GETTING GIG-READY: PERFORMANCE TIPS

We all know how crazy things can get when you have a show, and it doesn't seem to matter if it's your first-ever performance or just another hectic week traveling to an out-of-town workshop and show in the life of a professional dancer. Show days and the prep-time that ensues are always magnets for insanity, with the phone ringing non-stop, furtive hunts for costume pieces and lost liptsick, burning CD's, getting directions on-line and last minute emergencies- it never fails!

Before leaving for your gig, even if you are a seasoned pro, take a minute to check your gig bag and collect everything, including but not limited to your costume, finger cymbals and music. Make sure you’ve packed your iPod and or CD’s,a back up CD in case the sound system can't/won't play it, or even a different set burned onto another CD in the event that another performer might be using the same piece of music. This happens more than you might think!

The moment you go onstage is not optimal time to test out a new piece of music, so whether you are doing a choreography or improvising, make sure you are familiar with whatever it is you're about to dance to.

If you are working with a live band, learn the names of at the very least 4 or 5 popular Arabic songs that you are familiar with, so you can request the songs you want and there won't be any surprises or “mystery music”. Always bring along a pair of dance sandals, ballet slippers or ballroom shoes in case the floor or stage is dirty or splintery. Your gig bag should also include necessities like a cover-up, make-up for touch-ups, a sewing kit, band-aids, tampax, baby-wipes or a small a towel, and bottled water.

Though you are undoubtedly familiar with this concept… PLEASE WARM UP WELL BEFORE YOU DANCE! If you get injured while performing, you will lose out on future opportunities and jobs, as well as your own dancing pleasure… not to mention the fact that you’ll be in pain! It’s also an absolute necessity to stretch and cool down AFTER dancing or rehearsing, as well.

If you are not beginning your performance onstage, before you enter, let the musical intro or a few bars go by before you hit the stage, to add some drama. When you make your entrance, it's good to move around the whole stage or performance area to establish yourself to the audience. Let them get a good look at you, and become accustomed to your unique presence. Dance into your performance space as though you are claiming territory. You can’t afford to be tentative- a nervous dancer creates a nervous audience!

If you enter “old school” style with your veil wrapped, let some time go by before you remove your veil, to add a touch of suspense. If you are entering Egyptian style (sans wrapped veil) do a few circles of the stage, some light veil work, and either ditch the veil altogether (out of your dance path and in a place where no one can step on it) or put it into "storage" by wrapping it around your neck, so you can use it later at a slower point in your routine.

If you are going to incorporate a prop, make sure to “introduce” it to your audience, so the crowd can get a full appreciation of what they’re about to experience. For example, instead of just plopping a sword onto your head, make sure to really display it to it’s fullest advantage, letting the lights gleam on the blade, so the audience can appreciate that it’s a a real metal sword and not a fake. Be aware of the angle of your props, too. Fans, for example, are best displayed FLAT to the audience, so the crowd can see the full “wingspan”.

TAKE YOUR TIME! Don't give everything up at once. Walk in like a queen, the DIVA that you are, and show yourself off. Let the audience get a good look at how beautiful you are…let them admire your costume, and wonder about where this dance journey will take them. Start building the energy level slowly; save some tricks, whether it's veil work, snazzy zills, crazy shimmies or great undulations-whatever- for later, to keep the audience interested. Remember that sometimes onstage adrenalin makes time seem to go by differently, so mentally remind yourself every so often to relax and slow down.

In many Arabic night clubs, dancing among and around the tables is discouraged, but this is perfectly acceptable at belly dance showcases, most restaurants, and especially at parties, unless the host has requested that you don’t. Some people equate this with soliciting tips, and believe it looks tacky. Acceptable ways of being tipped are: having the money showered over your head, Arabic club style; bills being (politely) tucked into your costume; money being handed to you or to the waiter (for you) after your performance. Though it goes without saying, being groped by customers or having bills offered to you ORALLY are not only disrespectful to you, but completely unacceptable in any arena or venue! Don't stand for this sort of behavior. However, if there’s a troublesome drunk or an obnoxious kid in your audience, you can usually deflect the situation humorously by embarrassing the person whose doing it. This will usually stop the idiot from continuing, as well as take the threat out of the situation. By pulling a comical, over-the-top “I’m shocked!” type of facial expression, or just shaking your head no, like the tipper has to be crazy, you can usually get your point across. More likely than not, a member of the party the offender is with will ask him to stop so you don't have to. Remember: ultimately, YOU are in control of YOUR show. If anyone really becomes a problem, remove yourself from the situation immediately and explain the matter to the owner, manager headwaiter or person who hired you. They don't like this sort of vulgarity, either; it puts a bad light on their establishment.

