Thread: questions to ask when booking a gig

Greetings lovely dancers. The BHUZ forum has been so educational for me on my bellydance journey. Have been dancing for 4-5 years. Trained under several cabaret and tribal instructors besides workshops. Have been restaurant dancing for a couple years and now being told by several people that I am ready to go for private gigs. I have been researching website design here and in books. Thanks so much! Working on dreaded bio.
My question is when someone is interested in booking me for a gig. What questions should I ask?
I really wish to be professional. Ask the right questions to give them what they have in mind for a memorable celebration.
Also to weed out potential, creepy or non-committed clients.
Thanks so much for your help

This is part of the booking/gig checklist that I use and give to my students to help them with booking. It is far from completely comprehensive, but you might find some of it useful. :)

Professional or amateur gig?
· This is an important point because you need to know what your level is as a performer and what the audience expects. Professional performances should be compensated (more on that later) and amateur performances are usually free (community fairs, charity shows, etc.). Know what the employer and audience expects before agreeing to any performance. If you are not sure if you are ready yet for professional performances, ask your teacher, another professional dancer, or check my skill level guide for a rough estimate if no one is available to help you.

So – you are asked to perform…

• Get all of the important information. A short list of basics in below:
  • Contact information of customer
  • Type of performance expected
    • Style
    • Length
    • Professional/amateur
  • Is this a paid performance/What is the pay/How will you be paid
  • Date/Time/Location
  • Music availability
  • Performance/Stage Area
  • Props
  • Occasion
  • Costuming preferences/number of costume changes
  • Whether there will be a changing area or you should arrive in costume
  • ANYTHING else you think might be important
• After you get all of the information, decide if you are qualified and available for the performance
  • If you are not able to do the performance, recommend other area dancers if possible
• If you *are qualified* and *are available* and choose to accept the gig based on this information, then you will want to place it on your schedule and either
  • Rely on your verbal contract, or
  • Ask for a signed contract.

Ok – now you are booked for a performance…

• Pre-performance
  • Get your music ready
    • Choose your music
    • Create a back-up of your music
    • Place your music in your gig bag with the gig information
  • Get your costume ready
    • Check your costume for any necessary repairs and fix any issues
    • Remember to add any jewelry you plan to wear
    • Don’t forget your matching undergarments
    • Performance test your costume if *anything* has changed
    • Place your costume in your gig bag
    • Do not forget a cover up if you will be seen by the audience between performances
  • Get your props ready
    • If using any props, examine them for issues then place them in your gig bag
  • Get your make-up and hair products ready
    • Place a travel bag of all the make-up you will need in your gig bag
• If gig was set in advance, call to confirm the day before the performance

Not exactly a direct answer to your question, although you appear to have gotten a pretty thorough answer above. I sometimes refer my clients to read this, and it may remind you of some things, so I hope you find it helpful:

Things to Consider when Hiring a Belly Dancer

WOW! Both of these are quite informative. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. This has been very helpful.

Make sure it's family oriented if you don't want to end up doing the hoochie for a bunch of drunk men :-)

I highly recommend taking Artemis Mourat's "Star" workshop as it covers these things in detail (and she gives you a whole list of questions to ask) :-)

where i am, it is very important to ask if they are middle eastern, and if so, from where..so we can put together the routene with "their" music.
we pick special tunes for hispanic and asian functions as well.
it is really amazing!..a hye born on a russian border will want something way different than the hye born on the turkish border, or from lebonon. i ask how many will be in attendance ....clients tend to ask for longer than needed......
what the decorating colors are so we can fit in with costume colors..THIS IS REALLY A BIG DEAL WITH WEDDINGS!!!!

OH, forgot...though it may not apply any other place.RESTURANTS and BANQUET rooms.
i always ask the client bto get the "ok" from MANAGMENT ON DUTY AT TIME OF EVENT. sad but true.....a gig would be cleared by day managment..dancer arrives at the evening event and that manager says no"it against my religion".

Originally Posted by zamora

where i am, it is very important to ask if they are middle eastern, and if so, from where..so we can put together the routene with "their" music.

