The Bellydance Blog
Learn, Share and Discover With This Bellydance Blog
Too Much Sexy!!
Last night I was surfing the web looking for the latest video uploads form my favorite dancers and i am heart broken by one of the videos I found. Let me begin by saying that I in no way mean to bash this dancers accomplishments as a performer nor her ridiculously amazing dance skills, she is after all someone I consider to be one of the best in the world right now and gorgeous to boot. That being said I am going to make the point using this video I am about to post, that I as a fan of ladies such as her, am extremely disappointed when I find that such inspiring dancers cross over to the dark side and display themselves scantily clad, overtly sexualized, and just “too much sex” in their presentations in order to try to “get ahead”.
I feel that as professional belly dancers, it is our responsibility to conserve the true nature of belly dance. This is a dance style that is supposed to be enjoyed by all ages, and is at most sensual, NOT sexual. There are enough negative stereotypes associated with this dance and finding videos such as these, and even worse performed by amazingly talented and beautiful ladies who do not need to go down this level, is even more infuriating and hard for me to comprehend I must admit. So without further adue, here is the video..
http://youtu.be/N–Tk3aswKk
Again if you have ever seen this dancer before you cannot deny her talent, but why did she have to ruin the image she had and go over board on the sexuality? We have all met or seen things like this at one time or another and it worries me. How are we supposed to help elevate this dance when every blue moon some of the biggest names end up utilizing sex to promote their popularity? Do dancers feel that the only way to “make it” is to display themselves in a sexual fashion? I worry when I see things like this, and it makes fans like me just feel so saddened because I place dancers such as Alla Kushnir on such a high pedastool, and after seeing this I must admit I feel completely let down.
I hope this is not the route this dancer continues to take. I believe everyone makes mistakes, no one is perfect, and i just hope with all my heart this does not happen again with any belly dancer. There is so much talent and beauty already there that honestly nothing like this was needed. Ok stepping down form the soap box.
Join me on my Facebook page and share your thoughts!
Important Announcement….
12 Things I Wish I Would Have Known….
When I began dancing at restaurants full time many years ago I wish I would have known what I know now in order to have prevented some pretty dumb mistakes. Here are some tips that I think would definitely be a big help for newbies joining the scene:
1. Have a contract ( I wish I would have done this form the start) and have the owner sign it. This contract should include duration of employment, payment info, how to be paid, provisions for starting late, basic needs such as capable system and speakers, etc…
I cannot tell you how many times I stupidly went to an audition for a restaurant gig I was interested in only to find I wasted my time because the owner/entertainment coordinator started me half an hour late and then took forever to pay. If I would have just contracted them form the getgo that could have been avoided.
2. Do not assume your bud is charging the correct rate. I am sorry but $50 for half an hour is garbage! Restaurant rates on average run anywhere from $75-$150 per night. If you are a beginner your rate will be different from a professional of course, but it should still fall into the appropriate range. Ask other pro’s in the area what they charge to get a good idea of where you fit.
Another thing to add is that dancing at a low rate with the perk of free food is garbage! If you are dancing at a discounted rate you better be getting some worthwhile perks to make up for it.
3. When you work at a restaurant do not ever feel like you HAVE to be body tipped. If you are not comfortable with the idea (like me) always put your foot in the ground and stand by your decision.
4. There will be dumb, drunk, annoying people every once in a while, it is life…. do not let it get to you. The venue you work at will greatly dictate the type of crowd. I for example stopped working restaurants on weekends because the rowdy crowd is just not my cup of tea. I like family style venues, but I keep one hip and non-traditional venue to keep things fresh. Know your audience and know what you are comfortable with (i.e. do you want to dance mostly with kids, retirees, college kids, business class, etc…)
5. Do NOT be afraid to talk to or give your opinion to your venue manager. This is a pet peeve of mine. I did not get raises and a bunch of other perks by hoping and wishing they would come along, I asked for them! In addition when I do not like something be it music, attitude, or anything else that affects my happiness/show at a venue I always voice it. I am not a big complainer by any means but when there is something that should be addressed it needs to be addressed. It is your job as an entertainer to entertain, and anything that hinders your ability or makes you feel undervalued should be fixed. If you are unhappy, say something! Chances are it can be fixed; if not then find another restaurant. So many dancers are fearful of losing their venue, but you have to stand up for yourself because no one else will!
