Excellent - we should talk about the hosting then :) This could be a lot of fun!

That's a great start. I'll get started with those as a guide to begin the questionnaire.

Hi Taaj ~

I'll go first, even though this just gives you information from me, and as Brad points out, won't reach many who don't access the internet or tribe... I have one friend, who I classify as a 'major pro-dancer' who is never on tribe. I would imagine she spends far more than me, since she attends the Mendicino Dance Camp and usually travels every other year to the "homeland".

This seems to be my average:

I have between 5 to 12 regular students in my beginning/intermediate class. Most have been dancing with me for around six months to a year, although I have one student that's been with me almost two years now.

I have been dancing for 26 years, although I did take off about eight years where I only danced once or twice each year, if at all. For the last five or so years, I've been dancing/studying on a regular basis, with classes several times each week.

I dance because I love it, but yes I'm lucky enough to make some money and support my habit!

I be a girl.

I'm 45, but some days I feel like 900.

I'm a mut, ethnicity-wise, although I'm told there is Turkish in there somewhere. Mostly, English and Scotish.

My income from dance (and costume sales) seems to average about $3,300.00 or so per year and goes up just a tad each year. This doesn't include the charity events I do, only actual dollars that pass into my mitts. I also have another full time business which allows me the flexibility to devote extra time into dance.

I have about five years of college, no degree.

I spend an average of $3,400.00 or so each year on dance related items. This includes gas to gigs, vending fees, costuming, costuming supplies, make-up and hair. I have never broken it down by catagory and this only includes what I actually have receipts for or have remembered to write down right away. I'm sure there is probably at least another $800.00 or so each year that I forget about because of not having a receipt. Usually, I try to write this stuff down when I get home, but sometimes I forget...

Right now, I make about $100.00 to $200.00 per month teaching and about $150.00 to $200.00 per month performing. I teach a weekly Monday class and dance twice a week. During season, I'll dance more often and more students come back to class when it's cooler here. (I'm in Palm Springs.)

Hope that prompts others to participate!

SeylenaTroi
www.TribalHair.com

My needs are purely for professional reasons. I'm in public relations and also do communications, marketing and event promotions. I want to raise awareness that dancers are not just hobbiests, they are professional and make a majority of their money dancing and therefore put money back into it and pay taxes.

Just based on the number of members here (like 2400 or so) that focus on belly dancing as a business, why do people think we dance just for fun. We make money from it, feed our families with it, put gas in the car let alone pay for workshops and classes, pictures, videos.

Even a bit of information is good, whether statistically correct ---- thanks for bringing me down brad! :-) or not, something is better than nothing. If the ballroom dancers can have this kind of information and have strong organizations, we, as MEDancers should too.

To spread the word, start the survey here, then each one here takes it to their students, troupe members and to their sponsored workshops. Everyone who participates, gets the results. Then maybe Gilded Serpent will post it and other online magazines as well as those that are printed and mailed.

I would like to know:
How much someone spends on classes, workshops and videos.
How many do professional photos/videos/websites/business cards/mktg materials and how much they spend doing it.
How many do their marketing from their home office: husband takes photos, they do their own website, print their own cards etc.
How much is spent on travel: car rental, gas, hotel. (These are all deductible)
How much they make in a year?
How much is volunteer


This type of info is important to me to try to localize or regionalize the results to get sponsorships for dance workshops or shows, and to get others in my community to stand up and understand that it is truely a profession and not just something we do on the weekends.

The power of this info........What can I do to help? Thanks to Brad and Mahsati for their intelligence.

Brad, you know I was only joking, right?

Count me in! I'm very interested in the outcome of this!

Thanks ladies for getting this going!

XO
Jordana

Like many in this community I am very interested in how many people are into bellydance and to what degree in the various catagories. From CD sales of the BDSS series and concert ticket sales I can estimate the base interest In the US is about 100,000 (those that are very to reasonably interested). There are many more who are "mildly" interested. Teachers accross the country tell me that interest is growing steadily with no sign of leveling off. The mainstream is now taking notice and taking the dance more seriously than in the past. The inclusiveness of the dance will enable it to grow even further even if (and maybe because of) greater professionalism coming into the dance at the top level. In a strange way even the greater interest in the Middle East region helps attract interest to the dance. I think we are in for a long period of growth for this art.