So, you have been dancing for a while and think you are ready to turn professional? What sort of things do you need to take into consideration before making the leap from amateur to professional performer?

Below are some points to think about when considering the pros and cons of working as a professional dancer in the UK. Before we get to the list though, what is the definition of a ‘professional’ dancer? The Inland Revenue defines the term as ‘someone who earns their living solely from dance and dance-associated work’, dance-associated means teaching, lecturing, selling dance related items like costumes, music, & videos. You are considered ‘semi-professional’ if you take paid work as a dancer, but also have other work that is non-dance related which is either your official profession, or is your main source of income. Amateur dancers are those that do not profit financially from their dancing, if they get paid, it is for expenses only.

Note: I haven't listed these points in any order of importance.

1. Where do you think you will be performing, and have you already approached anywhere and been auditioned or accepted? Make absolutely sure that there is enough work out there to support you, and that you aren't competing with large numbers of other dancers chasing the same gigs.
    
2. Do you know what the local going rates for gigs are and understand the ethics of not undercutting? Whilst you cannot expect to be 'best friends' with all the other dancers in your area, an air of cooperation is essential. That way you can help each other by covering for gigs if someone is ill, or pass on work that you cannot fulfil yourself. It's far better to work within the established network of performers than to try going it alone. Never, ever offer to dance for free, and especially not as an offer to replace the regular dancer. If you are a professional dancer you should expect to be paid the going rate and should never dance for less. Even you if you accept a gig for a charity ask them for a small sum to cover your expenses, you and your dancing will be much more respected in the long run.
    
3. How many professional-standard costumes do you own? You will need a minimum of 3/4, more if you are expecting to perform regularly at a venue or venues. This won't be cheap, but you can't skimp on the costumes you will wear week in week out, as they fall to bits if they are cheap, and are at least repairable if they are quality ones. What you pay for is what you get in belly dance costume terms. Expect to have to replace your costumes regularly. Make sure that your costumes bear close inspection if you perform close to your audience - costumes that are in need of repair make you look cheap and tacky. Be sure that your costumes are elegant, suitable for your body shape, and decorous enough that they wouldn't make your grandmother blush to you see you in them! Invest in a good quality cover-up to wear in between performances, wandering around in costume when not actually performing is very unprofessional. I have found Bra/Belt sets to be an excellent way of giving the appearance of owning more costumes than you have. It is quite easy (even for the less experienced seamstress like myself) to make simple sleeves in a variety of styles to go with each outfit, which again makes each one look a little different. Investing in perhaps two bra/belt sets in say gold or silver for example, will give you a myriad of costume variations by combining them with different coloured skirts/sleeves/veils.
   
   Keep in mind the type of venue you that you will be dancing at as your costuming should reflect (within reason!) what the audience will expect to see a belly dancer wear. Modern Cairo designs with minimal fringing look fabulous, but most audiences don't see them as belly dance costumes. Very expensive restaurants are a different thing altogether - the clientele are paying a lot for their meal and often appreciate the top-end costumes more. That has certainly been my experience in recent years. The local smaller, middle-of-the-road restaurants like to see plenty of fringing and be able to instantly recognise you as a belly dancer! ;-D
    
4. Be prepared to invest a lot of your hard-earned cash in music. You will need an extensive CD collection in a wide range of music and styles. It's almost essential these days to have the ability to burn and edit CDs to make up your show music. I use approximately 30 CDs during the course of an average year of gigs to provide both the customers and me with some variety.
    
5. Can you dance using a wide variety of different props and styles of dance? Sadly, the average audience gets bored far too easily, so you will need more than a change of costume to keep them interested. It's also worth bearing in mind that different types of audience require different types of show, so plan ahead by asking what the occasion is and whom you will be dancing for.
    
6. Can you dance for at least 10 minutes without a break? Many restaurants will expect at least this and usually more.
    
7. Are you comfortable with wearing stage make-up and do you know how to apply it effectively? Your hair and make-up, along with your costuming, are all part of your act, helping to give you an air of mystery and glamour - which is what most people expect from a professional dancer. Remember that as a professional dancer you are first and foremost an Entertainer. It is what your employers and audiences expect from you - to be entertained.
    
8. Are you good at time-keeping, being polite, able to find your way around places you are unfamiliar with? These are all part of being a professional performer. Always arrive early; at least 20 minutes if you are arriving in costume, more if you need to change. Always arrive smartly dressed, (okay, you don't need to wear a business suit, but ripped jeans or dirty clothes do give the wrong impression!) and be polite to everyone you meet. If you really must smoke, try not to do it in costume (wear a cover-up if necessary) and stand somewhere you can't be seen. Don't hang around after performing to drink or dine with the clients - this can give entirely the wrong impression!
    
