Being a professional bellydancer is not without risks and anyone seriously thinking of performing regularly should  consider the pros and cons of the profession. By simply being aware of the multiple dangers, you might be able to recognise a dodgy situation and make a quick escape.

90% of the time you’ll be performing at night between 7pm and 1am. 60% of the time you’ll have to travel outside central London and walk down a dark alley from the car or the station to the venue where you’ll be performing. 60% of the time people don’t instictively see any difference between a belly dancer and a pole dancer. You are both dancing for money. 20% of your audience either won’t approve bellydancing or will see you as a prostitute and might think it worth following you.

Right, all of these figures are only based on my personal experience and are not meant to scare you all. I just want you to know that it’ll happen so you better find a safe way round it!

Working at night and walking down dark alleys.

2 things you can and should do: buy a car and buy a rape alarm.

A car is not cheap but your life is worth more. Plus, there is no way you’ll be able to cumulate 3 or 4 gigs a night with public transport so a vehicle is definitely a worthwhile investment.

A rape alarm only costs about £2 to £4 and can save your life. Check them out here. You simply need to make sure it’s accessible in your pocket at all times when walking outside the venue to your car or the station.

The fact that people don’t see the difference between a pole dancer and a belly dancer…well there is nothing you can do about that, apart from telling them that it isn’t the same at all and trying to change cliches little by little.

Other tips: I would highly recommend you always ask for payment in advance. I know people can be a bit fussy about that and you’ll loose clients just because they don’t trust you and believe you won’t turn up. Try and make yourself look more official, get a good website, send them contracts/invoices… You won’t necessarily be doing that with your regular restaurants but for one-off private party bookings you really should.

The main reason why I personally only take payments in advance is because people do cancel last minute and I was fed up of ending up with an almost empty Saturday night because I had turned down offers for other gigs to be able to do the one that eventually got canceled. Another plus is that when you agree a time and a price, if the event is running late and you can’t wait well they have paid you. It’s not your fault if they are late and you can’t stay because you have got other gigs to do on the same night. It’s their lack of organisation that is at fault so your wallet shouldn’t have to suffer from it.

My worst gig ever was a Somalian wedding where the bride turned up at 11pm and I was due to perform at 7pm. All the guests were there except the bride and groom. I used to take payment on the day at that time so I had to cancel my regular restaurant and hang around for 4h30 to dance and get my payment.

And finally I would say, only accept work you are comfortable with. Make sure you check whether it’s a mixed crowd or not. I have done stag dos before but would always insist that the organiser would be 100% responsible of my safety and that I would stop if anything rude occurred. Again it’s better to have been paid in advance in these situations.

In the same way, if you feel the restaurant owner is dodgy on the phone I would say leave it. If the client is harrassing you to get a cheaper quote or refuses to pay in advance, don’t bother! Also, make sure you don’t accept ridiculous prices. If they are looking for quality they should pay the price. If they are just looking for a cheap night worker type of performance then they can go somewhere else. You are an artist not a prostitute!

-get decent costumes/ book your professional photoshoot/ order your flyers.

The photoshoot:

First of all, you want to make sure you prepare ideas of poses and costumes in front of the mirror at home during the week before your photoshoot.

Book your hair appointment for about 2 weeks before the session. A fresh haircut can sometimes look too sharp and may not reflect the real You!

Choose your photographer! Preferably go for a photographer who has got a lot of experience in dancing photography. They will have better ideas and make you feel more comfortable than “wedding photographers” for instance.

Personally I would recommend Maani. He is particularly familiar with the Bellydance industry. Whenever there is a bellydance event in London he is the one who is invited to take photographs. He knows everything about bellydancing. (see more info about Maani below) 

“Memorable and striking dance photography comprises many facets, the most important of which is the rapport between the subject and the photographer. Images convey much more than a visual aesthetic. They inform the onlooker of the emotion, power and atmosphere of the moment. As a photographer I want to be immersed in that moment. I want the performer to exude all the passion that is within and for that to translate to the viewer. As much as my role is to get the timing and the technical side right, it is also to elicit the best performance I can, and that can only be achieved with a performer who is at ease and brimming with confidence. Fees are very competitive and tailored to each individual shoot. Contact me with the details of your event or photo-shoot requirements.”
www.maaniphoto.com
maani.images@gmail.com

Great! But how to get started?

Meet people, audition and get your flyers ready.

Flyers:

best person I can recommend is Reshma.

She does Half Price Graphic Design for Belly Dancers!
Freelance graphic designer available to design posters, logos, business cards, flyers and more.

Usually she would charge £20 per hour but for the whole of November and December she is charging only £10 per hour. Take advantage of this special offer by emailing: rish.design@hotmail.com.

You decide on how long you want her to spend on your designs so that you can stick to your budget. Reshma will recommend a good amount of time to spend on a design, depending on what is required.

See below for example of design Reshma did for me.

Audition:

If you would like to be an agency performer send me all your details, including a couple of photos and a youtube video.        AuroraBellydance@googlemail.com