Thread: Getting your foot in the door...

I think most folks here know me well enough to know where I stand on undercutting and underselling ourselves to the public. I don't give performances away for free lightly. But I am 100% certain that others have come up against this same situation, and maybe even moreso today now that getting money in our biz is like squeezing blood from a rock...

How do you/did you get your foot in the door at local restaurants and clubs that don't presently offer entertainment, or at least not bellydance? Our first, and longest lasting, regular gig was easy. I sent an e-mail. They were interested. We were hired. But today with businesses pinching pennies, it's hard to convince them to take a chance on a new "act". Did you give them some kind of promo pack? Did you offer a first performance at a discount of some kind? How did you approach them?

Even though I have been doing this for years, I feel like its a whole different industry out there with the budget crunch, and I wonder what everyone considers a viable way to approach venues these days, without undercutting yourself or others.

I've been grappling with this same question. I have exactly one strong prospect at the moment, so I don't want to screw it up.

I'm thinking about setting up a one-time evening of entertainment, perhaps like a student night, with a cover charge. We keep the cover, restaurant keeps what they sell but doesn't have to pay us. They get an 'audition' (I'd make clear who's a student and who might be a future restaurant performer), we get to feel the place out, we both make a little cash, no risk for anyone.

They'd also get to see the kind of crowd we're capable of drawing. At least in theory, we have a 'following,' right?

Then I'd talk to the restaurant owner about whether/how to do future events. Either a regular dance night, they pay the going rate, or a monthly 'hafla' night after the dinner hour, with a cover charge.

wel, not that you have ever valued anything i have had to say...but we find resturants want a dancer with a following.be that fans, students, even family.
bayla got our agency a steady friday night gig, by first haveing a student night at a hye resturant.
then when they asked, she told them about the pros that are in our agency and the cost.
we alternate 2 fridays a month.doing it every week, gets old....and hard to fill.each dancer has her own following, plus 2 of us have students or as in my case, dancers i coach.
so, it what can you offer them?
....

ha ha, we said the same thing!

Originally Posted by zamora

wel, not that you have ever valued anything i have had to say...

Um...what?!..c::

Originally Posted by Lauren_

(I'd make clear who's a student and who might be a future restaurant performer), we get to feel the place out, we both make a little cash, no risk for anyone.

If I was a.n.other dodgey owner, I would just offer a pretty student peanuts or a meal to dance....

I have never done this but there is a dancer/teacher in the area who does something like this with a great success!
You organize a night with studens and some pros / semi pros - sell tickets that include a preset menu (maybe with some options) and includes a cover, from which you will pay the pros/semi pros. This way you provide the restaurant with customers, you know ahead of time how many are coming so the restaurant can get prepared. You can encourage presale tickets w/discount and at door tickets.
You have to have good marketing/advertizing skills: send emails to everyone you know (customers, friends, other belly dancers, students) make flyers, post them on the web - there are several free advertizing options on the web with more/less results, put it on your website. Also post flyer -with permission- everywhere. Encourage other teachers to bring their students as customers.

The dancer who does this usually sells out, but it's only once in every few months - it would would be harder to keep it this successful on a more frequent bases.

Then you talk to the restaurant owner and see if you can have one night / week with one dancer and they'd pay the dancer the correct fee. You can still have this large scale event once/few months.
I think this is a good way to get your foot in the door, without offering anything for free. You benefit, dancers / students benefit and the restaurant benefits from making money, exposure and advertizing, and they practically don't have do anything besides making and serving the food.

Originally Posted by Asteria

If I was a.n.other dodgey owner, I would just offer a pretty student peanuts or a meal to dance....

Not saying it couldn't happen, but if they're that dodgy I'd rather know right off the bat.

I was only thinking of putting their minds at ease that the students they see at the student night wouldn't all be on the roster as pros if we had a regular night. I don't think showing a restaurant owner some first-time soloists and then asking for pro rates would be very good marketing if I didn't make the difference clear!!

dont know about your neck of the woods, but here, the east indian resturants love this sort of arrangements.they all have a buffett, and they love the art.

I wouldn't use my students to try and sell my pro troupe on a regular gig. I just am not sure how that would work exactly.

Originally Posted by Marianna

I have never done this but there is a dancer/teacher in the area who does something like this with a great success!
You organize a night with studens and some pros / semi pros - sell tickets that include a preset menu (maybe with some options) and includes a cover, from which you will pay the pros/semi pros. This way you provide the restaurant with customers, you know ahead of time how many are coming so the restaurant can get prepared. You can encourage presale tickets w/discount and at door tickets.

I think this is a good way to get your foot in the door, without offering anything for free. You benefit, dancers / students benefit and the restaurant benefits from making money, exposure and advertizing, and they practically don't have do anything besides making and serving the food.

This seems like a good approach to me. The venue makes money from the meals they sell while having a good idea of what types of and how much food to prepare, as well as plan for wait staff, and the dancers are paid via the cover added to the meal price for a ticket.

In this situation, I'd want to work with a venue that has a party room or area of some kind, so the regular patrons don't get the benefit of the show without paying the cover. No freebies here! Additionally, especially if other patrons are able to see some of the activity, I would require the performers to be pros/new pros or the most experienced and talented advanced dancers. Less experienced students and guests would be encouraged to get up and boogie during open dancing, of course!

What about tips? If I wanted to encourage tipping, I think I would have tips collected in a basket throughout the evening and then divided among the dancers. I also think the organizer should retain a certain amount from the cover as compensation for his/her time and the costs of advertising; say 10 or 20%, to a maximum of whatever dollar amount seems reasonable. Photocopies are 8-10 cents each now -- if a flyer has two sides, it's at least 16 cents for each one. Ouch!

Deborah

I, too also think this arrangement is awesome - the dancer that does this obviously has put a lot of thought into it, and I'm sure evry time she does it it even gets better.
I do know that usually these events are on a day when there wouldn't be many customers. No one gets in who didn't pay the ticket, so there's no freebies.
I'm sure she pays herself from the profit, she should - it's a lot of work with expenses.
And it is successful, often she has a live band and real well known dancers.

You canuse some of the students, that are more advanced and are ready to perform in front of the audience. They should be announced as students, so everyone can put their piece into perspective. I'm sure the students and their families/friends would be looking forward to come see them perform (-> more customers to show up)