6. If you’re dancing at a small venue the best props to use are 3yd veil, fanveils, tray, and zills. If it is a space where you are literally less than five feet away on all sides then please for the love of bajeezus do not use wings or sword. I know often times we can get bored using the same props, but that is where showmanship and passion becomes uber important.
7. Always keep your cool in bad situations. No matter how much a manager, co-worker, visitor, or other dancer can get on your nerves at moments, always be courteous, smile, and keep the negative comments to yourself. I had to work once with the meanest woman I ever met, and the best thing I ever did was just steer clear and not talk to the person. You do not have to be best friends with everyone, that is ok, but be courteous and stay out of drama.
8. Working a restaurant is completely different than stage shows. If you are big on choreography, you will not find working a restaurant easy. There are two big things with dancing at a restaurant venue: 1. Showmanship (this is the biggest and most important factor), 2. Ability (not that important to most owners but you should strive to portray this art form in the correct light).
-fact: 95% of owners will not know a thing about correct belly dance.
-fact: it is up to you to make yourself valuable and stand out from other dancers if you want to last
-fact: you will probably end up working with other “dancers” who dance completely unrelated and at times vulgar styles. In Orlando you see this too much, do not be shocked, expect it, and choose your shift wisely. It is better to work alone in those types of venues.
9. Carry a belly dance emergency kit in your car! I am sooo guilty of not doing this and boy have I had some close ones. The emergency kit should include in a box the following: extra light weight costume, necklace, shoes, comb, razor, deodorant, extra liner, lipstick, shadow with applicator and pins galore). Seriously this will come in handy because we all at one time at another have left our costume at home and it is sooo not fun!
10. Be Patient. There are tons of undercutters out there, do not get discourage when one lands the venue you wanted. The majority of the time they work at places where employment is not steady, they get paid peanuts, and feel they are the best because no one that fantastic works there. If you are a talented dancer with lots of charisma, opportunities will come, I promise you. Just be patient.
11. Do not dance for money. I say this because we see it all the time in the business…dancers who are struggling financially and do this just to pay bills and are totally unhappy dancing at their restaurant. If you are going to take the step to dance full time you truly and utterly must LOVE what you do. The harsh reality of dancing at some venues is that you might dance to the same tracks every day all year for years, or you might get really bogged down in the great expenses it takes to belly dance full time, or you might have to deal with people day in and day out that annoy you. If you don’t dance with sincere joy in you every time, people will sense it trust me, and it will show.
12. Music is everything. You want music that gets everyone wanting to dance themselves or feel an emotional reaction to. You DO NOT want people to just stare and wish the darn song would end. This is not a stage show, most people at restaurants do not know the artistry behind belly dance, and they just want to be entertained. Do not play a super dramatic stage piece at a venue. I am sorry but they just do not work in most situations. Leave the dramatic songs for stage shows. Finding music is HARD but never stop looking, and build up an awesome collection as it pays off!
Belly Dance Competition Adventures…
So this year I entered and gained a lot of wisdom in competitions. Last month I wrote a blog about the Miami Bellydance Convention, and this month I am going to tell you about my adventures at Rakstar in Miami. Rakstar is a huge event held in Miami every year by the talented Virginia Mendez. It comprises of four days of workshops, shows, fashion shows, competitions, and of course belly dance shopping and mayhem. I did not plan on competing as the competition is not fitting with my style of dance but at the last minute I was given encouragement from a very wonderful dancer and went to have fun, show Miami who I was, and learn more about this side of the belly dance business as I am still very much a newbie to belly dance competitions. To make a long story short I ended up placing fourth and danced with everything I had. I felt naked as I laid out all my emotions on the table in my routine and with that, felt like a winner for pushing my abilities a little higher. It was great seeing some old friends, hanging out with some new ones such as the fabulous Andrea from Stellar Advantage, and of course making new friends along the way. Not just that, but I left miami having gained new fans and supporters which is a wonderful feeling. The workshops were fabulous. Tito was my favorite of the bunch with his sassy style and fun personality. All the instructors were ridiculously talented and amazing in general though. Yousry of course is a legend and I had a blast learning his choreo, and Carmelia danced beautifully! I look forward to coming back again soon and all in all, this was another fabulously well done event that is ideal for the egyptian style dancer and of course is still great for dancers with different styles such as myself. Keep Rakin on, and I hope to see you again soon Rakstar!
