Thread: Bellydance Troupe Etiquette??

Marhaba!!

I recently formed my first student troupe and was wondering if anyone can share their troupe "rules" or "etiquette" …I have been very nice, tolerant and open with all my student members, but I am been forced to make some rules…Any thoughts, advice, and shared experiences truly appreciated ;)

Shimmies!

Sahari ~ “Dance with Your Soul”

Hey...I know you!

It's Lisa aka Carrara Nour. We met at Tarik's workshop ..g.:

Great to see you 'round these parts, Sahari!

Hola!! You're Adina's friend right?? great to see you here!!...So any adivice? he he...

That's right! ..g.:

You know, I'm strictly a solo performer, so I don't have a whole lot of personal experience on this. You might want to pick Adina's brain on this subject, though. I know she and Amanda are in the process of building a troupe, and might have some pointers on what's worked and what hasn't.

I think the bottom line is that you have to manage expectations from day one. (Obviously, not as an uber-beeyotch, but as the director of a troupe that has what it takes to be successful, of course!) Establish a day and a time to meet, and communicate it clearly. Same goes for your attendance policy, the days you will have to perform, etc. Communication is always, always key, so there are no surprises - there's nothing worse than being told 5 days out that you have a troupe performance that weekend, when you might have professional or family obligations that day!

Other stuff? Start each session on time, keep BS-ing to a minimum (you can always do margaritas after class if you need to yip yap!), and do what you can to foster an ethical environment where everyone plays nice. Heck, you might even want to read 'em the riot act (nicely, of course - LOL) about going rates, professional protocol, and that sort of thing, depending on their skill level. I've been noticing some funny business going on in our area with undercutting lately, so it wouldn't hurt to make your students aware of the overall entepreneurial landscape out there. I'm very, very grateful that Adina briefed me on going rates from the very first time I performed as a student.

This should be a starting point for ya. Let me know how it goes!

Thanks for the advice!! I emailed Adina too, she's awesome...I love her energy and expertise ;) and yes, things are a little out of hand in this state...undercutting is at it's max ....but we have the power to show what a true professional really is ;)

Keep in touch!

Originally Posted by Sahari

Thanks for the advice!! I emailed Adina too, she's awesome...I love her energy and expertise ;) and yes, things are a little out of hand in this state...undercutting is at it's max ....but we have the power to show what a true professional really is ;)

Keep in touch!

She's been a dear friend and a mentor for about 4 years now. I can't say enough positive things about Adina.

As far as the undercutting thing goes, I think this might be a good time to leverage all of the recent community-building efforts and start communicating the standard. I've thought about circulating an e-mail listing the rates and a couple of links to Shira's site and other professional resources. This might make a couple of waves, but that's better than the trajectory that we seem to be headed...

You're right, though. We do have the power to reverse the trend, with patience and perseverence!

All of my student troupe members have to sign a 3 page document outlining the guidelines they must adhere to when joining my troupe. I think letting people know up front that you as a director take the commitment seriously, and that you expect them to take it seriously, is paramount.

If you send me an email at galateadancer at gmail dot com, I'd be more than happy to shoot you over my troupe rules/guidelines. It's a little long to post here.

Thanks Laura!!

I have sent you an email ...I need all the advice I can get... I’m just looking to be firm without taking the fun factor out …he he


PS. Anyone who wants to share their rules can email me if they prefer...
sahari1223@yahoo.com.

Sahari, I haven't gotten to know you very well yet, but I sincerely doubt that you'll have a problem keeping the "fun factor" alive. You don't strike me as the drill sargeant type ..l;,

I'm glad to know that...he he... I'm sure we'll get to know eachother very well though ;)

Email me...I want to send you an invite to our next show ..g.:

Originally Posted by Sahari

I have sent you an email ...I need all the advice I can get... I’m just looking to be firm without taking the fun factor out …he he

I refer to my student troupe as a "benevolent dictatorship" - so far it's worked pretty well for me.

Originally Posted by laura 2

I refer to my student troupe as a "benevolent dictatorship" - so far it's worked pretty well for me.

LOL that's a good one...I received it...and it's great! I'm sure this will be a great guide for me to make my own ;)

we as Arabina Dance Company...
Arabina Dance Company, San Diego, CA or you can find us in Facebook also, perform every weekend and public and private events
We do once a week rehearsal almost mandatory...for the ones dancing that week especially.
We do our rehersals after each class
We perform solo or together so we all help eachother with events, technique, new chroeographies.
We do 2-3 workshops to learn new choreographies and practice until we get it done well and decide to perform
We have certain rules how to behave in public, what not to wear, makeup, hair, shoes...etc
We dont allow dancers to teach choreographies in the public in workshops
a member can only perform the choreography with permission after we perform it as a group at least a month or so.
we audition the candidates first, and have them taken our classes as we follow specific technique and method and verbology...Suhaila Salimpour

Yeah don't be too nice or tolerant, they may take advantage.

Part of being in a troupe is realizing how much responsibility it actually is. Starting with required classes and rehearsals. Also, just like in High School cheer leading, they have documents stating what all will be required for the year as far as time and money and these are to be understood and signed if you are to be in the troupe. Make it clear they are to purchase troupe costumes and props for X amount of dollars, attend so many rehearsals, etc., and if they miss a rehearsal just before a performance they will not be able to perform. That is a big one that many troupes follow. Also, I do find it helpful to plan each year ahead so I can let them know what the troupe costume will cost them so they can budget. Yes rules are important and it just helps keep everything fair and upfront. Good-luck managing your troupe.

I have just finished writting my first troupe 'guidelines'...and I'm sharing them with my girls tonight ...can't wait!

