Thread: Bellydance declining?

It seems like there was a huge explosion of bellydance and interest and inspired pieces just a while ago. I've taken some time off due to getting engaged, getting a career and have been looking back at the dance and getting into the community again but there seems to be less to go around. It almost seems like people became so accustomed to this dance that it's lost something. Does anyone else have thoughts about this?

I do think the whole thing of belly dance as the latest fitness program has died down considerably, and I'm not sure that's a bad thing. Now it can go back to being a dance and not a series of exercises.

My gigs are way, way down. Usually summer is the busiest time for me, and I had 2 paid gigs all summmer long this year. I get quite a few inquiries, but they never seem to follow through with a booking, which has never been the case for me before.

My classes are all full though, so the interest in taking a class still seems to be there in my area.

And the Milwaukee and Chicago communities still seem to be going very strong to me, with all sorts of workshops, shows and haflas.

A workshop in my area with Cassandra - Cassandra! - had to be canceled because not enough people registered. When the coordinator called to cancel, Dahlal said that this wasn't the first such cancellation she'd had this summer. People don't have the spare funds to drive to a workshop, pay for hotels, meals etc. I had a student only come to one or two classes this term because she couldn't afford cash and wouldn't take me up on a barter payment (she's a massage therapist). Too, I think we've been extremely good about educating more and more people that this isn't seduce the sultan... and that's what some wanted.

I think it's a combination of bad economy & not being the latest "fad" anymore. You know, for a while it was kickboxing, then bellydancing, then hula hoops, then dancing with the stars type stuff, and now around here, at least, it's "boot camp" type programs--they popped up all over the place this summer. Attendance most places here is down, except one place, and I just found out they are undercutting everyone else.

Girls get ready - the new craze is....ZUMBA! My classes are still full but the bottom line is everyone just wants to shake it and the second they discover belly dance is hard they are out the door. I am sure all the instructors have talked about that in the student/instructor thread! Plus the economy of course. But on a side note I had to do a demo dance party with Zumba instructor who thought he was hot sh*t and quite a booty shaker so when it was my turn to lead the class I decided to give him a run for his money and made it super hard and awesome. Of course he couldn't follow so it was my little 5 minutes of revenge because he is luring my students to his class. But whatever - things come and go!
But another thing about Zumba - which supposedly combines latin, afro, bell dance, cuban and polynesian styles - sort of like a weird buffet - is that Zumba instructors are coming to me to get certified!!!!!! I guess they have to take 3 belly dance classes in order to get certified as a zumba instructor?!!! Wha????? 3 classes!!!! I have to sign these little papers saying they were in my class for the required amount of time. Geeez!

We assume this is bellydance in the US.
Over here I thnk the profile is higher than it has been in a long time.
In Egypt..well anyone like to give their evidence
..and anywhere else?

Originally Posted by eshtabellydance

Girls get ready - the new craze is....ZUMBA! My classes are still full but the bottom line is everyone just wants to shake it and the second they discover belly dance is hard they are out the door. I am sure all the instructors have talked about that in the student/instructor thread! Plus the economy of course. But on a side note I had to do a demo dance party with Zumba instructor who thought he was hot sh*t and quite a booty shaker so when it was my turn to lead the class I decided to give him a run for his money and made it super hard and awesome. Of course he couldn't follow so it was my little 5 minutes of revenge because he is luring my students to his class. But whatever - things come and go!
But another thing about Zumba - which supposedly combines latin, afro, bell dance, cuban and polynesian styles - sort of like a weird buffet - is that Zumba instructors are coming to me to get certified!!!!!! I guess they have to take 3 belly dance classes in order to get certified as a zumba instructor?!!! Wha????? 3 classes!!!! I have to sign these little papers saying they were in my class for the required amount of time. Geeez!

I take Zumba on Mondays and our instructor has NEVER taken a belly dance class in her life. She says she wants to look into it but she hasn't followed through. No big deal to me.

I like it b/c I sweat my *ss off and get my heart elevated.

Back to regularly scheduled topic.

It might be money. For more casual students, it would probably be one of the first things to cut

I hear you on that one - I've sold some costumes to afford workshops and dance lessons, and am working extra hours at my job to make ends meet. ..cr.:..cr.:..cr.:

Fads are definitely part of it.. But this has happened before. Sahra tells os when she was teaching at a local Y or something. She had sold out classes for several years. then suddenly, no one. Jazzercise had been born!

{{{HUGS}}}}

This is an interesting thread, and I really like what ALL of you are saying here. For me as a vendor I know that business is way down. As a teacher my classes are doing ok though, but I do hear moans about paying for gas, etc.
I am sorry to hear that Cassandra's class got cancelled, that is such a shame, she is amazing and has such beautiful technique and choreographies.

