Thread: Day Job vs. Night Job, Part 2

Hello.

I enjoyed hearing all of your comments about this topic in Zefjec's post. I too, have a "day job", but love bellydance with all of my heart and would like to persue it more full-time.

But something about this burns me up. Maybe you can help me, or at least I can get this off of my chest.

So I work in food service, and maybe make $15,000 a year. Not the best job, but it pays my bills. I went to college as a Dance Major. I have studied Dance for over 20 years. I think I have talent, and what's more I work really, really hard at dancing. I'd like to get more paid gigs and more recognition for myself.

The problem here is, Bellydance is such as expensive hobby and/or career. I am now realizing you have to PUT OUT a great deal of money, just to make a little back. Many of the women on the previous post, I noticed, are doctors and lawyers or some type of Professional, so they can afford to promote themselves or to attend expensive bellydance weekends.

Many friends I have are what I would call "Professional Hobbyists", that is, women who LOVE bellydance, spend thousands of dollars a year on gear and workshops and classes, but are never going to be Paid Pro Dancers. And that's ok. But I've lost friends over being unable to attend trips and shows and shopping excursions and the whole shebang.

I don't know why I have a problem with this. I guess I'm really a purist, and think Bellydance is too sacred to put a price on, and that you can't put a price on talent and hard work. All the costumes in the world can't make you a great dancer. And I am in the process of obtaining a better job, and eventually getting some certifications, so perhaps in a few years I will be in a better way financially and be able to persue more pricey gigs where I am expected to shell out hundreds, just to make maybe a third of it back.

Maybe some of you could Pm me or post as to how you started out, and how best to promote your art on the cheap? It's very frustrating for me, to be in a different economic background than my peers. I would like to get the most "bang for my buck", if you know what I mean. I'm tired of going to other cities with friends just to blow money and have a boozy weekend, with nothing gained or retained for the experience. My time and money are too precious for that.

Sorry for the rant. Times are tough everywhere, I know. ,f::

[QUOTE=Elianae;302381]Hello.


So I work in food service, and maybe make $15,000 a year. Not the best job, but it pays my bills. I went to college as a Dance Major. I have studied Dance for over 20 years. I think I have talent, and what's more I work really, really hard at dancing. I'd like to get more paid gigs and more recognition for myself.

The problem here is, Bellydance is such as expensive hobby and/or career. I am now realizing you have to PUT OUT a great deal of money, just to make a little back. Many of the women on the previous post, I noticed, are doctors and lawyers or some type of Professional, so they can afford to promote themselves or to attend expensive bellydance weekends.

Hi
I will agree is can be pricey at times. However, any art we pursue can have a larger price tag associated to it. For example, if you were a musician and just had to have that certain guitar, flute, violin, concert grand piano and or study with professional teacher A or B who is someone that you admire for their skill set within the art . Will you pay more for that? Yes .
You stated you have danced for 20 years and are a dance major. Ask your folks how much they had invested in your early dance career. I bet it was lots of $$$$$$$$$. If you are a dance major why the fast food industry? Why are you not teaching dance somewhere? It has to pay better than fast food.

I think if you love this art you could justify the cost associated to some of the components. If it is going to be ongoing in your life and you want to seriously persue it you need to aspire to another career other than food service. If your annual income is only $15,000.00 how do even pay your bills, let alone dance? Do you still live with your folks? I know it can be frustrating if you are on a limited budget or have a small family to support as well. I have a couple of students who are in a position similar to yours. I do an energy exchange with them for their lessons. They help me out around the studio in exchange for their lessons. Maybe you could investigate something like that. If you truly want something you will make it happen. Good luck with your dance goals.

Hi Elianae, I know how you feel. I have not studied dance as long as you have but my dreams of pursuing this art form are hampered by my lack of funds. To get more bang for my buck, like you mentioned, I really figure out what I need to work on then I research dvd's (which are my main source of learning at this point) and look at the reviews. Sometimes you can get a lot of info from a less expensive one. If/when I can, I try to add to my general bellydance fund so if a workshop comes up that I really want to take, it's not so hard on the pocket.

As far as putting your name out there, a lot of people do 1 charity gig a year. Make that one count. How many and what type of people will see you? Will you be the only one there? We have been lucky in our associations because a couple of them have gotten us in the paper. Also, you can put together your own show and put up flyers, wrangle friends and family into helping get the word out and give that money to a charity that really speaks to you. That tells people about who you are and will help them remember you. "Oh, that's that lovely dancer that raised money for the battered women's shelter."
Also, haven't tried this yet, but put together a press kit and send out to potential clients. Tell them why they could use your skills,(something different for the company Xmas party, etc), have some professional video and pictures to go along with it so they know what they're getting and tell them what you have done before, be sure to add all those years of dance experience.

p.s. if you lost friends over not being able to afford stuff, they're bad friends. most of my friends are broke,too, so I don't have that problem.

Originally Posted by Elianae

I enjoyed hearing all of your comments about this topic in Zefjec's post. I too, have a "day job", but love bellydance with all of my heart and would like to persue it more full-time.

So I work in food service, and maybe make $15,000 a year. I went to college as a Dance Major. I have studied Dance for over 20 years. I think I have talent, and what's more I work really, really hard at dancing. I'd like to get more paid gigs and more recognition for myself.

The problem here is, Bellydance is such as expensive hobby and/or career. I am now realizing you have to PUT OUT a great deal of money, just to make a little back.

I would like to get the most "bang for my buck." I'm tired of going to other cities with friends just to blow money and have a boozy weekend, with nothing gained or retained for the experience. My time and money are too precious for that.

