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From Student To... What? - Page 3

© Shira

Most teachers will appreciate this kind of help. Many also appreciate the fact that having an escort is good for personal safety.

While the show is in progress, pay close attention to everything. Notice what kind of music she uses. Watch how she interacts with the audience, and notice how they respond to her. Observe what seems to light their enthusiasm the most. If a blooper happens, pay attention to how she recovers from it. Learn how she handles hecklers. All this observation will help you prepare yourself mentally for how to handle this type of show in the future, once your skill has developed enough to do it yourself.

Over time, as your teacher gets in the habit of having you with her, perhaps she'll agree to let you do a little 5-minute cameo as part of her shows. This could lead eventually to her offering you the opportunity to take gigs that she's not available to do herself.

Assemble A Music Collection

Start building a collection of music that brings out your best. Once you start performing, you'll find you need a variety of songs to inspire you and keep your performances fresh and interesting.

Start Small

Once your teacher and you agree that you're good enough to start doing paid solo performances on your own, start small. An intermediate dancer may have the skill to keep a 5-10 minute bellygram exciting, but possibly might not have the skill to remain interesting for a full half-hour nightclub show. Know your limits. It's better to do short performances in which the audience is enthusiastic the whole time than it is to do a longer show and make them wish you would stop.

Join Internet Clubs

One of the best ways to learn is to talk with other dancers. The Internet gives us a great way to discuss our art form with fellow dancers all over the world!

Use these forums to get advice, learn more about the history of the dance, get ideas for ways to develop new performance venues in your community, and feel involved with the greater dance community.

We have one of these discussion areas right here on Suite101. Read what has been talked about in existing discussions, and add your own questions or comments. Initiate a discussion about a new topic that interests you.

Subscribe To A Magazine

There are several belly dance magazines out there. Subscribe to one or more. These will bring you a regular dose of how-to information, news, and product reviews, and they'll help you feel more involved in the dance community. You'll find out who's who, and discover ads for intriguing vendors.

The copyright of the article From Student To... What? - Page 3 in Middle Eastern Dance is owned by Shira. Permission to republish From Student To... What? - Page 3 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.