In the US I do agree it is very much the economy, which is greatly affecting the whole mood of the country.

And also, like some of you mentioned, the fad is shifting to something else. And I am fine with that, I agree that it should not be an exercise fad, I like it as the art form I know it to be.

Does anyone know if there is a similar downturn in fusion workshops? I keep hearing that a lot of the older, trad belly dance teachers (Hadia springs to mind) are just not getting the numbers any more, but I wonder if the fusion category, which seems to attract younger dancers who might have more disposable income (ie no kids, no mortgage, happy to live on ramen for a bit), is similarly affected.

ETA: We've probably had more workshops etc locally than we've had in years, if not ever, in the past 12 months. I think the last lot did not do as well as expected, but I'm not sure whether it's the economy - everyone is feeling the pinch - or simply oversaturation, or both.

I think in Chicago, they canceled a Moria workshop. That surprised me, since I thought it would sell out.

This is the case for me. I have to pay for college so bellydance is the first thing that gets cut from my budget. That and selling any videos and dance items I dont use for a while. I'm just lucky I started to work in a bellydance studio, so I wont have to worry about spending college $$ on this dance.

Originally Posted by indigostars

It might be money. For more casual students, it would probably be one of the first things to cut

Yes, I had to stop going to classes for budget reasons (full time student). Couldn't afford the lessons, or the props (we were about to start Isis wings) or the costumes. My class had a big focus on performing, which was great, but it was also expensive. Two classes a week, one a semi-private, it was just too much, and I couldn't seem to "downgrade" my involvement, so to speak.

I miss it so much, when I can afford it, I'll be right back in there.

Originally Posted by zumarrad

Does anyone know if there is a similar downturn in fusion workshops? I keep hearing that a lot of the older, trad belly dance teachers (Hadia springs to mind) are just not getting the numbers any more, but I wonder if the fusion category, which seems to attract younger dancers who might have more disposable income (ie no kids, no mortgage, happy to live on ramen for a bit), is similarly affected.

ETA: We've probably had more workshops etc locally than we've had in years, if not ever, in the past 12 months. I think the last lot did not do as well as expected, but I'm not sure whether it's the economy - everyone is feeling the pinch - or simply oversaturation, or both.

has the Burley-bubble burst?
I don't hear as much about burley-belly..please God let that be true!

My local college was charging £100 for 10 belly dance lessons...it didn't happen.
I work for a college in a nearby town where lessons are £55 for 10 lessons and my class is full.
Simple economics..some people are pricing themsleves out of the market.You have to adjust to survive. And a class of isis- winging! How big is the room!!????

Originally Posted by lizajuk

My local college was charging £100 for 10 belly dance lessons...it didn't happen.
I work for a college in a nearby town where lessons are £55 for 10 lessons and my class is full.
Simple economics..some people are pricing themsleves out of the market.You have to adjust to survive. And a class of isis- winging! How big is the room!!????

Huge - it was held in a massive church/community hall. Cathedral ceilings and all that. I don't know what performance space would hold multiple Isis-wingers though.

Originally Posted by lizajuk

We assume this is bellydance in the US.
Over here I thnk the profile is higher than it has been in a long time.
In Egypt..well anyone like to give their evidence
..and anywhere else?

Agree the profile is higher. It seems though that the market has shifted. People want professional dancers at their gp event, gp want to join beginners classes. Is this what others have observed ?

Originally Posted by indigostars

I think in Chicago, they canceled a Moria workshop. That surprised me, since I thought it would sell out.

I also had to cancel a Suzanna Del Vecchio workshop and a Jim Boz workshop in the suburbs of Chicago -- right around the time the economy started to tank big time earlier this year. That really hurt because the interest was there, just not the funds.

I'm amazed that my classes have been pretty full the last two terms, and I've got bookings coming out of my ears for hen's and kid's parties. They seem to have suddenly exploded for me. I can't account for it, because petrol prices and rents/mortgages are sky-high here, too, and many people are feeling the pinch. I guess many others are not?

I've given up trying to second-guess the whys and wherefores of my market, and just accepted that, most of the time, it doesn't make sense!

PS - I've definitely had an upswing in requests for Bollywood-themed parties.

Originally Posted by indigostars

I think in Chicago, they canceled a Moria workshop. That surprised me, since I thought it would sell out.

Yeah.. that was my troupe hosting her. It was labor day weekend for one thing and we were working with BDSS for another. They set the minimum required students and we were only about 3 people shy of making it happen.

This fall there have been/are so many Chicago workshops that people are really having to pick and choose since nobody can afford to do them all. I know that's what I'm having to do!!

