Capitalism has gotten a bit of a bad reputation lately; competition, supply and demand etc… it’s all a bit cutthroat. Of course, there are entrepreneurs and moguls who benefit monetarily from capitalism and are quite content with the current system, but many artists are unsure how to respond when a financial-political system puts pressure on our passion. Ought we to embrace it and prosper or hold true to artistic standards and money be damned?

Commercial dance artists are generally able to achieve success and still find a level of artistic satisfaction that keeps them moving through the tough times. But these dancers- mostly ballet, hip hop and modern- face intense, constant competition and if they slip from the top of their game for a moment, their careers are basically over.

Dancers on the fringe have an even rougher time. Despite heavy marketing and hard work, bellydance has yet to gain the credibility of more mainstream dance forms. So the bellydance community must work twice as hard to earn the respect and wages other dancers expect. We create amazing art no matter what, but most actual income comes from restaurant gigs; commercial work that is increasingly difficult to find as more managers eliminate dancing or entertainment entirely. With well-paying venues decreasing and more dancers reaching levels of skill and artistry where they desire and deserve to be well-rewarded for their hard work, competition naturally becomes an element of their dancing.

These “career belly dancers” face other specific problems:
1. Bellydancers are a primarily matriarchal community. We have amazing male dancers, but the term “belly dancer” is still almost exclusively applied to women, and conjures up certain (albeit stereotypical) images in most people’s minds. Because of this, if one is not a svelte, young, exotic woman, it is nearly impossible to “break into the market.”
2. Many “up and coming” dancers are realizing that the road to success in the belly dance world that worked for their mentors no longer works for them.

The old system was:
1.Train with a teacher
2. Perform with teacher in troupe/ perform solo under teacher’s supervision
3. Find restaurant work
4. Teach/dance as a hobby/start a business/ retire when for one reason or another (scarcity of well-paying gigs for dancers of “a certain age”, restaurant closures, performance burnout, etc)
5. Mentor/run business/ rest on laurels

A few decades ago, there were fewer well-trained dancers and more restaurants that only wanted such dancers. Because of the way bellydance developed in America, established dancers demand (justly) to be given the premium jobs. Now there are hardly any restaurants, yet excellent dancers abound. What is an eager young performer to do? Does she employ the principles of capitalism and lower her fees (“undercut”) so that she is hired instead of established dancers? In the bellydance community this is considered unethical, and it’s counterproductive as well. Dancers who merit more money are forced to lower their prices in order to compete with under cutters. The only people who win in this scenario are the people looking to hire a bellydancer. They get to choose any dancer for almost any price; the dancers themselves lose out. No one gets paid what they deserve and no one gets enough work. Add to this some serious resentment when a dancer who has earned her place has to suffer being replaced by new blood, whether they are any good or not. It is particularly insulting if it is one of her own protégées. This scenario can cause some teachers to suppress their students from growing. Every dancer deserves a chance to work and to “grow up” to be an established dancer, but does our current economic system allow for this?
NO.

So what IS the answer? One common solution is for dancers to collaborate. Dancers have always banded together in troupes, studios/schools, businesses and artist collectives, but there is an emerging trend of resource sharing, that promises to benefit all participants. Collaboration is especially important when you have this much estrogen flying around- if you add in competition, the results can be unnecessary conflict, misunderstandings and rivalries.

One of our art form’s initial attractions for many women is the emphasis on femininity, beauty, grace, passion and nurturing community. Where else can people of every size, shape, color, gender, age and personality come together to create living art that is appreciated by all their peers? Unfortunately, what they often find in the “Biz” is the polar opposite of this ideal with which they fell in love in class. Searching out alternative venues for growth and performance can alleviate some of the ensuing frustration when a student moves into the professional world or when a professional needs to change communities. Fortunately, many organizations already exist to help dancers connect with their local support nexus and to form positive relationships with other members. This is essential and especially satisfying for those who desire to embody the nurturing aspects of bellydance. Although there are many other possible solutions, most bellydancers seem to choose collaboration as the way to success… and it just may be the forerunner to even more creative developments in our community as more people discover the joy of belly dancing.