Though this doesn’t usually apply at haflas or dance festivals, if you are working a club or stage show or even a private party, try not to mingle with attendees or customers in your costume before or after a show. To do this is not a faux-pas, but it does kind of diminish the magic you are creating for your show. Either throw on your caftan, or change quickly. Don't ruin the illusion of your costume by parading around in it. If you are working at a club or restaurant, you might want to bring a second costume if you have more than one show, too.

And a word about dressing rooms: no matter WHO you are, where you perform, or how long you have danced, a good dressing room is hard to find! In spite of what our dressing room fantasies are, dressing rooms are usually tiny, crowded, too hot or freezing, drafty, damp, or stuffy. They are rarely well-lit, and there is never enough mirror or floor space, especially if you count in multiple performers, and this goes double at dance festivals. I have changed in toilets, outdoor sheds, hallways, broom closets, even in the stage wings. Once, at a huge dance festival in Salisbury, UK, the performer’s dressing room was a cattle storage pen! I kid you not…it was clean and there wasn’t any livestock around ( thankfully!) but still, it was crazy. Of course, I couldn’t resist a photo-op!

Many venues or event producers provide water and food ( or snacks, at least) but be prepared! Long tech rehearsals or waiting around during a full-length show can take it’s toll on your appetite- and your stamina. It’s hard to perform with a growling stomach or low blood sugar. Keep some nuts or a nutrition bar in your gig bag along with some bottled water. Leg-warmers, slippers, a towel or baby-wipes, a light sweater or hoodie might be things you wish you’d thought to bring along! Try to have a friend watch your purse, or find a secure place to leave it while you perform. Also, in spite of whatever you want to think about the morality of your sister dancers or, for that matter, the wait-staff, if you are gigging at a large venue with many other acts, and you don’t know the people you are working with or working for , lock your suitcase!

After your show, remember to pick up your veil, zills, swords, or other props after your performance. Also remember to get your iPod or CD back, and double check your costume bags so you don't forget make-up, small costume pieces, shoes, tips or anything else. Do a double-dummy check- especially in crowed situations. Recently, I left an entire make-up bag backstage at the “Tales Of Desire” DVD shoot. It was so hectic and crowded backstage it was hard to tell where one person’s suitcase left off and another began! There was stuff literally littering the entire floor! If it wasn’t for Sabrina Fox of Atash Maya, I would’ve lost all my shit… and no make-up is a death sentence for a glammy Princess like me!

Check about the ethnic customs and/or general taste of the audience you will be dancing for, If you are uncertain about a risqué costume choice, for example, it’s always safer to go with something a bit more covered up. Though it’s hard to believe, some people still frown upon tattoos, as do many Arabic clubs,so you might want to cover them with clothing or make-up. Recently, with tattoos and piercings becoming a mainstream trend, this may not matter as much as it used to. I myself am heavily tattooed and pierced, and have not encountered any problems- but it does ultimately pay for you to be aware of what your audience’s comfort level is. When performing at strictly belly dance events put on by other dancers or at parties thrown by friends, you can be a bit more lax about everything, assuming you have a handle on your audience’s taste and preference.

Remember, you may be the first belly dancer someone has ever seen. Do everything you can to put on a beautiful, amazing show. Relax and have fun, and your audience will, too. Always be professional as possible….and once again: warm up! IT’S THE LAW!

Pictured: Dancer Rachel Bennett and I hamming it up backstage in Salisbury, UK, June 2007…in the Cattle Pen!
Me backstage at the "Tales Of Desire" DVD shoot for Hollywood Music Center

MORE ADVENTURES IN COSTUME CONSTRUCTION

The “Siren” costume was one of the most complex sewing and construction projects I have undertaken in a long time.

In August of 2008, Hollywood Music Center invited me to be a part of their “Tales of Desire” show . The themed event- each dance had to somehow interpret “desire”- took place December 6, 2008. It was not only a live show in a 500-seat, state-of-the-art theater, but also a DVD shoots. In addition to myself, the cast included some of the most innovative, inventive performers around today, both in terms of dancing AND costuming…like Unmata, Mira Betz, Atash Maya, Aubre, Elizabeth Strong, Sherri Wheatley,Kristina Canizares, male dancer Arish Lam from Puerto Rico and Tjarda from Holland’s popular troupe The Uzume, among many others.

So… there was not only the challenge of interpreting the theme performance-wise but also creating a costume that would look as good on film as it did on a large stage under bright lights. Though I am Egyptian-trained, and perform cabaret-style on a regular basis, I also do a lot of fusion and experimentation, but my roots are in traditional belly dance- not Tribal. The fact that the show was billed as Tribal Fusion informed my choice of costuming materials and the look as well- so I wanted to honor the look and feel of the show while staying true to my blingy, sparkly self!

