Create A Market: Get Those Gigs!

by Mayada

reprinted from MID-BITS Magazine

You've taken tons of classes, performed at student galas, you've finally decided to take the plunge and go professional. You make a costume, take promo shots, maybe even have business cards printed. Then come the cries of "There's nowhere to dance!" or "All the places have their regular dancers and don't want new ones." Quit complaining! Get pro-active and create new bellydance venues for yourself!

If you live in a big city, lucky you - you've got tons of opportunities! "But", you say "all the restaurants or clubs that need dancers already have them…" Don't despair: there are so many places that don't have dancers because they probably just haven't realized what a bonus having a bellydancer would be! That's where you come in: you create a market. Your challenge is to convince them that they need a bellydancer, pointing out how it will add to the atmosphere, bring in customers, and keep them coming back. How can they resist? Try the usual venues of course - Middle Eastern, Greek, Persian restaurants and clubs. Then take it a step further! If you see a great venue for a show, whether it's a regular dance club or a Russian fine-dining establishment, why not think outside the box and go for it? Most places are pretty darned intrigued by the prospect of having a weekly Middle Eastern themed night. You'll be able to supply ideas for advertising and extra little touches (Sheherazad Shooters, anyone?) that'll ensure the evening's a success. Make sure to bring a photo or photos so they can post it to attract business for your night, a business card, maybe even a video of a show you've done at a place similar to theirs so they can see first-hand the reaction of the crowd and the excitement you bring!

Okay, small-town bellydancers have a bit more of a challenge as the number of Middle Eastern/Greek/Persian restaurants may be more limited… there may very well be none at all. So you have to become really resourceful and creative. Pick a restaurant, club, banquet hall, recreation centre, etc. and propose your own weekly or monthly Middle Eastern fantasy night. If the venue you choose is a restaurant or a club, you and the owner/manager can collaborate on advertising, food, cover charge, etc. If you decide to hold it at a banquet hall or recreation centre, the sky's the limit - you have carte blanche to create whatever kind of event your imagination can dream up. There'll be a lot more work involved, naturally, in this type of happening, and you may find you'll only want to do it every few months or so, inviting bellydance friends and colleagues to share the planning and organization. There's a silver lining to the small-town-and-not-much/any-M.E.-action cloud: you'll probably have little or no competition! You could end up providing the total dollop of exciting, exotic Middle Eastern flavour. Who knows? Maybe you'll even start an epidemic, and your town will never be the same again!

No matter where you're dancing, no matter who you think your audience is ("Oh, nobody here even knows what bellydance is supposed to look like") - make sure your shows are top-notch! Have your business cards ready because parties, events, and even other weekly restaurant/club gigs will come your way once you're out there being seen! Once I was dancing every week at a tiny Macedonian restaurant here in Toronto, a kind of unusual spot for a bellydancer. I never imagined anything else would come from it, but as soon as another Macedonian restaurant (their competition I guess) heard, they hired me for two nights a week, and a few weeks later I was dancing at three different Macedonian/Serbian restaurants, four nights a week. Bellydance was the hottest thing to hit their scene for a while I guess! As well as all the usual Middle Eastern spots, I've danced at a wide variety of what I once would have considered unlikely places - raves, fashion shows, Indian restaurants, Latin dance clubs, French fine dining establishments… the list goes on. Creating a niche and getting new gigs can be lots of fun and keep you working. You've just got to want it badly enough, sharpen your marketing skills, and hang on to a 'go get 'em' attitude!