Thread: Promoting Workshops

I couldn't find anything on this specific topic. I'm doing some research for a friend.

What if you're well known in your area and surrounding areas for your teaching and dancing style, but you would like to branch out? How do you go about telling people, "Hey, I teach workshops and I want you to hire me!" ?

Do you ask past workshop hosts to tell their friends? Do you send press kits to festivals you're interested in?

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I'm kind of in the dark.

I had several people approach me when I was putting together Shimmy Tecumseh this year and so I researched into them and some of the people who didn't fit in this year are definitely on my radar for next year. Tell everyone you are interested in teaching workshops and having good materials to hand out or email are really helpful too. Just my thoughts:)

hmm. maybe start small? have a friend (like you ;) ) host a workshop in your local community to get people familiar with you. if it goes well, offer them quarterly or do a once a month mini workshop. host a teacher from a neighboring community for a workshop with the agreement that she will have you come and teach a workshop, too.

contact workshop sponsors in your area (or within a couple hours drive - as far as you're willing to go) and ask if they need any volunteers for their events. they can get to know you and you can build a relationship with them.

contact local dance teachers and invite them to guest teach one of your classes or host them for a workshop. then let them know you'd be interested in subbing for them or being a guest teacher, if they offer that, too.

find out if there are any weekend-long haflas or showcases that offer classes from multiple teachers and let the sponsors know that you would be interested in teaching. a multiple-teacher event may be more willing to take a gamble on a rookie. you could also sponsor the sponsor in a workshop of your own. ;) it seems to me from what I hear that a lot of the business is you-scratch-my-back, I'll-scratch-yours, and work comes through networking.

also, when I grilled aziza about breaking into the industry, she said that people have to want to dance like you to want to take your workshop. also, it will be hard to get somebody who doesn't know you to hire you - if you're an unknown, you're not a draw - and to break even hosting a workshop and show, you really need bodies to fill your class. rookies are financial risks. so, start small to build up your reputation. as a sponsor myself, I know that I need an artist who can dance spectacularly as well as teach well - if you can only do one or the other I probably won't hire you.

whenever you can, apply to dance in shows in other areas (in general, if you travel somewhere to take a workshop, pro level dancers are often able to peform in the show - usually without pay. good for visibility, though). send in your video to cheeky girls or other video producers to try to get into one of their compilation dvds. people have to see you to want to hire you.

good luck!

Maybe get involved with the local non-profit dance organization in your area and see if there are workshop opportunities available there.
In AZ we have a MECDA chapter, many other states do too.

Mahin

Originally Posted by elisagamal

hmm. maybe start small? have a friend (like you ;) ) host a workshop in your local community to get people familiar with you. if it goes well, offer them quarterly or do a once a month mini workshop. host a teacher from a neighboring community for a workshop with the agreement that she will have you come and teach a workshop, too.

contact workshop sponsors in your area (or within a couple hours drive - as far as you're willing to go) and ask if they need any volunteers for their events. they can get to know you and you can build a relationship with them.

contact local dance teachers and invite them to guest teach one of your classes or host them for a workshop. then let them know you'd be interested in subbing for them or being a guest teacher, if they offer that, too.

find out if there are any weekend-long haflas or showcases that offer classes from multiple teachers and let the sponsors know that you would be interested in teaching. a multiple-teacher event may be more willing to take a gamble on a rookie. you could also sponsor the sponsor in a workshop of your own. ;) it seems to me from what I hear that a lot of the business is you-scratch-my-back, I'll-scratch-yours, and work comes through networking.

also, when I grilled aziza about breaking into the industry, she said that people have to want to dance like you to want to take your workshop. also, it will be hard to get somebody who doesn't know you to hire you - if you're an unknown, you're not a draw - and to break even hosting a workshop and show, you really need bodies to fill your class. rookies are financial risks. so, start small to build up your reputation. as a sponsor myself, I know that I need an artist who can dance spectacularly as well as teach well - if you can only do one or the other I probably won't hire you.

whenever you can, apply to dance in shows in other areas (in general, if you travel somewhere to take a workshop, pro level dancers are often able to peform in the show - usually without pay. good for visibility, though). send in your video to cheeky girls or other video producers to try to get into one of their compilation dvds. people have to see you to want to hire you.

good luck!

Well, like I said before, this isn't for me but for someone I'm helping and she's very well known in the area and surrounding areas. It's just that you can only be sponsered so many times in one place. She's already done all of the networking. Almost everyone in the area and surrounding areas knows her or knows of her. I'm talking about reaching out beyond the local.

Network, network, network!! Travel to other peoples' events that she is interested in teaching at. Meet the organizers. Wow them with a performance. Schmooze. If your friend is an event promoter who is also looking to branch out into teaching more workshops, discuss an I-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine arrangement.

All of the above have worked for myself and my troupe at some point or another. ;-)

There were a lot of good tips in this thread:
http://www.bhuz.com/forum/business-b...workshops.html

Now why couldn't I find that thread when I was looking for it? I remember seeing it...then I thought maybe I was just hallucinating threads again. ..l;,

Thanks!