professionals
6. Parties: semi-professionals and professionals
7. Weddings: semi-professionals and professionals
8. Gala events: semi-professionals and professionals

I've probably left quite a few things out, but, as you can see, when people say they are ready for performance, you have to clarify which types of performance. At 3 months can a dancer perform in a recital? Of course! Can the dancer perform at an Egyptian wedding? I'd say probably not. None of these are set in stone either. Sometimes a hobbyist gets paid to dance at an event. Sometimes a pro donates a performance to a local hafla or cause. These are just a general idea.

I didn't read the whole thread, so if this has been said, please forgive me :

I don't agree on showing students at festivals, reason being that the audience thinks that they are the norm for the level of belly dance. You can of course announce they are students and have a pro dancer perform at the same festival, but people don't always hang around so they might only see the students. I have often seen that only the students performed at the festival. Often in bad costumes too. Not representative for belly dance. But in other settings mentioned above: totally appropriate.

 

[BellaBohemian]

I didn't read the whole thread, so if this has been said, please forgive me :

I don't agree on showing students at festivals, reason being that the audience thinks that they are the norm for the level of belly dance. You can of course announce they are students and have a pro dancer perform at the same festival, but people don't always hang around so they might only see the students. I have often seen that only the students performed at the festival. Often in bad costumes too. Not representative for belly dance. But in other settings mentioned above: totally appropriate.

We actually have student performances at 2 different festivals. Naturally the pros dance before and after the students and they are indeed announced as students, none the less the crowd usually stays for the whole show.

I think you just have to book the right festival for students to perform at.

 

[jellytree]

I went to classes for 7 months before I went into my first student show (anyone can perform in it, regardless of level). But for me, after a year and 4 months, I was invited by my teacher to be the intermission act at a big belly dance event. An amazing opportunity and challenge! But I took it as, I must be progressing well if she`s going to ask me to represent my studio.

I think it depends on how much the student is progressing and what the teacher think is OK for student shows and the paid shows.

 

[PoleDanceABCs]

Well let's see...
I started the beginner course a month or so before I started taking the Tribal Fusion courses. The Tribal started in October of 2010 and we met once a month. Just this past weekend I was in my first performance (a group choreo.) So less than a year. Although I would like to add that at least the last six Tribal courses were centered around learning the choreo.

 

[Zohara]

I started performing at 3 months of lessons but I have been a dancer my whole life so I have picked up on it pretty easy although still learning I think it helps have so many years of performance under my belt.

 

[Elfie]

I've been studying independently for more than 2 years now (and hadn't realized it had been that long until now) and have never performed at all. Wouldn't know how to go about it at any rate and I'm just not that good. I think for some dancers, especially those with huge self esteem issues, performing becomes this huge ordeal that mentally blocks them somehow. I "know" (quotes used to indicate that my knowing isn't real knowing at all, just my skewed perception of myself and my own ability) that I'll never be good enough to perform, so I don't perform. I have never performed in public, and never will because of the aforementioned skewed perception, so I'll never get the experience to improve so that I can become a performer.

Vicious cycle.

 

[SpadeDancer]

two months. I started in May and took about 5 lessons, then had my performances in July.

 

[Manuela]

I've ... never performed at all. Wouldn't know how to go about it at any rate and I'm just not that good. I think for some dancers, especially those with huge self esteem issues, performing becomes this huge ordeal that mentally blocks them somehow. I "know" that I'll never be good enough to perform, so I don't perform. ...
Vicious cycle.

Hi Elfie,
I see your point. If you don't have a nice teacher who encourages you and arranges performance opportunities, that "block" is difficult to overcome. But never say never...!
Maybe someday you can get together some friends who have interesting hobbies or talents too, and make a little show "just for fun" at a private party? Or even if you don't perform at all - it's fun to practice together and show each other what you love doing. If you love dancing, it's wonderful to share your joy!
Best wishes, Manuela

 

[Manuela]

I've taken about 2,5 years of lessons in bellydance. Before that I learned other dance styles, and also kung-fu. It may sound funny, but the martial arts training is proving very helpful for Oriental dance! ... for keeping posture and focus, coordinating movements of different body parts ... and of course for sword dance.

