Thread: what to charge for show and mini-lesson

I'm finalizing my rates list and just wanted to see if I'm not off-base for this rate

Show + Mini Lesson (or Children's Mini-Lesson &Games)
$175 + $20/guest

birthday party entertainers (clowns, etc) around here seem to get around 2 - 300/hour, and most destination party places (hair salons, partyplace storefronts) seem to charge about 15 - 20 per child/guest. I'm planning on bringing scarves for guests to wear, and having the option to purchase them or just get one for the guest of honor.

what do you all charge for these things?

PS, I'll be operating out of New Haven, CT for 2 more months and then will be setting up shop in NYC

The prices I've heard (and charged) for this type of event are $250-350. That's info from dancers in the DC and Philly areas, and there may be variations.

Check out Samira's site. She had done a great job on researching rates.

Standard rates and professional links and guidelines

{{{HUGS}}}

I don't know if I would want to get into the task of doing headcounts while at a gig. Although, I suppose if the people reserve 10 slots, then you could bring only ten hipscarves, etc etc as a method of making sure the number match up. But personally I would feel bad then if some kids got left out of the fun as a result.

I charge a flat rate for show + class (starts at $300 for a 10 minute show + 45 minute class), but if they only want the class then I charge $20pp with a minimum of 5 people/$100. I think it would be too confusing to try and count participants in addition to putting on a show, and also the costs would add up quickly if you charged pp on top of your normal gig rate.

Originally Posted by bintbeled

The prices I've heard (and charged) for this type of event are $250-350. That's info from dancers in the DC and Philly areas, and there may be variations.

that's about right...........

I checked out Samira's site earlier to make sure my other rates were on par with the region (they were, phew!), but I couldn't find anything for NYC for that kind of event

I like the idea of charging per head for lesson only, and then flat-rate for show+lesson

as far as hipscarves, I figure I'll specify that I need a headcount for that purpose, precisely so no one gets left out

thanks for all the advice!

I'm also going to grab some little sparkly things from party stores (sparkly bandanas, bead necklaces, etc) to have for cases of bad estimates!

Monroe, CT here.

I charge $300-350 for an event of that nature. I figure, my usual base price of $250, plus extra for lesson time (depends how long) and any other party favors/requests.

I definitely second that it could get unnecessarily tricky to do a headcount. Flat rates are the way to go.

Originally Posted by najla86

I checked out Samira's site earlier to make sure my other rates were on par with the region (they were, phew!), but I couldn't find anything for NYC for that kind of event

If you're going to charge "per head"- be sure to have a set minimum.

New York has a yahoo group- called prodancer which would be helpful for you to join.
They have a file with rates- last updated 2005, so maybe a little low, but here's info from their site to get you started:
"Minimum rate for a 20-min. belly dance show at a
PRIVATE/non-regularly-scheduled event is $150.
Recommended asking price is $200.Many dancers ask for $300.
There is an effort to raise the show minimum to $200.
Current typical range of fees received by New York pro dancers
for these shows is $150-400 and up."

They don't mention anything about the gigs where you teach and perform. Atmosphere gigs are $150/hr with a suggested minimum of 3 hours.

Latifa is spot on about what we're doing in the DC area. Although it seems to be creeping up a little. yay! ..g.:

For adult "mini-lesson + show" I start at $275; that's for a minimum of 45 minutes, up to an hour. Why the variation in time frame? Although most of these things run for an full hour, if the party-goers are finished after 45 minutes, I don't want to feel the need to hang around just to say I did my hour so that the hostess feels she's gotten her money's worth. I do a short show (about 10-12 minutes), then start the lesson! Hostess/guest of honor wears and keeps a hip scarf; I don't provide props for other guests.

For children's parties, I start at $275; minimum of 30 minutes and max of 45 minutes. Same reasons here for the variation in time frame as for the adult parties. The little "Arabian Princess" wears and keeps a child-size coin hip scarf; all children receive a veil to dance with and to take home; the veils are cheap -- cost less than $5 each. I recommend the children be 6 and above (it's an ability-to-pay-attention thing -- well, actually, it's more an ability-to-be-herded thing). What about parties for teens? You might think teen parties should be longer; in most of my experience, teens have a shorter attention span than little kids! ..c::

Oh, I guess it would help to say I'm in Southern California! If there are any SoCal folks out there who think my rates should be higher, let me know!

Deborah