I understand your frustration.

I want to let you know that you are not required to spend thousands of dollars every year to be a good dancer. As you said, owning lots of beautiful costumes does not a good dancer make.

So here goes my attempt to give you some solicited advice . . . just know that everything you read comes from my own experience and/or is my own opinion. Other folks' mileage will vary. My post also assumes that you are not yet gigging, but are preparing yourself for that.

Also know that this response takes up two posts!

If you want to dance professionally, then you have to prepare yourself dance-wise, which means technique, presentation, price-setting for different types of gigs, business cards, website, costuming, etc. This is where you spend your money:

1) Take regular level-appropriate class lessons, privates, etc. A teacher who teaches privates and also gigs might be a good source of gigs for you. Go to workshops on topics you will use now (ie, cabaret-style if you want pro work) offered by dancers who inspire you, then integrate one or two items from each workshop into your dancing. Interested in folkloric styles? That's great, but will you use them in your gigs? If not, you might want to hold off on those until you've reached your immediate goal.

2) Dance at all the haflas, festivals and such that you can to help you use your technique and refine your presentation skills in a real performance setting. Ask to be an apprentice to your teacher to learn the ropes of gigging; you might start out as a non-dancing assistant, then start sharing gigs with your teacher. I was very fortunate to have a BDing mother with whom I did this very thing. The lessons I learned about the business end of BD were -- and continue to be -- invaluable.

[continued]

[continued from post #4]

3) Learn about the pricing for various gigs in your area. Once you are "good enough" to dance for the GP, then you should charge at least the minimum for your area. Not good enough to ask full price? Then not good enough to dance professionally! Are any of us as good when we start as we are 5 years down the road? Of course not! We all have to start somewhere, just make sure you are as well-prepared as possible.

4) Designing business cards and a website are time-consumers but can be a wonderful creative outlet. Don't have the skills? Pay the bucks up front and have someone do it for you. Nothing has to fancy, but everything has to look really good.

5) Costuming -- the big-ticket bug-a-boo. Or is it? If you want to dance in a restaurant on a weekly basis, you will need several costumes and you'll need them quickly. Private/one-off gigs? You could get away with having one costume for a long time. I did. I had one gold bra/belt set (that I made myself), one skirt (that I made myself) and one borrowed veil (the veil was Mom's). I gigged a lot, sometimes several private parties a week, and had that one costume. Didn't matter -- I wasn't dancing for the same audience twice, at least not back-to-back.
But back to restaurant work. You'll need more than one costume. One should be a metallic "neutral" of gold, silver or gold-and-silver. You should be able to get a decent bra/belt set for under $200. Make or buy two or three skirts in very different colors in a style or two you like that flatters you along with coordinating veils for each. A second bra/belt set could be another metallic or a color with which you can use your skirts. Be sure to have substantial accessories that go with each skirt; these help to make each "look" very unique even though you're only rotating through a couple of bra/belt sets. Take all your earnings and save them towards another bra/belt set, more skirts/veils/accessories.
But how to finance? If it's an option, I'd go to my parents. Tell them what you want to do and let them know about your plan: how, over a several-month period, you will be preparing to go pro, but you need some assistance with the costuming costs which you will repay once you start gigging, etc.

6) "Etc:" Forget boozey weekends with the BD girlfriends that leave you broke and yield you nothing; that's not what serious BD study is about, anyway. Just remember, tho, that BD study isn't a grim treadmill; have a wonderful time going to workshops, dancing at festivals, etc . . . just avoid the money pits and the time- and energy-wasting activities.

Hope this long ramble is helpful.

Deborah

Deborah's advice above is really, truly excellent. Don't feel too disheartened, because most of us don't start in this profession with bucketloads of money, a wardrobe full of expensive costumes or a portfolio of perfect promo materials. Here's my own two-cents worth:

1) Yes, you can put a price on art, and you need to always be thinking about that price to keep ahead! Value (price) everything you do and make every work and investment decision with a business mind.

2) Think of your up-front costs as investments, and work out the best places to invest. When you're starting, that's firstly putting money into training, and time into performing at haflas, etc. Next comes basic (but pro-looking) costuming and basic (but quality) promo materials.

3) Buy costumes second-hand, or when you see them at a discount. I don't think I have ever bought a costume fully priced. Don't feel you have to pay for a famous designer as your audience probably won't know the difference. Start with just one or two costumes and get good at sewing and accessorising! Try and resist buying new costumes for your own pleasure rather than need (tricky!).

4) Good promotional materials are a necessary investment, and will pay for themselves soon enough. I think a website and business cards are the most useful. Get pro digital photos taken but make sure you retain the copies and copywrite to those images. Shop around/barter for professional yet affordable service. Take a course in photoshop and brochure design! These skills are invaluable.

5) Work out where you can make the most money from your dancing, and be sure to focus a lot of your energies on that. For eg, I make the most profit from 1) hen's parties, 2) kid's parties, 3) bellygram style performance gigs, 4) teaching. So I've cut back teaching in order to leave energy for hen's parties, and it's worth investing more money into advertising the latter. Recognise that silly bellygrams or teaching head-ache inducing 7-yr-olds may be necessary to fund your real desire for more artistically rewarding gigs.

6) Everything in time. Bellydance is a business like every other, where it takes time to build dance and business skills, a reputation, a repertoire. Invest a little to start the ball rolling, and be sure to continually develop your dance skills and business over time. After a while, the outlays will be far less and the income far more!

Thank you so much, girls, for your wonderful insights and advice! I know, with love and time and practice and a little organization, I can do it! Just a little something to make me proud. Thank you.