9. Have you actually worked for any paid gigs yet? If you haven't and want to turn pro, you are totally, utterly and completely MAD! You will have no idea what you can expect to earn and whether you will be able to pay your bills, let alone whether or not you have the psychological make-up that will enable you to face the hard grind of working in the entertainment industry. If you haven't done any paid gigs then maybe your instructor doesn't think you are ready - talk to her/him about what you need to do to prepare yourself to join the ranks of professional dancers. Agents, restaurant managers, organisers of private parties or corporate events will all view you as a kind of commodity - a service to be purchased. Don't take it personally if they don't act like your best friend, or cancel/change a gig at short notice. They are buying your services as a professional entertainer, not looking for life-long friendship! You really need to develop a very thick skin in order to survive.
    
10. Ask yourself what is more important to you: being rich or being a dancer? Personal experience has taught me that you can be one or the other, but not both! Either that or you need to have a very generous partner or parents, who will keep a roof over your head and feed you whilst you follow your dream! It's a big mistake for anyone in any line or work, no matter how good you are (or think you are), to just give up regular employment without having enough work/money available to cover life's basic needs.
     
11. As a professional performer you will need insurance, which unfortunately is not cheap at the moment. You will also need to think about taxation, National Insurance Contributions, and paying for a pension. Health insurance or some arrangement that will help pay your bills if you are injured or ill and cannot work for any length of time is also a good idea. It is possible to do Self-Assessment for UK Tax Returns, but really you still need to have the help of a qualified accountant to do it all properly. Many accountants can also advise you on who to talk to about pensions, etc. You will need to keep very accurate records of everything you earn and everything you spend in relation your dancing.
     
12. You will need Public Liability Insurance and a Phonograph Performance Licence.
     
13. You will need to have some promotional photographs in several different styles of costumes, a good business card, and also some flyers outlining your repertoire, your rates and how to contact you. From a safety point of view, I believe it is also essential to have a mobile phone so that only that number appears on your promotional material and £50 per annum for a P.O. Box number is money very well spent. If you live on your own invest in an answering machine and get a male relative or friend to record the message. That sounds a bit old-fashioned, but I know from personal experience that there are some very strange people out there and this is a good way of keeping them at bay! It is not always necessary to go to a professional photographic studio to get good dance photos. It is fair to say that if you are just looking for head shots then this maybe the best route, but it may come expensive. If you want something a little more, 'arty' or 'edgy' try the local college (daytime or evening classes) to see they run a photographic course. Their students may be only too keen to take photos with a difference at a much lower price, because it'll look interesting in their portfolio. There are also a few photographers about who specialises in taking photos of dancers, ask around and see any of them are local to you.
     
14. You will need to invest at least £200 (and probably a lot more!) a year on workshops to continue your professional development. More and more master teachers are visiting the UK, don't miss out on taking at least a few workshops with them! Without this you will never grow as a dancer and your act will become stale, repetitive and boring. You need to have commitment to your dance and be prepared to work hard to keep your skills up to scratch. Regular rehearsing and practicing for at least an hour each day is extremely important (if you are aiming at the top league then it should really be at least 4 hours), and you should try to find somewhere that you can practice for a few hours at a stretch on a weekly basis. This will give you time and space to work on various aspects of your act. Church, village or community halls are often far, far cheaper than dance studios and provided they are warm and clean, are ideal for rehearsing in. I invested in a camcorder and find it an invaluable tool for analyzing my strengths and weaknesses - try filming your self from a couple of different angles.
    
    
15. Think about learning another style of dance too as this will compliment your current skills and give you a different approach to learning and training to dance. I recommend Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, Salsa and Flamenco as good starting points. Folkloric styles from around the Middle East are a good idea too.
     
16. At the start of your career it is also a good idea to have someone who will travel to gigs with you to help you change, collect any tips you are offered, pick up discarded props, liaise with the client, and to keep at bay those who think you have more than dance on offer! Not always possible I know, but when you are just starting out it can be a useful boost to your confidence to know that you have someone around to help out and keep you safe. As your experience and confidence grows you will learn which gigs this is necessary for, and those where it isn't.
     