Yes! And if they aren't Middle Eastern, I'll ask something like "What made you think of having a belly dancer?" (Sometimes with a leading question, like, did the guest of honor take a trip to Turkey or Egypt...?) This can give you a great idea of the costume, music, "feel" that will make them happy, even if the client doesn't know enough to talk about different styles or eras.

When someone makes a request for special music, if they don't tell you an artist and title up front, immediately turn around and ask them to be more specific--not because you're admitting you don't know what you're doing, but because you're not a mind reader and how are you supposed to know if they think Fares Karam makes better debke records than Assi el-Hellani? Bhuz sees a lot of questions like, "I've been asked to dance at a ______ party and they asked for a ______ song, so can someone suggest a suitable record?" and the best answer is almost always, "Did you ask them if they had anything in particular in mind?"

Originally Posted by basil1

Make sure it's family oriented if you don't want to end up doing the hoochie for a bunch of drunk men :-)

Ask if alcohol will be served. If so, I personally will not dance after 10 or so as that is about when things would get rowdy.

I will also ask if there will be children there, as that helps determine how family friendly the event is.

Excellent answers above. All of them.
Also- ask a trusted teacher to mentor you. This can help a lot. Even go to a couple gigs with her.
Other questions to ask...
Don't ask "is this family friendly?"... ask "what sort of event is this: a wedding, birthday party, etc"... this will give you *more* information AND won't sound weird. You can then ask about the guest of honor (do they want to get up to dance?), where they are from, and more. It just feels more natural and as an open ended question will help you get more information, including suss out if there is any questionable nature.
Ask *where* you will be performing (venue/dance floor/home/deck/ 2 inches of space/low ceilings?)... it's not fun to find out once you get there you're dancing in 90 degree humid heat on concrete and they haven't made arrangements in case of rain and it might be cancelled. etc. If you won't have SPACE for a big prop, you want to know ahead of time to plan your music. An Arabian Princess party for American 5 year olds is very different from an Egyptian wedding.
Ask about sound system. It needs to be loud. Will be be CD or MP3 player friendly? Is there a DJ? (tell him not to mix your stuff, kindly tell him "press play and take a 20 minute break")...
If you're in a metropolitan environment ask about parking. If there's valet parking get that taken care of in your compensation. Have someone walk you to your car if it's dark.
In terms of safety... read the book The Gift of Fear. Amazon.com: The Gift of Fear and Other Survival Signals that Protect Us From Violence (9780440508830): Gavin de Becker: Books
... most parties are organized by women. These are the easy ones to tell. Ask more questions if a guy is organizing/booking you.
Charge at or above the local going rate. Period. If you're professional standard in your area you are worth it... AND you should be practicing professional business ethics as well.
If you get to a house and it's not all surrounded by cars, lit up and filled with noise and people- don't go. Period.
I don't have a "time deadline" about when I perform because some parties tend to start later and some groups of people tend to arrive even later regardless of the party start time. I base when I dance on when the party itself is starting and allow for some flexibility. If it starts at 7, I want to dance by 9 or 9:30. If it starts at 10, I want to dance before midnight or so. Starting within about 2 to 2 1/2 hours of the party starting helps eliminate dealing with sloppy drunk people. This is client dependent. Some parties you may know don't drink. :)
....

Establish payment- I like getting paid after I dance because often the client decides to tip AFTER seeing a performance. I've NEVER (in hundreds and hundreds of gigs) had a problem with payment or anyone being a pain in the butt about paying me.
Mention tipping if you like, in a friendly appropriate and "helpful" way. For example:
"On your wedding I want you to be able to just relax and enjoy your guests. It's best to have a contact person for me- they can handle showing me where to change and keep my things, they can handle payment and they can arrange to have someone collect tips off the floor if there are any. This leaves you free to just enjoy the show and your special day. Please include their name and cell phone number. I'll text or call them when I'm on the way..."
Establish a separate business bank account. Have people write checks out to your dance name. This is good for your privacy safety AND looks better to the IRS.
If your website is upscale, family friendly and mentions your professional level rates, you've already eliminated most unwanted gig calls.
AND, because it bears repeating, ask an established pro to mentor you if someone hasn't stepped up to the plate already.

