She’s Got the Look!

In our last article we discussed some of the aspects of professionalism.  We promised more do’s and don’ts.   Before we get started, there are a few things anyone aspiring to becoming a professional should know.

1. Success doesn’t happen overnight, it’s earned.  It can take YEARS of working in freebies and low paying jobs to get anywhere.  There’s no promise of success, just lots and lots of hard work.  You need to understand that you have to give before you receive as good paying jobs are few and far between and you must be willing to spend the time necessary to achieve your goals.  Where you live in the United States plays a big hand in how successful you are going to be.  If you really want to be a top dancer, you may have to consider relocating.
2. Even being a professional is an expensive hobby.  If you want to keep being a professional, be prepared to put all of your earnings back into costumes, music, accessories, props and marketing materials.  Be prepared to – if you are lucky – break even.  You’ll continue to need new and different costumes, replacements for props, more and new music.  The expenditures never cease.
3. Take as many classes and workshops from as many teachers and instructors as possible.  Expand your knowledge and repertoire.  The more you know, the better you will be.  Network with dancers, not only locally, but regionally and nationally as well.  Attend events where other dancers are performing.  Be supportive of them.  You will gain immensely from the experience. 
4. Always remember to treat other dancers fairly and the way you want to be treated.  No matter how much you want to dance, you cannot infringe on other dancer’s gigs. (There will be a future article “The Myth of the Sisterhood of Dance” to address this and other problems)

As a caveat – we didn’t come up with these arbitrarily.  As professional dancers we have, between the two of us, over 40 years of experience dancing professionally in night clubs, restaurants, stage productions, and festivals.  We have gleaned these rules over the years by observing what does and doesn’t work, both for ourselves and by watching other dancers.

Learn to be patient.  When you think you’ve waited long enough, wait some more.

Jobs don’t just fall into your lap.  They need to be earned.  Paying gigs don’t come knocking at your door.  Simply because you are a belly dancer, are cute and adorable and have one or two costumes doesn’t mean calls are going to start coming in.  Just because you’ve taken a year or two of lessons doesn’t make you marketable.  You need to establish yourself, make a name for yourself, market yourself and put yourself into positions where you might get noticed for better jobs.  There is no shame in starting out with non-paying gigs at such venues as ethnic festivals, nursing homes, schools, etc.  But, if you want to be taken seriously, you MUST treat these freebies as you would a professional job. 

If you want to get noticed, then every job you do, whether paying or not must include your best music, your best choreography, your best costume up to and including makeup, cover-ups etc.

There are several reasons for this.  First you establish your unique look, you earn people’s respect, and you meet people in the audience who might recommend you or pass your name on for better opportunities.  Remember there will be people who might be taking pictures of you when you dance.  We can’t even begin to tell you about the number of gigs we have been to where people have their cell phones out taking pictures and video.  We have no idea where those pictures and/or videos ended up. YouTube?  Facebook?  Shared with friends?  You must treat every job as if your dance career depended on it, because it very well might!  And while we’re on the subject, be careful of how far you reach when you are first starting out.  Those non-paying or low paying gigs at nursing homes are a great way to learn what works.  You need to polish your act, learn how to work with an audience, and discover what works and what doesn’t.  It’s better to learn on smaller gigs than to get yourself a big job right off the bat and fall flat on your face due to lack of experience.  Even if you have other forms of dance and performance experience, don’t be in such a rush!  Take your time to get it right, hone your skills before reaching for the stars.  Remember, the mega movie stars of today didn’t get there overnight.  They all started off as bit players and worked their way up.  They didn’t just suddenly spring onto the big screen.  That dancer in the restaurant where you want to be, paid her dues long before she got the “dream” job, so don’t expect to just walk in and have it handed to you.  It’s never ok to butt into someone else’s “job”. 

Choose your costuming carefully.  Like it or not, the general public has some very strong ideas of what a belly dancer is supposed to be.