Mineral Makeup Findings…
For the first eight months I used purely bare minerals brand loose powder minerals and found out a few interesting things. First of all, if you are going to wear the foundation, you MUST wear it with the primer. I wore it for the first few months without the primer and due to how much I dance and thus sweat, I ended up breaking out all over my face 🙁 Bare minerals foundation covered blemishes wonderfully, but for really hot summer days when I had to go to workshops all day or be outside for too long, streaks would develop from where I sweat. This aspect of the foundation really turned me off. So time passed and I continued to break out even though I was using what I thought was the most harmless makeup. Thankfully a couple of weeks ago I finally had enough and went to see a specialist where I got the low down. You see, Bare Minerals foundation is nice, but it still has a few not so great ingredients that still clog pores if you don’t wear your primer or sweat it off (like me). I was advised to switch to Studio Gears great new line of mineral makeup called Dual Identity Mineral. This mineral makeup takes the refinement process a step further than bare essentials and is about the same price. The only downside is that their primer is expensive at about $24-$30 (I can’t remember at the moment). The upside is that the primer is some really high quality stuff but you must make sure to apply it after you moisturize your face as it dries it out a tiny bit. I have been using it for only a short period of time but my face has cleared up quite a bit already which makes me very happy.
My next finding dealt with eyeshadow. I still use bare mineral eyeshadow and ALWAYS from day one, have applied it over the eyeshadow primer which is great ( I just wish it were cheaper). So first fun fact is the application. I always swirl, tapped, and brushed on my eyeshadow….wrong! For eyeshadow, you waste half the powder off the brush on the first stroke that way. Instead opt to gently dab all over the eye with the color and THEN brush it all together on your lid. This will save you tons of product over time which frankly at the price these little shadows cost, is a big help.
Second thing I found out was that if you have crazy sensitive eyes such as myself, do not use the metallic shadows that come in the tube thing (Bare Minerals). Only use powder please. Why? Frankly because those will definitely not help your pores because they carry more chemicals that people like me do not want hitting our eyes. Although I use a primer, even having one pore exposed by accident is a big deal as this type of metallic stuff needs to just fill the pore one time to cause a stye. So basically, do not use it if you deal with my eye issues.
I hope this wasn’t too long, but I hope it helps other women out there or performers who are dealing with this issue. I hope I continue to keep clear lids and good night!
Tis the Season To Be Bellylicious!
I know I know, it is only October 3rd but at the rate things are going I had to write about the holiday belly dance entertainment I offer. You see, normally I would print flyers around early November, but with this fabulous blog, and busy October, why not get things started early. While hiring a belly dancer for your holiday party (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Years) might not seem like the first idea that comes to mind, take a cue from my clients and go for it this year! Over the past few years, I rocked it belly dancing at lavish private estate parties, turned up the heat by fire dancing at New Years events, and got the party going with my ultra energized shows at pre-thanksgiving family events. The holidays can be really stressful so why not lighten the mood and impress everyone with a really unique spin on holiday entertainment by hiring a professional belly dancer. The question should really be, “why haven’t I thought of this before”? As a true professional, I can say with certainty that you will not be disappointed with the results of pulling off a fabulous surprise for your guests with an elegant belly dance routine. Think of a beautiful candle tray entrance for your Hanukkah celebration, or a flowing double veil entrance for Christmas. The shows are custom tailored to fit YOUR party vision and wow the crowd. For more information on how to book me to belly dance for your holiday party give me a call at 407-900-8397 of email me [email protected] Let’s create something amazing!
Recharging the Batteries…
Before I begin let me just say that I go to technical school during the daytime, as well as run my business. I dance almost every night, and the couple of nights I do have off, I go to school for my masters. Needless to say, a few months ago I began to foresee the fact that I needed to take some time off of work and school and focus on relaxing and recharging my batteries. It is funny the phrase “recharge my batteries”. I consider myself to be quite a work-a-holic and always maintain a tightly packed schedule. If I find myself with a night off, trust me I will fill the time with numerous tasks and assignments in order to take advantage of the extra time and get try to stay ahead.