Thanks everyone for the great tips :)

Shimmies,

Sahari

When I danced in a troupe one of the things that really bugged me was when dancers who miss classes and then show up at the last rehearsal or even worse, at the performance, and dance. It seemed so unfair to those of us who had made all the commitments of classes, practices and rehearsals.

Costuming is certainly something to think about too. Do you supply costuming or expect dancers to supply their own. The troupe I was in was not paid for performances in most cases and so the costume costs were a personal expense. While I had enough disposable income to buy costume pieces, other dancers did not always have that ability and there was often borrowing from other dancers. But that can get old.

Souzan

I agree with Souzan. As a troupe member and as a solo performer myself, I agree that it can get old when some folks miss alot and the troupe spends an inordinate amount of time trying to play catchup for that one person's sake. Also, I agree with Lisa, please keep beginning-of-class BS to a minimum, that gets annoying to people with full time jobs & families to also tend to. In the troupe I'm a member of, we do sign contracts that indicate we understand the troupe requirements. In addition, we are expected to purchase our own costuming, although in some circumstances our troupe director supplies the costuming and then keeps it as part of the dance company. Troupes are interesting, psychologically, if you ask me. It's like a big family. You love each other dearly, but also tend to have the same interpersonal conflicts you see in any family group. Good luck!

Hi Sahari:

I emailed you a copy of the rules and policies for our student troupe.

Big thanks all for your inputs!

I had the meeting last night!!! It went really well Even though not all the girls were present, so I’ll have hold another one this week. We went over the guidelines… everyone participated in reading each point and I restated them for better understanding. They all signed it, so I plan to make that a priority for any future members. I also found some great articles online and gave them to take home and read...I asked them to read Shira’s website about Troupes and “Is it right for you?”...
We had class right after the meeting and rehearsal went pretty smooth!! Better yet, everyone seemed happy …

Yay!

I think most "misunderstandings" between people are caused by not knowing what is expected. By having clear "rules," folks know what is expected of them and they can opt to either sign up/continue or not sign up/part company.

Deborah

I appreciate knowing things ahead of time. I joined a troupe without knowing all the ramifications; it's not stated. I'm trying to roll with the punches, but costuming is an issue when money is an issue. And guess what? Money is an issue.

Hi Sahari

I have, after a BAD experience last year, really gone into the paperwork side, in vague hope of scaring the next belly bunny who thinks she can make a donkey out of my pro troupe off before she gets there :)

So I do have a little de-briefing doccie on what I expect. Also, I now use a performer contract with my dancers, that sums it up a bit differently [ obviously, some of the stuff is not ettiquette related, and some is my personal yes/nos rather then any hard and fast 'rule]. If you want, I would be happy to email both your way.

More generically [it does cover some of the same ground, in a more 'friendly' format], the link below should lead to an ettiquette article I threw up on my studio's site

Shimmer | Explore the art of Belly Dance. Discover a new you!

And don't laugh that it is on a free host, y'all. T'is only the studio site. My pro site is elsewhere.

Hope some of it helps!
EDT: To add: 'I threw up on'. Gah. 'Tis too long a day for me!

I wish we could set rules like you guys do. We are a small troupe and even though we named a coordinator, somebody else is actually making the decisions.
We have people who do not show up for awhile then they come to class and inmediately want to be included in the new dances and everybody is kind of afraid to hurt people's feelings so nobody says anything and if you try to say something they think you are being mean.
We also have people that have been doing it for awhile and are set in their ways so they do not want to learn or try new things.
I am sorry, I am frustrated with the whole thing right now. I guess I just wanted to vent.

Hello!

I am a few months into a new student troupe and would really appreciate it if anyone would be willing to email me their troupe rules! I am trying to walk the 'fine line' and want to see if I am on target.

My email is: jemeenadancer@verizon.net

Thank you so much!!!

Hi there,more threads about troupe contracts:)

As a member(I´ve never been directing a troupe)I´ve shared a smidgen of experience in the thread directly below.
I´ve been connected to a troupe that was going smooth for 7 years without any contract or guidelines until two new members conduct made a contract necessary to avoid some things happening in the future.
Troupe "contracts"

Anyone willing to share their troupe contracts?

Troupe Contracts?


Make sure to have clear guidelines and understandings of responsibility before anyone joins;it´s like fastening a seatbelt-you´ll be glad to have attached it because it increases the chance to save situations that may happen(the more dancers joining troupe,the more inevitable)

Good luck!:)

Good luck with that Sahari! I have a
Performer's Agreement ALL my performers must sign; and also a short article called What I Look For in A Student Performer which I wrote specifically for my students.

BUT what you may like is the Yahoo group of Teachers and Troupe Directors, it's private so you don't have to worry students are reading your posts IF you do run into issues you want to discuss with your peers. It's here: Teachers and Troupe Directors

Originally Posted by Sahari

Marhaba!!

I recently formed my first student troupe and was wondering if anyone can share their troupe "rules" or "etiquette" …I have been very nice, tolerant and open with all my student members, but I am been forced to make some rules…Any thoughts, advice, and shared experiences truly appreciated ;)

Shimmies!

Sahari ~ “Dance with Your Soul”

Love going back and reviewing very old threads! This may be timely: Jareeda magazine is planning an issue devoted to troupes. I'm writing an article about my own past experiences and how I'm hoping to avoid future pitfalls with my new group.

Originally Posted by kahaz

Love going back and reviewing very old threads! This may be timely: Jareeda magazine is planning an issue devoted to troupes. I'm writing an article about my own past experiences and how I'm hoping to avoid future pitfalls with my new group.

nice! Someone should write a book about this subject, yes?