Thread: Requests for Hula Dancers?

I just remembered something. Therefore, I must share, right?

My mom has a friend whose whole family was in the luau entertainment business; they were booked absolutely solid all summer. Sometimes, the friend would invite Mom to do a little BD amongst the polynesian show. The band usually played "Caravan" or "Miserlu" for her. She said it was a blast and the audiences loved it.

Deborah

we are friends with the local people who do this, they do al of it, from the pig in the pit, to the fire/log drums.
i refer the calls to them...just as they refer calls for bellydance to us.

Originally Posted by BreaMorgiane

And here are the lyrics:

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE HANDS

And when her grass skirt goes a-swishing
Keep your head and don't go wishing
That you would like to mow the lawn

..l;,..l;,..l;,..l;,..l;,..l;,

Yeah, dancingstar, isn't it awful? lol 'her naughty hula hips'...yeesh. I wonder why they don't mention the hula guys in it?

Deborah - it's OK, just having lived in Hawai'i that word can be very racially charged. People use it and don't often mean anything by it except 'white' but it can give those of us who lived there a twinge, if you get my meaning. ..g.:

i have been called about one luau and i had the same conversation with him. the problem was he though he could pay me about $50 for 3 dancers to dance for 30 minutes. he was shocked at how much i actually charge.

Hmmm....maybe people think we're a cheaper alternative. ,m::

Originally Posted by BreaMorgiane

Deborah - it's OK, just having lived in Hawai'i that word can be very racially charged. People use it and don't often mean anything by it except 'white' but it can give those of us who lived there a twinge, if you get my meaning. ..g.:

I do get your meaning.

My friends only used it when discussing people they didn't like. I can only assume that my friends didn't use it when discussing me!

Deborah

Originally Posted by rakgirl

i have been called about one luau and i had the same conversation with him. the problem was he though he could pay me about $50 for 3 dancers to dance for 30 minutes. he was shocked at how much i actually charge.

Ha! Sooooooo....divided three ways, each dancer would get about $16 and change.

If you guys don't mind me asking and would care to chime in, how much do hula dancers typically make per show? I'm just curious to see how lucrative of a skill Polynesian dance really is.

Fill out a gigmasters request for hula dancers and see what you get for bids (I know, I know, it's mean to get their hopes up for nothing...but it's a great way to find out the going rate for your area!)

Originally Posted by SatinWorship19

Ha! Sooooooo....divided three ways, each dancer would get about $16 and change.

If you guys don't mind me asking and would care to chime in, how much do hula dancers typically make per show? I'm just curious to see how lucrative of a skill Polynesian dance really is.

I'm in the western burbs of Chicago. My pro Polynesian Dance Troupe - The Hawaiian Style Entertainers - charges $450 for a 45 minutes to an hour show. We decide how many dancers, etc., we want to bring and if it's one where we can include our advanced students. More dancers means the less we all have to work. There are groups that charge way more, but they are more of the big production groups, where they'll have a whole line of dancers, with fire knife dancers, drummers, whatever. We don't take those big gigs, we like the service clubs, private family parties, smaller venues. Our costumes aren't as expensive as belly dancers - we make our own costumes most of the time from fabric ordered in quantity at a discount. And a lot of our stuff is mix and match. So $450 a show is OK money for us. We'll gear it down a little for a nursing home, but then we only bring 2 dancers. Usually, it's 3 or 4, maybe 5 if we're training a student. The students get a token payment. At that price, we're kept very busy all season (end of May through end of September).

And I do children's parties, too. What I call the "Lilo and Stitch" party. I charge $150 for half an hour.

As for lucrative, all I can say is at age 62 I no longer do belly dance gigs -- haven't for years for obvious reasons. But I've consistently danced hula and other Polynesian dances for all these years - so longevity counts for something. (I do teach both belly dance and hula.)

Now I have a new question....I'm wondering why where aren't more "belly bunny" type hula dancers who buy grass skirts at Halloween and learn hula from a dvd. Or maybe there are?

I'm asking because I legitimately would like to take classes in hula now, and there are NONE anywhere near me. I found two in Manhattan, and one out in Suffolk county, both locations are too far (or in the case of Manhattan, too much of a PIA) for me to go on a regular basis (I'm in Queens, NY). I emailed one of the Manhattan instructors and asked if he knew of any classes in Queens and he didn't. He referred me to a website with lists of classes around the country and there were none listed remotely near me.

So....with the great income potential that we've all noted, the apparent unsaturation of the hula market, and the ease of finding hula videos on you tube to "learn" from - why aren't there more you-tube wonders advertising their hula skills for your next polynesian bbq? All of the advertising hula troupes I see appear very professional. Why haven't they been attacked by the belly bunnies like we have??

Good question! Maybe because the music by and large is not as "Pop", so the appeal is limited. It still has a rather old fashioned Tiny Bubbles sort of rep, I think.

Possibly also because there is not a big "restaurant" demand for hula dancers (is there any restaurant demand at all?) so unless you hire them for a party, you won't be exposed to hula as much as you would be to bellydance? So, less desire to do it? I dunno...

Interesting question, Daniela, and something I've wondered, myself.

The only hula-bunnies I've ever encountered are (you guessed it) belly bunnies who made their "cross-over" into Polynesian because they can wiggle their hips and do pretty hands and/or took a class while they were on vacation in Hawaii. Everyone else I've met during my forays into hula seems to be interested in Hawaiian culture (many are of Filipina descent) and quite passionately involved in Polynesian troupe performances.