I think in this business sometimes things just go so fast that we forget to just stop and take time for ourselves. I just came back from a vacation and feel more energized than ever. My mood is more peppy than usual (and I am quite a happy person), and I think I have made quite the realization…. it is ok to take a few days off and do nothing. In fact, I feel I can better serve my clients when I get a good break like this. DO not get me wrong, I try to offer the best customer service possible to my clients, but we can all get run down from life every now and then and taking some time off is not so bad after all. I always fear that the worse will happen when I leave but year after year nothing bad happens while I am gone, and I come back rejuvenated and ready to dance like never before. I am going to make it a point in 2012 to take one day a month to do absolutely nothing and see how it affects me overall. I challenge you over-achievers (like me) out there to do the same and tell me how it works for you. I think the lesson I learned this past week, and ultimately what I am trying to say, is that you and I should not feel guilty for taking taking time away from business and school. In fact, It should occur a little more often, not just once a year. As long as it is done responsibly and with a good plan, it can actually help bolster business, because your energy will be through the roof after a nice rest. Let me know how this works out for you. I am going to bed 🙂
My Addiction…. Belly Dance Costumes
Adventures at the Miami Bellydance Convention…
photograph by: Zizi zabaneh
www.ziziphotography.com
Jennifer is now a ShimmyGirl!
Many fellow Orlando belly dancers out there know or have heard about Shimmy Girl Co. They are an elite group of professional belly dancers from across Florida who have tried to maintain a high standard among the belly dance community by promoting family friendly, ethical, and fantastic belly dance performances (sound familiar?). Well, I am now proud to say that I have become a Shimmy Girl member and am excited to be associated with the fine reputation this company has earned. One of my former instructors, Jolie (who is absolutely fantastic) is a Shimmy Girl as well, so it is an honor to be added along with her and all the other ladies. For more information about Shimmy Girls please visit:http://www.professionalbellydancers.com or visit my Shimmy Girl page: http://www.professionalbellydancers.com/jennifer.htm
For the Fashionistas!
1. Bella website
Turkish designer who makes very light weight, unique belly dance costumes. These are ideal for summer months.
2.Sim Moda Evi website
This is another turkish designer.They make very heavy, durable, and well built belly dance costumes ideal for winter months. Offering classic designs to ultra colorful bursts of color and pattern.
3. Legend website
I find that legend is the combination of Sim and Topkapi (below). They have that durable, mid-heavy weight costuming, but with the option of very classic designs to almost bella like decorations.
4. Topkapi facebook (she no longer has a site, but feel free to contact her via Facebook)
One of the sweetest designers I have ever worked with, she offers a myriad of looks form retro, to super high end bling costumes. Durable, a bit heavy (so good for winter) and great for a classic look.
5. Katalin Schafer website
This is a new designer I am really liking. Ultra soft materials (you feel like your wearing pajamas!), and a “I just threw this together” type of look. The materials are not as high end as other designers but the overall look is ultra trendy and amazing.
6. high end Johahara line website
I don’t normally buy these but I have had a couple that I bought, “refabbed”, and enjoyed. These are Egyptian costumes so they are very light and forgiving when you gain a couple of pounds jejej.
7. My own creations website I like making high end designs based off of the what I know I love from all the costumes I have had and aspire to own. I make costumes that are a cross between Turkish, Latin, and a teeny bit Egyptian and Russian. It all depends on my mood and the look I am going for.
Belly Dancer in Orlando…Weddings, Birthdays, Graduations and More…
The past eight months have been nothing short of marvelous. A steady flow of private events and teaching workshops on top of my usual full time belly dance performances across various restaurants has me feeling blessed. Making it in Orlando is difficult with the amount of saturation in the industry, but thankfully due to my hard work, amazing friends, clients, and supporters, I have been able to run a successful small business in terrible economic times for the last six years. I wanted to say thank you to everyone again. There have been a few bumps in the road from jealous ridden individuals, but that is just part of the journey. It has been eight months of meeting new clients while belly dancing in Orlando and all around Florida in weddings, birthday parties, graduation parties, and I even have bookings up until January of 2012 already! Before my website I was fortunate enough to have a steady ring of referrals flowing through for my private events, but now the door has widened and I am meeting clients who found me not on fliers like years past, but found my website and videos. It is such a fantastic thing! Thank you all again, and I look forward to belly dancing in your Orlando wedding, birthday, and so much more. Shukran!