Thread: Looking for advice on starting a showcase

Hello --

I'm in the process of putting together a monthly belly dance showcase at a coffeehouse in my area and I haven't done this kind of thing before.

The format is going to be pretty informal, with four or five dancers -- some cabaret, some tribal -- and some lived drumming, although the dancers will primarily be dancing to their own recorded music.

My concern is maintaining an equitable and fair experience for all the dancers. There is no payment from the coffeehouse, so everyone makes money only if there are tips. I plan to divide all tips evenly among the performers (including drummers) and to request that dancers *not* solicit tips directly from customers (like dancing in front of them so they get dollar bills tucked into their belts).

I'm also curious if any of you who have experience with this kind of thing have faced challenges with this kind of format and how your worked it out...

Like what kind of advertising did you do? And where?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Are these going to be professional dancers, or students dancing in a hafla-type environment? I would market for each differently.

I anticipate a mix, with dancers coming out, performing in the center of the coffeehouse seating area for five to 10 minutes, and then the next dancer (or troupe) following them and so on....