Why Performers Are Getting Paid Less (PS It's partly our fault)

This article made the rounds on Facebook back in January, but I waited to repost it here on Deep Roots Dance because I figured we could use a periodic reminder of the phenomenon that is rife in the artist community.  I know it happens here locally, because I myself have turned down similar gigs and then watched other groups and troupes take those gigs.  I know what they got paid, and I believe strongly they should have turned it down and fought for better pay overall.  Why would they accept such terms?

We are shooting ourselves in the foot by allowing club owners and promoters to use us in this manner, encouraging us to undercut ourselves and our fellow artists.  It's not enough to get $25 apiece and a half-priced dinner, all while being expected to bring in a group of friends to fill the seats. Frankly it never was, but certainly in 2012 we are worth much more than this, and we won't get it unless we demand it!

Fair Rates for Bellydance

Samira Shuruk is a well spoken, well respected bellydancer in our community, and she wrote a wonderful article talking about the importance of setting your rates at a fair level--for you and for the community at large.   It also gives some practical advice on how to be supportive in your own community. I liked this part especially:

"If you are not a dancer and have somehow stumbled upon this page:  Please remember that included in our fee is SO much more than the 20 or so minutes you see us perform.  An hour prep time, travel time (average 30 minutes to an hour each direction), waiting around at the whim of the host/musician, all occur on the day of the gig.  Factor in rehearsal time, class time and the cost of education, costuming, props, music, marketing and all other business expenses and you’ll have a better idea of the challenges faced by a professional dancer in a business run rampant with hobbyists."

"This is not a “per hour” job, it is a “pay per service” career, as there are many factors that make up our services."

Read the full article here: http://www.samirashuruk.com/belly-dance/fair-rates-article/

Do you have a job?

As an independent teacher and performer, it is always feels strange in discussions of my career to offer that I also do graphic and web design on the side. It is often met with a nod like "Ah! So that's her real job, so she can do the dance thing." Quite the opposite is true.  I spend 90% of my time and energy on my primary career of dance, and try to cram some design work into the nooks and crannies--because yes it is good supplemental income, but also because I just truly enjoy it.  It is key to note why and how I learned graphic and web design: from designing my own dance websites and marketing materials for myself, my troupes, and fellow performers!  I only have this "side job" because of my successful career as a dancer.

Herein I want to share one of the best written breakdowns of what a life of an independent performer/artist is really like!  I resonated so much of this blog post, but here are a few gems from a CA hooper named Revolva. Props to you, girl!

"When people ask me (either out of disdain or wonder), “Do you just perform, or do you also have a job?” – and I reply that I perform, and I also work as a writer, I don’t think they understand I am NOT saying, “I have a fun activity and a job that you might consider real!”  Instead, I’m saying, “I have a job that’s eighteen jobs in one – and another job. So I have nineteen jobs. Thanks for asking.”"

And THIS:

"I’m not complaining about life as a performer.  I’m only pointing out, for people who don’t know, that it’s less a selfish life led by lazy, lucky people – than it is a selfless one led by people who often spend every waking moment dealing with (or even thinking about) some aspect of how to raise our art into the world, the way a mother raises a child."

Read the entire glorious post here:
http://revolvahoopdance.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/do-you-have-a-job/

What's in a name? The meaning behind Deep Roots Dance.

If you're reading this, it's because you have arrived at the NEW Deep Roots Dance website.  I really hope you enjoy the new online home for our dance and community!  If you're curious about the name change, I thought I would share my thought process, to both answer your questions and to maybe spark some food-for-thought for other dancers and businesswomen who are embarking on a new business or new direction for their existing business.


Why the name change?

I have always been a lover of names--for me names hold power and promise.  The idea of having deep roots resonates keenly for me, recognizing that whatever we are doing today in our dance (and life!) is the result of foundations that have been laid down in our past.  These roots are formed both by our own efforts--the work we do in the classroom, developing a strong foundation on which to build--and by the creative efforts of other dancers, artists, and cultures who came before.  It is of utmost importance to me that I honor those roots in my work; nurture that which grows from them; and encourage my students, fellow dancers and teachers to do the same.

The name also speaks to the family tree of bellydance.  Especially among tribal bellydancers, we can trace our lineage, our family tree, back through our teachers and their teachers all the way back to Carolena, Masha, Jamila... I love how each teacher left their mark on the generation to follow, and each became another branch of the tree.  And we continue to grow and branch out, while today's teachers continue to nurture new shoots.

How many hours for a bellydance gig?

