Career opportunities for belly dancers

When asked what we wanted out of the class, all of my fellow beginner belly dance students proclaimed that they wanted to perform on stage, and be a professional belly dancer.  It was my very first belly dance class and I was the only one that just took the six-week class for fun, with no thought beyond the end of the session.  I never saw any of these ladies again after that series, and I chalk their comments up to youthful enthusiasm (yes they were about a decade younger than me), and just plain excitement about belly dancing.  I think that same experience repeats itself on a regular basis around the world, but do women really know what different opportunities and roles there are in this dance form?

In my other life (the one that pays the bills), I have a background in human resources and communication.  I periodically have friends who call on me to review their resumes or offer career advice.  I’ve even helped some people negotiate their starting salary in a new job because my specialty is compensation.  One friend even set me up on a “date” with her husband who had been recently laid off and was contemplating a major career change.  Call it career counseling or just a willingness to listen; I’ve have a talent for helping people figure out what to do with what they know.

The conversations start out in the same manner.  What do you like to do? What do you find interesting/exciting about your job? What do you NOT like to do? People may not realize it, but the list of things you don’t like is usually the most telling part of the discussion.  There are always tedious tasks in every job (even belly dance ones), but knowing what you don’t want is the biggest battle.  This approach has also helped me over the years to hone my list of what I want to do as a dancer and instructor and what I don’t want.  And when I’m feeling less focused, it helps me figure out where to put my energy and effort and what to pass by.  So here’s my list:

• I don’t do restaurant gigs, or belly grams, or weddings…or Renaissance fairs.
• If I have to compete with your dinner or your expectations of what a belly dancer is…I’ll happily pass.
• I do love performing on stages (large and small), dancing to fabulous music (live and recorded), teaching, taking classes and hanging out with fellow dancers. 
• If I can dance or teach and easily see your face in the audience…that makes me happy. I may even wink at you. 
• I’m not looking to make a living as a belly dancer, but it’s nice to have extra income to offset the cost of costumes and workshops. 
• I’m not trying to be a nationally known dancer, but I am looking to be respected for my dance, my knowledge and skills. 
• If at the end of the day, I help you become a better dancer or woman through my classes, my performances or my online musings…I’m happy.

As we head into that infamous time of the year when people are off making New Year’s resolutions, I’d like to offer a little career counseling.  Instead of focusing on what will you do as a dancer in this next year, or what are your goals; I’d like to spend some time talking about what you CAN do as a dancer.  Consider this a list of belly dance career opportunities, options to choose from…but not a list of everything you should try and do.  Because you simply cannot DO and BE everything in this list, however you can DO some things well and you can BE accomplished with a little dedication and focus.

We’ll start in the next post with the first steps:  Student opportunities.  So, stay tuned!

Name That Tune

In a bizarre string of bad technological breaks, I have just spent four days of my life sifting and sorting through my music files on iTunes.   It all started with the addition of a new computer, and my overly naive belief that transferring my music from the old to the new would be simple, easy, and painless.  

Attempt number one resulted in the duplication (and triplication...if that's such a word) of the majority of my files.  So, instead of approximately 3,500 music files my folder showed close to 8,000. Two days of sifting, sorting and playing files resulted in a clean organized system.  Somewhere along the way I also learned that I could have purchased a $20 program to transfer the files, playlists and CDs in a more civilized manner. Too bad I didn't get that memo sooner.

The most difficult part was sorting through approximately 300 music files that had no name, no album and no home.  But, to my amazement and surprise I managed to find all of the files a home and I discovered how well I really do know my belly dance music. I was proud of my ability to 'name that tune' because I had  to listen to each snippet and then figure out what album it belonged with.  In many cases, it was a duplicate so I could just match up the times and delete the extra copy.  In some cases I had to play it over and over again, and even 'dance' the music a bit to figure out when and where I had used that song before. 

In a strange twist of fate, the next time I turned on my computer it asked me if I wanted to search for any music files to add to  iTunes.  Sleep apparently causes a memory loss, so instead of shrugging off that suggestion I told my computer, 'yes' and then watched in horror as my two days of work unraveled before my very eyes.  And now, two days further into this misadventure I am finally back to a clean set of files, with all my songs in their proper home, all my CDs with the appropriate artwork and a sense of wonder over my ability to sort through so many songs and know their name without hints.

I think back to when I first started dancing and didn't know anything about the music.  Everything ran together, I didn't have an ear for the difference in rhythms, instruments, composers or musicians.  Apparently all these years of immersing myself in the music has paid off.  I noticed this last week when I watched a show and could name the songs of most every dancer performing.  It was nice to sit there and think "ok, that's Ya Mustafa" or "hmmm...such a nice take on Jalilah's version of 1,001 nights" and although I don't want to play "name that tune" with my CDs ever again I'm feeling quite proud of my musical knowledge and acumen.  

So Internet, I dare you...could you take 100 songs off your iTunes list and name them all without peeking at the label or artist?  It's a daunting challenge but I suspect you're up to it!

Coriander???????

Okay, I'm still in the process of reading from this woman's blog (same one with the time of day quiz), and came across the "What Spice are You?". Figuring that I would come up with something sultry and sexy...I tried one more for the evening. Again, go figure!

P.S. I love the part about being subtle ;-)

Your Score: Coriander

You scored 50% intoxication, 50% hotness, 50% complexity, and 75% craziness!

You are Coriander! You're subtle. So subtle that people often forget about you. You are refreshingly clean and rather odd. You're often misunderstood. Your key word is "latent;" all your potential is wrapped up tightly until "BOOM," one day you're cilantro. Funky.

Link: The Which Spice Are You Test

I'm obviously in the wrong time zone

Okay, I saw this quiz on someone else's blog and thought it would be cute to find out "What time of day I am". This must be some type of karmic joke being played on me:



The additional description is below. Keep in mind, I think coming into the office at 9:00 is early and I normally eat my breakfast in the car.

You're 6:49 a.m.
You're the time of day right around sunrise, when the sky is still a pale bluish gray. The streets are empty, and the grass and leaves are a little bit sparkly with dew. You are the sound of a few chirpy birds outside the window. You are quiet, peaceful, and contemplative. If you move slowly, it's not because you're lazy ? it's because you know there's no reason to rush. You move like a relaxed cat, pausing for deep stretches that make your muscles feel alive. You are long sips of tea or coffee (out of a mug that's held with both hands) that slowly warm your insides just as the sun is brightening the sky.

Belly Dance Costume Errors

Okay...read the blog below, take notes and don't ever repeat these mistakes...really.

http://1001nightmares.blogspot.com/