The economy plays a huge part, but I also think it is the "sheer number of workshops being held", and held so closely together (do I go to this one and not that? or that one but not those?)

Then too, the overall COST of many workshops is simply not affordable.
I know of one coming up her shortly that costs $160 for the day. And thats before gas/food, and hotel for those coming from out of the area to attend, and does not include tickets for the gala show (or afterparty) later in the evening.
True, it's a big name artist - but still...
Theres an item or two bout other things involved in this event that also have me bugged - but is not the topic of discussion here (so not mentioning them)

The economy plays a huge part, but I also think it is the "sheer number of workshops being held", and held so closely together (do I go to this one and not that? or that one but not those?)


Then too, the overall COST of many workshops is simply not affordable.
I know of one coming up her shortly that costs $160 for the day (under early bird special - price goes up by certain date, then higher still at the gate). And thats before gas/food, and hotel for those coming from out of the area to attend, and does not include tickets for the gala show (or afterparty) later in the evening. True, it's a big name artist - but still...

Theres an item or two bout other things involved in this event that have me bugged - but is not the topic of discussion here (so not mentioning them)

Yes, Zumba is the new "fitness fad". All my students are taking it, the gym where I teach just started offering it.

I definitely think that the economy is playing a huge role in the number of attendees that appear in class. I know that locally we have a fairly well established price system and classes are down across the board (except for the one or two teachers who teach in conjunction with a place where people have a membership, like a College, Fitness Club, etc...in these cases the classes are typically free or offered at a reduced price to students and as such these classes tend to remain well-attended).

On the fusion end - Spirit of the Tribes was PACKED last year. But, on the other hand, a Kami Liddle workshop was canceled last year as were two different dates that'd been scheduled with Jill Parker. She's returning to town soon, and I hope that she gets a good attendance, but it was scheduled almost right after another event and that was more $ than I could do at the moment so I had to choose. Some of the Oriental/Cabaret workshops I've attended recently were packed, like Ansuya's certification classes, but then again this past weekend with Artemis was not nearly as full as I would have expected. I think there are a lot of factors playing into this decline.

I completely agree with Chandra - I often wonder how much scheduling interferes with attendance at these events, too. I know that we've had issues in FL with big events being scheduled on the same week (there was once, gasp, a Zoe workshop the same day/time as a Moria - talk about shooting yourself in the foot!) or very close to one another and I've heard a lot of dancers mentioning they could only attend one.

I have to say it's the economy too.

It will be interesting to se how BDSS tour is supported here in the UK. Many of us won't be bothering because we have already been to the Raks B and were somewhat underwhelmed by the show there.
It seems that the JoY festival will be as well supported as ever but then it is just the best!..g.:
Class wise ..they are down in my local town but where I teach , myself and 2 other teachers have good numbers. My college course with a 10 week fee is full as is my friends 6 week course. There seems to be no pattern. Except one thing my class though still not that young seems to have a slightly younger make up. On questioned, only one of them mentioned Sophie Mei on BGT as a factor..it mostly comes from wanting to do something they have seen on holiday and something they see as feminine..sorry guys but then the college will have an equal op policy!
I think UK bellydance is taking off again but as Caroline says not in the sme way. We now have a cohort of high quality dancers,teachers with professional attitudes and a lot of dancers going beyond the "fun" aspect.

But I have attended 2 functions recently and at the first there was NO tribal nor fusion (even I was in a cab group..l;,) and at the second there was a (very good) raks sharki style folk group and us doing ATS moves in a choreo dance. That was it!
This could be that tribal dancers are doing there own thing and not mxing but on the other hand there are only 2 of us doing American Styled tribal teaching around our way and 2 teacher who teach a North African based tribal.
Bellydance I think has a strong core but fusion, tribal mmmmm

Again from a UK perspective, I'd say that I have seen many fewer ATS groups in the last year. Instead we get a lot of Tribal Soloists (which always seems a slight contradiction in terms to me, but no matter). However they only appear at certain performance venues such as Raqs B. There seem to be fewer of them around at local haflas and other 'lower key' events.

I also see less fusion but what I do see is still very much polarised into the two categories of 1) well-executed/thought provoking and 2) complete tat, with the tat making up about 75%.

I'm not sure that the burley/belly thing has gone away but I think that many people have had their fingers burned with this and are now being much more careful about how they package and this present this sort of stuff for the wider dance community/public consumption. I also think that events organisers are more aware and you see more announcements of dance events where burley fusion is banned.

I'd agree that at the moment our dance is enjoying a fairly positive profile and that there has been a broad move towards greater professionalism. I also think that although there are still definite (and often very regional) factions within our dance, there is slightly more positive communication going on between these groups than there was when I first started dancing about 7 years ago.