17. Bottom line is that you really need to have at least 3/4 years experience as a student, preferably attending more than one class a week and several workshops a year. Along with numerous appearances as a soloist in haflahs & showcases, before anyone is  ready to go even semi-pro and to be honest you will still be learning on the job! If you haven't had experience of performing at things like haflahs or showcases you are going to find Joe Public very hard to deal with! As I said above, growing a thick skin becomes a vital tool of the trade!
     
18. Are you really good at selling yourself? You need to be able to market yourself aggressively, keep very accurate records of all your transactions (see point 11) and be able to offer a wide range of skills, services and products to your marketplace. For instance performing at different types of gigs (weddings, parties, restaurants, etc.) all require a slightly different type of show and costume. Get yourself an Internet presence - it is surprising what a difference it makes! Know your market. If you live somewhere there are lots of restaurants, try visiting a few to see if they have dancers, if not ask if you can audition for a job (see point 2 about ethical behaviour). Ditto for hotels. I live in area where there are very few ethnic restaurants, but lots of hotels. So I successfully approached the hotels for work. See if you can sign up with an entertainment agency. It can be a great way of getting work and most only charge a small portion of your fee as payment. Check out those listed in the yellow pages and give them a call. Make sure you have photos and a dance C.V. ready to send, and always ask them for references too.
     
19. Try to respond promptly to letters, telephone messages, e-mail messages, etc. This gives the impression of professionalism and will earn you respect from the people you deal with. Remember that they will have deadlines they need to meet which may be dependent on a prompt reply from you.
     
20. Be honest about what exactly you are marketing. State clearly in your publicity material what your style of dance is (i.e. Egyptian, Turkish, tribal, etc.) that way you will only attract the kind of work you are looking for and your customers will see you perform in the manner they expected.
    
    Remember that if your costumes are predominantly covered up, ethnic or tribal-style, this may not appeal to someone expecting the glitter of the bedlah-clad dancer and vice-versa. Accept that the customer has the right to choose what sort of dancer they want for their function – they are paying and it’s their function.
     
21. Don’t agree to do a gig that requires something you are not skilled enough to do, instead offer a contact for someone who can, and tell that dancer that you recommended them for the work. In turn they may be able to put work your way that they cannot do. It’s far better for the reputation of our dance as whole that the person who does the gig can make a good job of it, rather than you going and making poor job of it which might make them re-consider employing any Middle Eastern Dancer in the future. In the same vein don't get despondent if you don't get a booking, no matter how keen the enquirer sounded when they contacted you. Some people will call several different acts and just pick the one that takes their fancy, or worse still they called around and decide that cheaper was better. There's nothing you can do about it so try not to let it get you down.
     
22. Never turn up and do the dancing equivalent of 'painting by numbers'. The quickest way to upset your audience and/or the person who hired you is to perform with indifference. Even if you are feeling unwell, had a row with your partner, your car played up or you had a bad journey to the venue. Whatever the problem is - it's not the fault of the audience so don't take it out on them by giving a lack-lustre performance. Once you go out to perform you have to put all that behind you and dance your very best, because your audience deserves no less than that. I always find that no matter how 'down' I felt before performing, the blues just disappear as soon as my opening music starts up, the sheer joy of being a dancer takes over. If you are not able to do the same maybe the life of a professional dancer isn't for you.
     
23. Dealing with the media can be difficult and frustrating. Many of us have stories to relate about how our dance has been misrepresented in print and on TV. Always be wary when dealing with reporters. Where possible insist that you don’t have time to do any interview immediately and instead ask them to telephone or visit you when you have had time to prepare. Most reporters usually have a remit to make a story ‘interesting’, which can mean putting an entirely different slant on your words to suit their editor’s requirements.
    
    The same applies when dealing with people from the world of TV. Check to find out what type of programme they want you to appear on. Make sure you feel comfortable with what’s being asked of you, and remember that you are within your rights to stop and say ‘no I don’t want to do that’. Many people in the media assume that you will be so grateful for the 30 seconds of ‘fame’ that they will bring you, you will settle for being treated any old way, and will not be concerned if they misrepresent you or our dance. If I had £10 for every time I had turned down some tacky piece of TV because the programme either wanted to portray our dance in a poor light or, just as worse, expected me to appear for little or nothing, I’d be a very wealthy woman by now! It pays to be wary and ask lots of questions.

Turning pro is not something to be taken lightly, any dancer considering making the leap from amateur to professional needs to think very carefully before giving up the financial security of a 9 to 5 job.

© Afra al Kahira

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