Anyway, I had my very first dance performance last night! *yippie* :dance:
- at a private party. I'd never have done it alone, but there's that friend who plays fire poi, and we had the idea to surprise people by performing together. It was great!
...though the sword fell off my head once (belated stage fright?!). But I caught it behind my back and people thought it was intentional

Here's a photo:

 

[Avariel]

For me it took up until this year to comfortably perform a solo (paid) in front of people and feel like I did it justice and earned my pay. I started in 2007, so what, 4 years? I did haflas and unpaid performances before then, and the earliest I did those was 6 months or so. But I had classical dance training from age 3 to age 15, and multiple styles of martial arts after that, so I've got basic muscle memory already in place. It would be different for someone who's never done any coordinated movement before in their life.

I still get stage fright. The only thing that makes that better is practicing your choreo so much that you don't have to think about it, because once you're on stage you're not going to be able to think about anything over the high pitched screaming in your head. Or maybe that's just me

It's like policemen, or firemen, relying on their training in stessful situations, because their natural instinct is to freeze; dancers and performers do the same thing.

 

[Indigo Shimmer]

I'm definitely not ready to perform in front of anyone right now and I've only been taking classes for about 2 months! I've got a personal goal of "coming out" to my family about this by my 46th birthday and that's the end of March. But I'm starting to think that even that is way too soon! UNLESS I start to assemble a routine that I can safely practice and do at home at my tender experience level. I'm not planning on doing extreme moves to wow the crowd with, just something that looks pretty and graceful. Doing belly dance for a paying crowd is nowhere in my immediate plans right now, nor should it be. I am SOOOOOOOO not ready for it!

Indigo S.

 

[Avariel]

I've been studying independently for more than 2 years now (and hadn't realized it had been that long until now) and have never performed at all. Wouldn't know how to go about it at any rate and I'm just not that good. I think for some dancers, especially those with huge self esteem issues, performing becomes this huge ordeal that mentally blocks them somehow. I "know" (quotes used to indicate that my knowing isn't real knowing at all, just my skewed perception of myself and my own ability) that I'll never be good enough to perform, so I don't perform. I have never performed in public, and never will because of the aforementioned skewed perception, so I'll never get the experience to improve so that I can become a performer.

Vicious cycle.

Hi Elfie,

By study independantly, do you mean you study alone? I think you know yourself best and know yourself as a dancer best, too, but I've found that actively finding an instructor or mentor, someone to help you progess as a dancer, helps with the whole "I'm not good enough" aspect of performing a LOT. The first solo I ever choreographed was giving me panic attacks until I had my teacher look at it, and heard her words of encouragement and excitement over what I was doing. And I felt immensely better about it almost immediately, stopped freaking out, and actually started enjoying it. Sometimes having that outside person "validate" what we're doing makes us feel like it's ok, especially if that person is a teacher and a choreographer themselves. Thats the wonderful part about having a live teacher that youtube and studying alone or from books/dvd's can't really give us.

That being said, I know some areas just don't have decent teachers, so it may not be by your choice that you're studying by yourself. But if you do have a good option, seeking out a local teacher may help you get past what you're going through. Just a thought, and you by no means have to listen to me at all

 

[Zemfira]

I performed for the first time after ~4 months in dance class. It was a student performance at our dance school and I'm really happy I did it, because it made the next performances less about stage fright and more about performing.
:]

 

[IsmailaGodHasHeard]

I have not performed yet.

 

[gisela]

I have not performed yet.

For how long have you been dancing, Ismaila?

 

[atisheh]

I have never performed in public, and never will because of the aforementioned skewed perception, so I'll never get the experience to improve so that I can become a performer.

Vicious cycle.

I hear you!

I started taking bd classes about a decade ago. But because I had to move around a lot for school and work, and because school and work took up most of my spare time too, it's been very choppy: lots of bd videos, a bunch of really great workshops in Connecticut and New York, and occasionally attending regular classes somewhere but never long enough to be taken under a teacher's wing or be part of the student recital.

So long story short, I've never performed. And I would love to do it, and at the same time would be terrified.... at this point I've also watched and read so much about bellydance that I feel like the standard is super high. But at the same time, I know that a dancer can look great doing three or four basic moves, if the grace is there and the confidence is there.

 

[Suzanne Azhaar]

A few months. My instructor believed I could dance well enough for the festival. She loaned me a beautiful costume and as a novice, it was good experience.