Originally Posted by SandraDances

Ask if alcohol will be served. If so, I personally will not dance after 10 or so as that is about when things would get rowdy.

I will also ask if there will be children there, as that helps determine how family friendly the event is.

wow, learn something new..this is not an issue here at all! most party's by middle eastern people start late!

Originally Posted by SamiraShuruk

Establish payment- I like getting paid after I dance because often the client decides to tip AFTER seeing a performance. I've NEVER (in hundreds and hundreds of gigs) had a problem with payment or anyone being a pain in the butt about paying me.
Mention tipping if you like, in a friendly appropriate and "helpful" way. For example:
"On your wedding I want you to be able to just relax and enjoy your guests. It's best to have a contact person for me- they can handle showing me where to change and keep my things, they can handle payment and they can arrange to have someone collect tips off the floor if there are any. This leaves you free to just enjoy the show and your special day. Please include their name and cell phone number. I'll text or call them when I'm on the way..."
Establish a separate business bank account. Have people write checks out to your dance name. This is good for your privacy safety AND looks better to the IRS.
If your website is upscale, family friendly and mentions your professional level rates, you've already eliminated most unwanted gig calls.
AND, because it bears repeating, ask an established pro to mentor you if someone hasn't stepped up to the plate already.

wow, we take cash only. we do not have "dance names", but my dancers NEVER give out their sur name

Originally Posted by SamiraShuruk

Mention tipping if you like, in a friendly appropriate and "helpful" way. For example:
"On your wedding I want you to be able to just relax and enjoy your guests. It's best to have a contact person for me- they can handle showing me where to change and keep my things, they can handle payment and they can arrange to have someone collect tips off the floor if there are any. This leaves you free to just enjoy the show and your special day. Please include their name and cell phone number. I'll text or call them when I'm on the way..."

We've had a couple of threads about clarifying up front that tips showered on you should be kept by you (not the bride and groom, or the band, or the restaurant, or whatever...), so if you anticipate being tipped in a way where the tips aren't on your person after your performance has ended, the time to discuss this with the event organizer ISN'T after the money has disappeared into someone else's pocket.

Thanks so much ladies for taking time to respond. This is a WEALTH of information

Originally Posted by zamora

wow, we take cash only. we do not have "dance names", but my dancers NEVER give out their sur name

I prefer cash, but also take check or credit card. My real name is SO not "belly dancer", and I prefer most people not know it easily.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

We've had a couple of threads about clarifying up front that tips showered on you should be kept by you (not the bride and groom, or the band, or the restaurant, or whatever...), so if you anticipate being tipped in a way where the tips aren't on your person after your performance has ended, the time to discuss this with the event organizer ISN'T after the money has disappeared into someone else's pocket.

This is a very good point! I personally have never had a problem with it, but a few friends and a few bhuzzers have. It's actually a good idea to add this clause in your booking contract should you decide to use one.

Make up a form with blanks or checkboxes for all the information you need. Then make up lots of copies. When the phone rings, just pick up a sheet, grab your calendar, and start yakking. You won't forget anything that way, and all the vital information will be in the same space for every gig and you won't have to go searching for it. Leave a space for "remarks" which can include notes you take on anything you might remember from your conversation that doesn't fit anywhere else.

Originally Posted by SamiraShuruk

Establish payment- I like getting paid after I dance because often the client decides to tip AFTER seeing a performance. I've NEVER (in hundreds and hundreds of gigs) had a problem with payment or anyone being a pain in the butt about paying me.

I've been pleasantly surprised by how often this is the case. I've never had a problem getting payment either, but even if I did occasionally, it would be canceled out by how often someone decides to tuck in a little extra when they pay after my show.

Some specifics about stage area/performance space that can tell you whether to bring your wings and ballroom shoes or pack your sandals and small props

• floor material (concrete, grass, tile, etc)
• ceiling height
• any obstacles in the room that cant be moved (columns, etc)