Thread: do you get introduced at your restaurant?

for those who dance at restaurants, do you just show up when the music starts, or do you have a dj or the owner introduce you?
if you have them introduce you, how do you go about it? do you think it helps people recognize you? do you ever get asked for? (ie: is ___ dancing tonight?)
also, if you get introduced, how do they do it?

I don't get an introduction at the restaurants where I dance regularly to recorded music. However, one of them usually identifies that evening's dancer on the website, Facebook, and the specials board, which makes us feel special. :)

On live music nights, the singer or bandleader usually says something like "And now, please welcome Suuuuuzanaaaaa."

It's funny, cuz, I was going to post the same question here, but you beat me to the punch :-) I don't get introduced, I just enter when the music starts. I would much rather have an introduction, but I don't complain.

Depends on the venue. If its a club with live music, the musicians normally introduce the dancer. If its a busy weekend night at a restaurant, there is normally no time for anyone to make an introduction.

If you need/want an introduction, try having one prerecorded and tack the track onto your CD/playlist ;)

I bring picture cards with my name & contact info & leave them at he front counter. When the music starts, that means the dancer is coming- that's about all I get!

i get announced

Originally Posted by sabrinabellydancer

Depends on the venue. If its a club with live music, the musicians normally introduce the dancer. If its a busy weekend night at a restaurant, there is normally no time for anyone to make an introduction.

If you need/want an introduction, try having one prerecorded and tack the track onto your CD/playlist ;)

Same here: usually musicians do intro, otherwise, usually no intro.

I think prerecording and tacking an intro onto your CD or playlist is an excellent idea -- but only if it sounds professional. In my experience, the vast majority of these prerecorded intros are of inferior quality (cheesy words/phrases, too long, poor quality recording, poorly-executed voicing), so a really good one is a wonderful thing!

Deborah

When I was dancing regularly at restaurants, usually the intro was short and very sweet "And now, our dancer for tonight (or next dancer for tonight) is LOVEly LEYLAAAAAA". For recorded music, the intro was very similar.

If you're going to put your intro onto your playlist for a performance, I'd suggest the same kind of short and sweet intro. In a restaurant, people are usually busy ordering, eating or getting ready to leave, so I think it's a really good idea to have an intro via the sound system so that people know that some entertainment is about to begin and what your name is. If you put it on the CD then no one on the restaurant staff has to interrupt their work to do it.

I like the idea of tacking an intro onto the beginning of performance CDs for restaurant shows. Not being announced is one of my pet peeves. I've seen dancers at restaurants performing without being introduced, and it comes across to me like the restaurant is sayaing "oh well, we have Ms No Name Belly Dancer to entertain you but we don't think you are interested in her name and we don't think her show is all that important either." ,m::,m::

there is a poster in the lobby with pics stateing who dances when. the music comes on at the posted show time, ya dance.

Originally Posted by leylalanty

I like the idea of tacking an intro onto the beginning of performance CDs for restaurant shows. Not being announced is one of my pet peeves. I've seen dancers at restaurants performing without being introduced, and it comes across to me like the restaurant is sayaing "oh well, we have Ms No Name Belly Dancer to entertain you but we don't think you are interested in her name and we don't think her show is all that important either." ,m::,m::

That's such an awesome idea, to make an intro track. I may just do that.

Now if I had a name like Leila, I'd just take Leila of Cairo's first track on her new CD which is basically her name over & over again - I believe this is her introduction "track".

With a name like Nepenthe, I need to come up with my own.

Is it cheesy to record my own voice? Well, I guess how would they know - since no one hears my voice when I dance?

Originally Posted by Nepenthe

Is it cheesy to record my own voice? Well, I guess how would they know - since no one hears my voice when I dance?

i would like to know if it's cheesy, there's no stage (or lobby, or even waiting area for people who don't have a table yet) so i'm up close and generally talk to people, even if it's just "tipping is OK if it goes here (gesture to side of hip)" or "you getting enough to eat? :)" (thank you Summer)

Nope - music comes on, I enter. I like to play my zills "offstage" along with my intro music before I actually come out. That way, people can hear that there is something coming but they don't know what (or who) yet!

I used to work for a place where the owner came out and made a huge production to announce me. He asked everyone to "vacate the isles", put bags under their seats and was always really excited about it, which made the customers really excited. I was very sad when he moved away. Now no one announces me.

I really want to have a recorded intro. I just need someone to be the voice for it! My first teacher had a recording for herself and one for the troupe. One of her radio announcer friends recorded it over some funky pharoanic sounding music.

As much as I like the surprise of a belly dancer popping out of the back room to dance, most of the time I get really confused looks until the restaurant audience figures out what is going on.

I do do an "exit announcement" though. A "thanks for coming, my name is Nyla, thanks to my special guest dancers (applaud the audience members who got up to dance), have a great night".

Depends on the venue. Sometimes I just come out. In other places (usually with a band of some sort) there is an Arabic introduction with my name, in others an english introduction.

Around here- CD- just come out. Usually there is a large volume difference, so it gets people to anticipate the dancer's entrance. Some places change the lights as well.
Live musicians with ethnic audience intro in Arabic/Turkish, live musicians with dancer audience, intro in English.