In a previous post, we looked at The True Cost of a Performance. In this installment, we look at the incomparable Delilah Flynn's question of:

Q. "How many hours does it take you to do a belly dance gig?"

Delilah's Answer:
"8PM show. 

I have to eat my last meal by 3:00 PM or I feel sluggish and bloated. So I have to plan my day accordingly. Open suitcase and gather costume pieces. Iron veil if necessary. Make sure I have costume, make up, zills, evening dress, shoes and stockings in the early day so incase I have to run an errand I have time. This takes about 30 minutes somewhere in my day. 

I shower at 5:30 and begin putting on makeup and doing hair at 6:00-6:45 and get dressed and load the car with costumes, sound system, props. 

Arrive at the gig to get acclimated at least 30-40 minutes in advance so I leave the house at 7:00 if local. The show is at 8:00 give or take a few . Usually shows go on a little late if the audience is still arriving . 

By 9 :00 I should be finished and need 30 minutes to cool down before stepping out in the Seattle rain. How ever the audience usually wants to meet the dancers so going out and saying hello is a professional curtesy.  So I probably am in my car at 10:00 realistically.

The True Cost of a Performance

Over on Bhuz, they have some regularly featured blog posts that are fun to poke around at from time to time. This particular post I saw today made me want to cheer for all the articulate and thoughtful consideration that went into the topic: a breakdown of what it really costs to be a dancer, and why our rates are set as they are.  Many thanks to Jennifer for her post! A snippet appears below, and a link to the full article is HERE.

"Here is the whole breakdown of why I and other belly dancers in my area, charge what we do. After examining this list it should become very apparent why this is a specialty type of service and the key differentiators between a professional such as myself and non-professionals. The dancing you see in a performance is the fun part, but the behind the scenes work that is put into producing a show is quite a different story:

• Gas- It just keeps going higher doesn’t it?
• Car Maintenance- My car is one of my most important assets, if it is not up to shape I cannot drive anywhere! As a belly dancer I put in about 24,000 miles a year driving to all my venues and events.
• Tolls- Those get higher every year as well.
•  “Renting” Costumes- All my costumes are high end Turkish designer duds or from my self-made line. All in all, that leads to big $$$$ being spent to make a big impression. Every wear of a costume depreciates its resale value (like a car). In fact we are  "renting” a costume every time we use it.
• “Renting” Props- the same basic idea goes for props as it does costumes.
• Custom Music Edits- Hello software! Music editing software costs money and so does every single song we must buy that is not easily available on popular music sites such as I-tunes. Many of the most amazing songs I use have taken months of research to find, and are in languages not familiar to me, so that is a part-time job in and of itself....(continued)"

Read the rest of the list at http://bellydancebyjennifer.com/blog.html

Web design and what it means to me...

Web design has been at the forefront of my work this past week. With the dissolution of my troupe, and the lengthy hiatus from my dance over this summer, this fall is an opportunity for a little reinvention. Nothing too drastic mind you, but definitely a re-branding is in order before the Tribal Dreams Festival in November, and Tribal Revolution next year. Taking down the old websites will be hard, but cathartic perhaps.

The tricky part to my dance as a business over the years was compartmentalizing the different dominant aspects of my experience. I was a teacher, but was a director of a troupe which was shared with another person. Technically our troupe was born before I was teaching, so when I began to teach was when the roads diverged strangely. When we taught workshops, sometimes it was as "Shay" and sometimes it was as "inFusion", and more often than not the person hiring didn't understand the difference. When I sold merchandise, some was mine, some was the troupe's, and people would have to write two different checks if they bought items from each. This was very confusing for students and promoters. After all, when you take a workshop with Carolena, you don't wonder if you're getting a workshop from her or from FatChance. It's not either Paulette or Gypsy Caravan. It's understood that these two entities are inexorably entwined. Not so with me and it was a source of tension for many years.

Now I am given the opportunity to re-structure my dance as a business, and it's been hard to get excited about. Because committing to it means finally closing the door, once and for all, on a period of time that was so fulfilling and blessed. The ending was hard, and continues to be, but the years prior were the stuff of dreams. To write The End on that page is...character building, let's say. What I have to keep telling myself is that just because what has come before was incredible beyond my imagination doesn't mean the best is already behind me. There could be more ahead I can't imagine, too!

So designing a new web page is a fun creative venture that can be a tiny step toward these changes. I need to embrace the future, whatever it will be. And frankly, learn to enjoy the process of change as I experience it today.