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I have been asked to do a “girls night out” belly dance lesson in which I would teach a short, simple, sensual, and easy choreography to women who have never belly danced before. The woman coordinating the event wants it to be something that will give the women an ego boost and hopes it will encourage them to start taking lessons.
Since I have never done a girls night out (or bachelorette party) before, I had some questions:
1. What do you charge? (the woman suggested $100 up front and then $10-15 a head)
2. What do you wear? I’m thinking a full, sparkly cabaret costume might be a bit much. Perhaps dance pants, coin scarf, a wrap top, and some belly dance jewelry? (Belly dance semi-formal/business casual?)
3. Do you bring hip scarves for the women to use while dancing?
4. Do you bring hip scarves and other belly dance items to sell?
5. Suggestions of things I might be forgetting?
I'll admit, I was somewhat taken aback when the woman said she wanted an hour long lesson in which these women actually learn an entire choreography. o_O Do you think her request is realistic?
If there is already a thread on this, please, point the way. I did a search but couldn’t find one. :)
Thank you for any help!
-Jen
Since I have never done a girls night out (or bachelorette party) before, I had some questions:
1. What do you charge? (the woman suggested $100 up front and then $10-15 a head)
2. What do you wear? I’m thinking a full, sparkly cabaret costume might be a bit much. Perhaps dance pants, coin scarf, a wrap top, and some belly dance jewelry? (Belly dance semi-formal/business casual?)
3. Do you bring hip scarves for the women to use while dancing?
4. Do you bring hip scarves and other belly dance items to sell?
5. Suggestions of things I might be forgetting?
I'll admit, I was somewhat taken aback when the woman said she wanted an hour long lesson in which these women actually learn an entire choreography. o_O Do you think her request is realistic?
If there is already a thread on this, please, point the way. I did a search but couldn’t find one. :)
Thank you for any help!
-Jen
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Toledo
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Re: Questions about being booked for a "Girls Night Out" belly dance lesson
Tue, September 22, 2009 - 1:09 PMThis is our experience here in Louisville KY:
1. Charges? Based on location, number of students, whether boom box is to be lugged.
2. Teacher costume? Ask the organizer, she may have something in mind, especially if you do different genres. If she doesn't care, then semi-formal/business casual is good :)
3. Loaner hip scarves? Yes, but they are ones that I made that are very durable.
4. Sell items? A gift for the guest of honor is usually as much as they want to buy ... hip scarf, veil, whatever.
5. Forgetting? Music equipment and contract. And, do they want a little performance at the end?
6: An entire choreography? Sure, if the song is very short.... or a self-contained piece of a short song. SOmething to give a sense of accomplishment. You might want to find out WHY they want to learn a whole choreography and orient the 'dance product' towards that goal... unless, of course, they plan on going pro the next week :)
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Re: Questions about being booked for a "Girls Night Out" belly dance lesson
Tue, September 22, 2009 - 2:34 PMMy wife Seba does these fairly frequently . (not necessarily bachelorette parties, but also birthdays, reunions, women's retreats and getaways etc.).
One thing to think about in pricing is your travel time/distance...
She charges a little less than you stated, (for a group under 10 people) but usually gets a nice tip and a few students or student referrals. She wears her BD "teacher attire" but not performance attire because... well the ladies are usually dressed casual and it would "put distance" between them.
Seba teaches ATS so she will plan to teach a few slow moves and a few simple fast moves and then they dance in a group (improv following the lead). She will often guage her group to see if they want more or to take it slower. Her key is to make it enjoyable for them, not necessarily to make bellydancers out of them.
Oh yeah, they love it when she brings hip scarves and zills (with possibly a few pairs for sale)
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Re: Questions about being booked for a "Girls Night Out" belly dance lesson
Thu, September 24, 2009 - 7:31 AMI have started doing more and more of these in Memphis - it's a lot of fun!
1. I have 3 packages that I offer for parties. Since our market is pretty low around here, I do a really basic package for only $85 for up to 10 guests that includes a 30 min lesson and a 10 minute performance demo. (More for more people) . The next level is a full package with an hour lesson and a demo for $110. The deluxe package is a choreography lesson and a 15 minute performance including that choreography for $135. The host gets a CD with the music used in class.
2. As for extras - they borrow hip scarves in class, or they can order scarves for everyone as a party favor. A CD for everyone is $5 just to cover the cost of the cds. They can order zils for each person too if they want. I always have a couple books and videos for purchase too, cuz they often want to practice at home afterwards.
3. I wear a basic costume for the whole thing. I mostly do tribal, so I'll wear a simple halter bra and a belt over my practice pants, with some jewelry and very little makeup. If it's a cabaret party,. I'll wear a hip scarf and practice top/pants with jewelry and makeup.