  She is a glamorous creature, with beautiful sparkly costumes, beautiful hair, who looks like a movie star.  If you want a professional paying gig you are not going to get it wearing a cute coin scarf, a cheesy choli and some cute harem pants you whipped up out of a remnant on the sale table at your local fabric store.  If you have to save for months, learn to bead for yourself, and spend hours putting it together, you must have a professional, cabaret costume.  It must always be in good condition and it must flatter you and fit well.  

On the flip side, if you are primarily interested in doing ethnic festivals, renaissance fairs and the like, then this cabaret look isn’t going to work.  Harem pants, cotton skirts, coin belts etc will be the norm for these events.  Know your venues and dress accordingly.  But no matter the venue, you still need to present a professional appearance.

Always check out your costume before a gig to make sure everything is right.

We went to see a dancer perform at a Greek restaurant not too long ago, and it was obvious she was new to this kind of performance.  While she had on a beautiful professional cabaret costume that would have been great on stage, it wasn’t fitted correctly for up close table dancing in the restaurant.  No place is it more important to have the top fit well than when you are dancing in a restaurant.  Unfortunately the cups were a bit larger than she was – and she shifted slightly as she moved.  She didn’t expose herself, thank goodness, but it was sheer luck.  The day before a gig always try on your costume.  Make sure that the belt fits correctly, and doesn’t ride too low.  Look in the mirror, stand with your feet apart.  Is the skirt so sheer that you can see your legs?  While that might be ok in a nightclub, it probably wouldn’t work in a family oriented restaurant.  Be very careful about not offending families.  Do a turn in your skirt.  Does the skirt open up too much during a turn?  Lean forward slightly and make sure that your top continues to cover you.  You will be standing and your audience will be sitting.  Will they be getting too much of a view if you lean over to speak to someone?  What you don’t see at a distance on stage is very apparent when you are table dancing.

Is your costume in good repair?  We once attended a hafla where a dancer new to the area was hoping to make a good impression and perhaps become a substitute dancer at a local venue.  She knew that people would be there that could help her in her career, and she knew this was in essence a bit of an audition.  Her costume was terrible.  The skirt was torn in a couple of places, the bra and belt didn’t fit her correctly and there were sequins and beading missing.  She frankly looked tacky.  Not a good impression to make.

Without the extras you just don’t look professional.  Your look needs to be from the top of your head to the tips of your toes.

So many times we have seen very attractive women in beautiful costumes that must have cost hundreds of dollars and……..that’s it!  No makeup, hair flying around, no shoes, no jewelry.  A beautiful cabaret costume is just the beginning of your polished glamorous look.  Your audience will be looking at and judging you as an entire package. 

Makeup is a must.  And not the kind of makeup you would wear to go to the office or even on a date.  Depending on the gig, stage makeup is needed if you want people to see you from the back of the room.  You can’t just throw on some blush and eye shadow and call it good.  If you don’t know how to apply makeup, invest in yourself by going to a salon or makeup counter and having someone show you how to do this.    We also strongly recommend that you learn to apply eyelashes.  They enhance your eyes and let the audience see your expressions. 

It doesn’t stop there!  Look at pictures of top dancers, the really glamorous ones.  Their hair is beautifully coiffed.  Can’t do your own hair?  (Believe us; we empathize because we are horrible at doing our own hair).  Invest in yourself!  There are many beautiful hair pieces that can be put on to polish your look.  On the day of a gig run down to your local cheap haircutters place and have them wash/style your hair for you.  Even if it’s just blown dry and curled, flat ironed or styled and hair spayed, it will give you a much more professional look for not a lot of money.  And what about an outdoor event?  You can still look professional with the hairpiece or with your hair in a ponytail “I dream of Jeanne” style. 

You’re still not done!  You need jewelry, and not a cute necklace in the back of an Avon catalog that would look great on a date.  We’re talking major bling!  Necklace, earrings, bracelets, a headpiece if you can.  You need jewelry that can be seen and sparkle clear at the back of the room.  A little chain from the sale table at Wal-Mart may look great with your sparkly top on date night, but it’s not going to match the rest of your glamorous outfit.

