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Dear Alyra,
I need help. I am 22 years old and two years ago I
became interested in bellydancing. I bought instructional videos and joined
a club at my college. However, the teacher wasn't probably trained herself
and I ended up helping to choreograph dances. I stuck with that for two
years and now I am taking classes under a professional. The problem is
that I really want to become professional myself, but I am afraid that
I am starting too late! I see these dancers and they tell me that they
started when they were young, like 10 and even younger. I have the ambition
and the drive and I love this dance... I only wish I stumbled upon it
sooner. What should I do? What does it take? What steps should I take
to get where I need to be as a professional?
Signed:
Newbie
Dear Newbie,
First, I apologize for taking so long to get back
to you. I’m afraid I was terribly distracted with a new job, a vacation
and a very hectic business venture!
Let me get right to the point. I am writing to let
you know unequivocally that the age at which you start dancing isn’t
an indicator of your capabilities of becoming a professional. Many current
Pros didn’t discover their passion for Bellydancing until they were
mature adults and that didn’t stop them (or me) from from making
the leap from Novice to Professional. And I’ll tell you, I’ve
seen women who claim to have been dancing since their youth that are an
embarrassment and people who confess that it’s been only a year
or two that are incredible.
The leap to Professional, in my opinion, is derived
from an entirely different set of measures. To critically break it down
as best I can, these I think are the key components that will (not can,
may or might… WILL) make or break your metamorphosis.*
1. Commitment: You need to ask yourself if you’re
truly committed to the physical, financial and time consuming demands
of becoming a professional and maintaining the level necessary to meet
the dance community’s expectations.
a. Money: Classes cost lots of money and you’re
going to need them for years to get yourself Pro ready. Also, they
never stop. No matter how good you are and how many years you spend
as a Pro, you’re never too good to keep learning and should
continue to take classes to keep yourself fresh and revived. Further,
once you’re ready to go Pro, then there is the financial outlay
of the costumes that can run anywhere from $250 to $700 to $1000 a
pop and those also need to be refreshed on a reasonably regular basis.
You will also need marketing materials to get your name out there.
All of this costs money.
i. Little note here. I kept pretty good track
of how much I spent vs. how much I earned over the years and for
me, I did a little better than even. Since I didn’t want to
earn a living full time as a bellydancer, that was enough for me.
Making a profit is completely doable, but it will take a few years
to re-gain the investment.
ii. Be creative about finding ways to earn money
or get what you need to support your habit. For example, I needed
marketing materials but was broke. So, I advertised for a bartering
arrangement. A woman did some special stuff for me and I gave her
3 lessons. Worked out great! Also, I knew how to sew, so I tailored
other women’s costumes who didn’t know how to sew and
that was also very helpful in keeping me afloat and in class. I
charged about $70 for a fully tailored costume and that is at least
3 classes right there.
b. Physical Effort: When you’re taking classes
3-4x a week (which, if you’re talented and want to be performance
ready in less than 2 years, should be your minimum commitment, barring
holidays and all that….), that effort can take it’s toll.
Broken toes, blisters, footfire (that horrible sensation of having
danced barefoot for more than 3 hours and your feet are now covered
with pre-blister hot spots), cuts, bruises, muscle tears, ligament
pulls, sprains, strains…you name it!! Anything can happen during
your training (and it usually does), so you need to be able to embrace
the discomfort and shake it off.
i. Funny thing to note here. I also had a bartering
arrangement with a masseuse when I was having really bad back pain.
1.5 hour lesson with me, 1.5 hour fully body massage. I tell you,
I’m sure I got the better of the deal.
c. Time: The single greatest expenditure you can
make to jump to pro is of your time. The success of your efforts is
100% directly related to the amount of time you invest in them. No
ifs, ands or buts.
2. Talent: Look, the painful universal truth about
humanity is that we’re not all the same. Some people are great
at math, while others can’t balance their checkbooks. Some people
are drawing the human form by age 4 and some can’t even pull together
a square after 2 semesters of art courses. Everyone is born with different
talents and you need to ask yourself if you’re fundamentally talented
enough to be a dancer. Are your inherent abilities going to manifest
themselves as something that the bellydancing community can be proud
of artistically? Some helpful talents are: Timing, Grace, Creativity,
Abstract Vision, Musicality, et al… Whatever they are, they must
be able to be collectively leveraged and mixed together to sharpen that
edge that jumps you up to the top notch.
3. Presence: Your stage presence is that undefinable
(although I’m trying here to define it and coming up short…)
electric charge that you generate that zaps the audience out of it’s
jaded ennui and draws them into you. It’s a certain charisma that
mixes confidence, courage, grit and showmanship (among other things).
It’s you manifesting yourself and then magnifying it x100. It’s
the ability to take your feelings and intensify them to convey an idea/image/response,
etc... and build a relationship with the observer. And to do it convincingly.
This I truly believe, you have it or you don’t. Just like talent,
you have to look in the mirror and face up to whatever side of the line
it is that you fall.
i. Note: there are Pro’s out there that
are strong dancers but lack stage presence. I’m not saying
you can’t be a dancer if you lack presence. You can. I’m
just giving you my interpretation of what you need to go from good
to great.
4. Determination: Professional Bellydancing isn’t
all gorgeous veils and Egyptian eyes. It’s hard work, and hard
work requires determination (which is different than commitment). Determination
is being able to get through the tough times and know that there is
a light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes determination is working
with/for the ignorant, untalented intemperate, untrustworthy, petty
and arrogant so that you can get to the intelligent, talented, kindly,
honest, generous and humble folks. Determination is sticking with it.
And you gotta stick with it and go through a lot to get to where you
want to be.
Now, I know this all seems TERRIBLY daunting, but
I don’t mean it to be that way. These points and
your ability to become pro are ATTAINABLE!!! Don’t
give up, don’t be intimidated by the hotshots, don’t succumb
to obstacles and don’t lose your focus. If you simply keep your
goal clearly in front of you, you WILL make it.
Good luck and I look forward to seeing YOU on the
circuit!!!!
Shimmy on,
Alyra
*this isn’t meant to be an all inclusive list!
These are the sun, water and dirt that turn that seed of hope in you into
a plant that, if conditions are right, will bloom.
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