4. For the choreography - just do a drum solo. THey are usually 2-2:30 minutes and repeat everything 4 times! I can usually get through one in an hour, albeit they don't know it perfectly! : )
Have fun!!!! -
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Re: Questions about being booked for a "Girls Night Out" belly dance lesson
Thu, September 24, 2009 - 8:08 AMI do these parties often. Here are some thoughts based on my experiences.
1) Most people don't go to a party to "work" for an hour. I fine 30-45 minutes is better.
2) Yes, bring loaner hip scarves
3) I often also do a brief (15 min) show afterward.
4) If I'm JUST teaching I am wearing glammed up class attire and makeup.
5) If I am performing after teaching I'm wearing my costume bra and skirt under a galabeya cover up- and a hip scarf so they can see my hip movements. After teaching I go somewhere to finish getting into full costume.
6) I ALWAYS take this opportunity to teach a little bit about the background of the dance AND how to be a good belly dance audience - I let them know to clap and enjoy the music and teach them words to say AND how to zaghareet.
Rates should depend on other rates in your area. So it depends upon region.
*****
For newer pros it is often helpful to have a "script" by the phone- you can have your list of important questions to ask as well as a "menu" of regionally appropriate prices for different sorts of events. That way you have it all at your fingertips. Your questions to them will be professional AND you'll have the answers that a pro should have about his/her own business.
*****
Party pricing in the DC/Baltimore area for example. The "minimum" price for up to a 25 min show is $200. The minimum means for newer dancers, no mileage etc. My personal typical party rate is $275 for a show.
Teaching parties are usually on weekends and are one time events - so pricing reflects closer to "party" pricing than "teaching" pricing. It is a ONE time event (a party), not an on-going class (what teaching pricing reflects- ongoing income opportunity).
Therefore. If I am just teaching- I charge $200 for the class, which usually ends up being around 45 minutes.
If I am teaching AND performing- I charge $250 for the show and $150 for the teaching. A slight discount on each. -
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Re: Questions about being booked for a "Girls Night Out" belly dance lesson
Sat, September 26, 2009 - 3:07 PMAfter doing several bachelorette parties I make them come to the studio so I can control the environment. Other dancers I know have too many bad experiences with going to the party and the ladies were DRUNK and hard to work with.
They all say they want an hour but they always are ready to quit after 45 min. max.
As a private lesson for a group charge accordingly.
Playing with props make them happy, especially finger cymbals.
Dress up and show them a 3 min dance after their lesson, this seems to be enjoyed.
Good Luck!
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Re: Questions about being booked for a "Girls Night Out" belly dance lesson
Sun, September 27, 2009 - 1:47 AMI don't think an hour is too much. I do my hen's night / birthday party bookings for an hour but I know that probably only 45 minutes of teaching will take place.
Things will happen outside of your control - so and so turns up late, someone squeals and runs over to hug her while someone else pours her a champers. Then they decide to quickly catch up while you smile indulgently in the back ground. You then quickly go over what you've already done.
Then after 10 minutes someone mentions something that happened at work and everyone chats about that while they're dancing and seeing that they're so comfortable with each other you just let that section go a little longer than you would have until they've finished (or it goes on too long and you bring their focus back to you).
Then you get everyone to gather into a group for a photo and everyone wants to take a pic with their own camera.
So a 45 minute class can quite easily be stretched out over an hour. In my contract I write '45mins to an hour, depending on interest'.
Loaning hip scarves - don't forget to get them back. I once forgot to get one back at a hen's party. I'm hoping I got some really good advertising out of it - 'she did this really great routine and then I got to keep the scarf!'
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Re: Questions about being booked for a "Girls Night Out" belly dance lesson
Wed, September 30, 2009 - 6:17 AMThese are my most popular request around here!
Rates depend on your area, check Samira's site and maybe some other dancers in your area if they post rates.
I don't wear a full costume, but I will wear a bra and belt with a wrap top or something over workout pants like melos and a bit of makeup (think evening out rather than stage). If I am performing I throw a full circle skirt over the pants (tuck the pant legs up into the waistband or secure them up by the knees so they won't really be seen when I spin) and use that for the performance to look more "bellydancer."
If they order new hip scarves in advance, I'll bring them, but I don't bring anything else for sale... I do bring a box of scarves for them to use during the lesson.
My best advice is to be ready for anything! They're not always planned for accordingly so you'll end up dancing in a postage-stamp sized space or being attacked by the family pet (ask about that... cats especially love anything with fringe and flying bits).
I also don't teach a full choreography and let them know that instead I'll teach some combinations and moves that they can put together to create their own dance. If you're excited enough about it, they'll not worry so much about a full choreography and you can focus on teaching some simple movements. I close out each class with a dance circle where the guests take turns dancing alone or in pairs in the middle of the circle while everyone else claps/dances along and that always goes well since they get to "dance" with the moves they just learned.
Have fun with it!
