I came across this picture some time ago. It was part of a motivational post on Facebook, talking about the virtue of working hard on one's dreams and never giving up.
While I think that being active, as opposed to lazy, is truly a virtue and is necessary to achieve one's goals, I also think that this picture and the idea of the post it was attached to are misleading and counterproductive.
Having goals and dreams is fantastic. I myself have tons of them. It is something that helps you walk your way through life and keeps you focused, maybe even gives meaning to your life. I definitely followed my dream and am currently a full-time professional performer/dancer,
Making a living from this kind of work is not a given in Europe nowadays. I have many girls come up to me and ask me for advice on how to achieve this.
And it might seem contradictory but the advice I always give is - learn when to give up. Running after a goal if it is impossible can destroy you, mentally and physically.
It's actually not so much about giving up on your dreams completely, but rather make the right choices for yourself, which means preferring some things over others and give up on some.
First, what exactly is your goal? Let's say you want to be a professional belly dancer. Still not precise enough! What do you mean by it? Do you want to be big on the festival circuit? Do you want to be a night-club performer? Do you want to have your own dance school? Do you want to be a competition champion? Do you want to make a decent living out of dance? Or do you just want it as hobby?
Make sure your goal is clear. Then sit down and honestly see if it is possible for you.
We are often being told that if we keep chasing a dream, it will become true. But I disagree. Will that rhinoceros from the picture ever become a unicorn? NO! It will just be constantly unhappy from trying and never seeing any results.
For club and commercial performances, looks are very important. Do you match the demand? If not, are you willing to maybe undergo aesthetic procedures or even plastic surgery to fit the market demands? This may sound harsh, as bellydance is often advertised as a dance for women of all shapes and sizes. But keep in mind, that the commercial circuit is very different from the dance community, classes, haflas and festivals. If after two years of trying with agencies, you are still not able to get a contract, then maybe it's time to reconsider and give up.
If you wish to win competitions, assess your fitness and technique honestly. You have to work very very hard on your dance and invest considerable finances to buy the costumes, pay for the travels and competition fees and pay your trainer/coach if you do not train yourself. Also, make sure you can handle losing well. If you are someone who cannot handle defeat, then competitions definitely are not for you!
If you want to become a successful teacher and run your own regular classes, promotion is the key. Of course, making sure that you have the necessary education to be a teacher is a given and should be automatic, but I will not elaborate too much on it, as it has been said many times and alas, those that want to teach will teach no matter what.... it's a topic by itself.
In any case, this needs a LOT of promotion and TONS of patience. It can take a couple of years to build a name and a strong student base for yourself. However, if after 2 years, you still don't have more than 5 students in your class, it is probably time to reconsider. There are several factors - maybe your town/city/region is just not the right market for bellydance classes and you might want to try elsewhere. Maybe your promotion is insufficient and you might want to give it one last try and boost it. Maybe, you are a bad teacher and you have to assess this honestly. Or maybe, it just simply wasn't meant for you. It might be time to give up.
Do you wish to be a guest at international festivals and travel the world, teaching and performing?
Then either you have to be an exceptional dancer/teacher/choreographer *OR* you will have to accept "exchanges" (which means someone hosts you in their festival and you host them at yours in turn). If you are looking to make a living from it, then be aware that the exchange path is not really for you, as you will end up spending approximately as much as you earn and if you are not an organizer yourself, it can be difficult (because you have no event to invite the others to). There are many excellent and accomplished artists to be found at these festivals, they deserve it. Maybe you are one of them, but because of the exchange strategy now being such a big part of the festival circuit, you might still have to invest a considerable amount of money to first make people aware of your existence. Some people will get discovered, some need to make themselves be seen first.
If you are just in it for the spot on the poster and teaching a workshop and you have the finances to pay for your expenses (YES this does happen at some festivals), then by all means, make use of the exchanges. Everyone is free to do what makes them happy!
I have been dancing for 25 years now, enrolling in dance school when I was still in kindergarten. I love dance and oriental dance the most. I wanted to achieve ALL of the above!!! I was so full of energy and determination. But it didn't make me happy. I became happy when I considered my own possibilities and chances and concentrated on the field I was best in.
I love to teach, but I find that I prefer to coach and teach already advanced dancers, so regular classes were not the thing for me and never seemed to work. I also travel too much and move internationally too often to be able to build a student base. So maybe that is something I will do when I retire from performing a settle down in one place. :)
I love festivals, as it allows to choreograph beautiful pieces and gives more artistic freedom than a club. I was very lucky to be invited as a performer, teacher and even judge to several good festivals and I am always glad to accept a good invitation, however I was also very much discouraged later when I discovered the "shadow world" of exchanges. Since I decided to make a living out of dancing and I am paying for all my expenses alone (rent, insurance, taxes, food, clothing...), I didn't want to and most of all COULDN'T spend all that money to get myself invited to "exchange festivals". I also felt like I was not being approached by the organizers for my artistry or level as a dancer. Just to be able to see my face on the poster and say that I was a teacher there was not the main drive for me.
I am most successful as performer. I feel like I finally found the right path for me as I like to perform for middle eastern audiences and I also know how to. My looks also fit the demand. It is a tiring job sometimes. It does not always make me feel like a true artist, it can get repetitive and also is full of intrigues and headaches.
But I made my goal clear to myself - I want to earn decent money from dance (having a single household, no shared expenses - this might seem unimportant but it's the contrary) and I prefer live music and Middle Eastern audiences.
It's when I stopped chasing something that just wasn't right for me at that time and rather concentrated on what I was good at, that I became happy.
Bottom line is, if what your are doing is making you more anxious than relaxed, it's time to stop! If you are stressed about your classes not filling up, your festival invitations not coming in, the agencies not giving you contracts... STOP! You only have one life and you should live it being happy! If you are a rhinoceros, you will never become a unicorn, stop chasing that impossible goal. Rather focus on becoming the best rhino out there!
BTW, Katerina Shereen has a very nice article on making choices as a dancer and you can read it here: http://theharaamblog.blogspot.com/2015/04/about-hard-choices-in-professional.html