And don’t forget your feet.  You have no idea where you will be dancing at some gigs, so you’ll need a good pair of dancing shoes.  If you are in a restaurant or nightclub, they are a must!  From flat sandals to higher heels, you’ll need good shoes.  Not the Capizeo dance sandals for class, not the flip flops you wear to the beach, or (gag!) ballet slippers, but good, quality, nice looking shoes.  Imagine a lawyer arguing a case in a courtroom.  She’s wearing a high powered executive suit, her hair is perfect, she has tasteful jewelry on, nice makeup, hose and nice pumps.  Now, picture the same lawyer but instead of the pumps imagine her in tennis shoes.  Does it look professional?  Of course not.  Too many dancers skimp on footwear thinking nobody will see their feet.  And they probably won’t, but wear ugly or inappropriate footwear and they WILL notice.  Watch Dancing with the Stars and look at those ladies.  Stunning blingy shoes, blingy costume, blingy accessories.  They bling from head to toe and everything in between.  That is what you need.  You can’t cut corners in any of these areas – not even the shoes! 

One last thing.  Gloves and arm covers.  Some dancers love them and some don’t, but they are not only a glamorous accessory, they help hide a number of arm flaws. 

Getting the idea?  Every gig you do you must consider that the public is seeing you, and judging you, and evaluating you based on your look.  Dress your absolute best! Dress as if your dance career depended upon it – because it just very well might.  You need to be the professional dancer from head to toe and everything in between.

Right or wrong, the average person hiring dancers has certain expectations. 

I’m sure that this next part will cause a lot of controversy.  And believe us when we say we hate being judged for the way we look.  We didn’t make up these observations; we have discovered them over the years.  It may not be fair, it may not be right but it’s the truth.  You can be a little overweight, a little older, a little short, tall, etc.  But you aren’t going to get good, recurring jobs unless you are attractive.  Is it fair?  Of course not, but the person paying the bill gets to call the shots, and the general public has very, very strong opinions about what they want.  They want someone pretty, they want someone glamorous, and in addition they want someone who is a good dancer. 

If you are older, kind of a plain jane or obese you simply are not professional material.

  If you really want to be a professional dancer and you fall into any of those categories, then we strongly urge you into considering a good diet, a good gym and a good image consultant to help you. Almost any woman can learn to look more attractive.  Through diet and exercise, hair and makeup, whatever it takes.  If you are truly serious about wanting to dance professionally, then you absolutely need to work to make yourself look the best that you can.  Unfortunately that’s the way the world works.  We’re sorry but it’s true.  We are living examples of this bias.  As we have gotten older we have been passed on for any number of gigs for the younger, newer versions.  We don’t like it, but it’s a fact of life. 

Now, there is also an additional point to this.  Just because you are young, beautiful and have a great costume doesn’t make you a professional either. 

The look is a huge part of this.  You can’t get by without it, but you can’t get by just on looks alone.  Your looks will get you noticed, but what will get you hired and recommended is a solid dance ability.  You can’t have one without the other – and get professional gigs.  Some of the gigs we were initially passed on we wound up getting.  Why?  Because even if we were “older” we had the dance skills necessary for the gig.

Another controversial item, but we’ve found over the years that it’s true. 

If you want to dance professionally, you must dance cabaret.  You must learn zills, and veil, and using props such as cane, sword, candle, tray, etc.

We love to watch good tribal dancing.  It’s definitely a beautiful art form.  But it ain’t gonna get you professional gigs.   We have had guest dancers at our regular restaurant gig in the past, and have invited tribal dancers to perform with us.  The reaction?  The customers didn’t like the music or the costumes.  The general public doesn’t understand.  Like it or not, if you want to get hired for certain jobs you aren’t going to as a tribal dancer.  If your passion is tribal dance, then be prepared for not dancing at certain venues.

In our next installment we’ll discuss choosing music, picking dances, and other fine tuning for turning yourself into a professional