Hula also entails a greater body of cultural knowledge and even understanding of the Hawaiian language: how else are you supposed to know what all those pretty hand gestures mean? That is all stuff you learn from day one, whereas cultural significance, musicality and history have always come far later in my experiences in the BD "classroom."

The path of hula bunnydom just doesn't have the same allure as that of belly bunnydom. I really think playing dress-up is half of the appeal. Grass skirts, sarongs, leis and coconut bras just don't pull at the heartstrings of would-be sparkleprincesses quite the same way that miles upon miles of sequins, fringe, chiffon and butt-hugging lycra do. I really think if we were to adopt traditional galabeyas or thobes as the "working uniform," we'd experience a serious shifting in demographics, to say the least (however, we'd probably all be out of work with the G.P.). Sex appeal is a huge part of our appeal to the American public, as much as we resent the implications. Unfortunately, a lot of venue owners, event organizers, teachers, and dancers still view talent as a mere fringe benefit to good looks - once again, I am sure sex appeal isn't quite as relevant in hula. (Given that it's more widely accepted in places where BD is not).

Our performance venues are also abundantly hospitable to those who haven't a farking clue about their own craft. It is way too easy to buy a pretty outfit, take two classes and get hired to perform in a restaurant - this also has to do with the general misconception that what we do lacks culture, history or substance. I'm sure, in theory, bunny hula could pass for the real thing at a luau or an old folk's home, but hula doesn't have the same crossover appeal into restaurants, nightclubs and other mainstream venues. Also, I've noticed a lot of hula acts are troupes - to belong to a troupe, you have to prove some modicum of knowledge and understanding of the dance. A solo artist, on the other hand, can "wing it" to whatever extent s/he chooses.

I have to admit, I've only studied hula for 8 weeks and have independently researched it a little bit on my own. I am no expert. Let that be my disclaimer, and all. And please correct me if my personal observations are inaccurate. I'd love to learn more about the performing life of Polynesian dancers to compare and contrast to my experiences in BD.

Originally Posted by danielabellydance

Possibly also because there is not a big "restaurant" demand for hula dancers (is there any restaurant demand at all?) so unless you hire them for a party, you won't be exposed to hula as much as you would be to bellydance? So, less desire to do it? I dunno...

Restaurant demand? Not in my neck of the woods. There used to be about 10 to 15 years ago where several "Tiki" style restaurants had a hula show, but not anymore. My group at that time, The Makaleas and the Kauai Surfriders band, were the Saturday night floor show at a Chinese restaurant in town - 2 shows every Saturday night for over a year. There is one local restaurant now that has a full Polynesian show on Saturday nights, but the leader/teacher/producer of the troupe is also the restaurant owner.

Most of the shows we get now are from the marketing we do (we don't really advertise) by way of mailed out flyers to our target audience (service clubs, retirement communities, nursing homes, and local yearly cultural events, but I would say 85% of our gigs are from referrals. And from Island vacationers who have gone to a luau and think it would be a great idea for a backyard party.

Yeah, that's what I figured. I live in NYC and don't think I'd be able to find a restaurant with hula dancers. And we have everything here!

I have to admit, I've only studied hula for 8 weeks and have independently researched it a little bit on my own. I am no expert. Let that be my disclaimer, and all. And please correct me if my personal observations are inaccurate. I'd love to learn more about the performing life of Polynesian dancers to compare and contrast to my experiences in BD.[/QUOTE]

I think your observations are spot on for the most part. It would be very rare to see a solo hula dancer, unless it's for a "hula gram" if anyone still does those. In that case, a hula bunny might get by. But you would need a group of seasoned dancers for a full show that is entertaining and highlights the culture. And they would need to know a variety of island dances, not just hula. We incorporate Tahitian, both otea and aparima, Samoan, Maori, Hawaiian kahiko (ancient) and auana (modern) dances. We also do comedy, and audience lessons. So it's not just "Keep Your Eyes on the Hands" (which I actually do as a comedy dance), or the Huki Lau Song. We have a set of dances we use for our shows each season, but it's flexible enough to include any special requests. So in comparing hula and belly dancing as far as the many different types of dances one would need to know, it's probably pretty equal. As for props or implements or enhancements, belly dancers have zills, veils, swords, etc., and hula dancers have ipu, uli uli, puili, etc.

As for bling factor, belly dancers have it hands down on sparkle, but there's nothing prettier than a hula dancer in a holoku (formal dress with a long train). It just doesn't have sequins. As for difficulty to learn - again, probably pretty close, depending on the individual dancer. You get out of it what you put into it, like anything else.

I started out as a "crossover" hula dancer. Tried belly dance first, and a little while later, tried hula. Ended up loving both, and was lucky enough to be able to perform both successfully. And as for similarity of movement - some moves may appear similar, but on the whole when they're broken down, not so similar after all. There's not much room for freedom of expression in hula, it is supposed to tell a story, so random hand and arm movements are not appropriate. You can't just move side to side waving your fingers up and down. Just as a belly dancer can't just stand there and shimmy and nothing else. Ya gotta do something else or it's boring! Even in a nursing home, a hula bunny would probably not be invited back. (Those folks may appear to be sleeping, but believe me, they are watching you!)

There is one big similarity between the two dance forms, and the most important, I think. And that is where the dance comes from -- it should come from the heart. Always. That makes a good hula dancer and that makes a good belly dancer. A belly bunny or a hula bunny just isn't going to get that.

Originally Posted by donnadiva

that is where the dance comes from -- it should come from the heart.

oh that is so beautiful! true...