My piece was titled “Siren”, the music I used was HMC’s moody “Sapurey’s Mantra”, from the “Serpent’s Garden” CD. I played a character that was rejected by her lover and gained vengeance by using desire itself as a weapon. I opened my show with a modernized version of the traditional Persian raqs-e bazak, a dance featuring a pantomime of a woman applying her make-up. Since this is performed seated on the floor, I needed skirts ample enough to do floor work without giving the audience more of a “show” than they bargained for! I searched through my closet to see what I had in the way of large skirts, and found something amazing which I’d forgotten I’d owned- a huge multi-panel full circle skirt I bought used from LA-based cabaret dancer Anaheed nearly twenty years ago, when I first started dancing.

The skirt, with ridiculous amounts of yardage, is exquisite. It’s hand-made, constructed of iridescent burgundy chiffon, vintage Indian Sari material, with metallic embroidery and shades of fuchsia, bright yellow gold and hot pink; golden metallic trim and incredible lavender antique Persian Lace - the type used probably hasn’t even been made in over forty years. I used a royal blue chiffon circle skirt for an under-skirt.

I decided to go with an old-fashioned “harem concubine” look that would be equal parts Hollywood 1940’s Oriental fantasy
(Think Hedi Lamar in “Sampson And Delilah”) mixed with ideas from Golden Age Egyptian films and a little vintage Bollywood thrown in. The color scheme of the skirt informed my bra, belt and accessory construction.

I wanted to use a lot of metal, but didn’t want a coin costume, so again I went “shopping” in my closet and found a brass 1980’s South Western chain-link Concho belt in bright gold. I sometimes wonder why I save this kind of stuff, but it always comes in handy! The belt had oval Conchos attached by heavy links, which I removed with a pliers. I “antiqued” the Conchos, painting them with black nail polish, wiping each panel so the polish stuck only to the engravings.

With craft glue, I attached over-sized round “lapis lazuli” stones to the center of each Concho, surrounded by large magenta cabochon stones and Swarovsky crystals. This took THREE DAYS to dry. The centerpiece of the belt is a large metal flower-shaped buckle off a 1970’s belt purchased at a garage sale for a dollar; I covered all the “petals” with small Swarovsky crystals.

I constructed a belt and bra and covered them in antique gold lame’ overlaid with gorgeous hand-made vintage lace, which I dyed lavender to match the skirt. Following the patterns on the lace, I traced the shapes of flowers and leaves by gluing on assorted sizes of aurora borealis Swarovsky crystals. The bra and belt were both out-lined with vintage magenta and gold sequin trim I picked up at a going-out-of-business sale.

For the center-piece on the bra, I took a quite tarnished-but perfect for the vintage look- Egyptian Dowry necklace, and picked out the turquoise stones, replacing them with crystals and cabochons, then secured it to the bra; and also covered two antique gold earrings with rhinestones, attaching them to the middle of each bra cup. I sewed the Conchos and belt-buckle onto the hip-band with dental floss- an old trick I picked up from theatrical costumers. Floss is much sturdier for holding heavy pieces in place, and these metallic bits were definitely weighty! The belt was finished with two layers (royal blue and gold) of 2” fringe to retain that “old-fashioned” look. I added six 8” heavy drapery tassels, made of gold bugle beads. I bought four more 10” drapery tassels, in buff and magenta, and covered the knots in golden faceted crystals. I wanted these to hang from each hip to about knee-length, so I hand-braided long strips of glitter-dot fabric in lavender, magenta and antique gold, attached the tassels, and secured them to the belt.

The accessories were also time-consuming. I made felt medallions covered in cabochon and crystal stones, and attached them to stretch-sequin trim in dull, brushed gold, creating different-sized bands, three for each arm, one for each ankle. The wrist pieces were fashioned from oval-shaped crocheted antique doily lace which I cut up and mounted on felt, covered with crystals, with bands made of flesh-toned elastic straps, which I salvaged from the bra, attached with snaps instead of clasps. I took a huge pair of older, tarnished Egyptian costume-jewelry earrings, and blinged them up with Swarovsky crystals in blue, red iris and aurora, and did the same with a necklace I already owned. For the tiara, I bought a net bridal tiara form, and cut up gold appliqués,gluing them into place jigsaw puzzle style. They looked too bright, so I sprayed the whole crown with antique gold paint for a retro look, and again traced the designs of the appliqués with crystals, and added the “lapis” cabochon stones, and crafted forehead bindi’s in matching rhinestones. I even used magenta glitter on my lips, and magenta nail polish.

The whole process was a huge under-taking, but it was all more than worth it when I heard the audience gasp in unison as the lights came up on my performance!

By the way, I just visited with Mher from Hollywood Music Center and found out that “Tales Of Desire” will be released as a two DVD set in early June 2009. Yay!