Learn the best kept secrets of the belly dance industry. This set will give you all the information that you need for a career in belly dance!
Learn all the secrets of the trade from marketing yourself and paid gigs to working with live musicians and adding drama to your show. This is a set of 4 DVDs:
- Insider Secrets to Marketing Yourself
- Secrets of the Stage Vol 1
- Secrets of the Stage Vol 2
- Secrets of the Stage Vol 3
Here is what is included in each DVD:
SECRETS OF THE STAGE, Vol 1
Topics Covered:
- Relaxation and calmness
- You and your music (includes an improvisation exercise)
- Focus and energy projection
DANCERS INTERVIEWED
Adriana, Michelle, Nanna Candelaria, Sandra, Shoshanna, Zari, Zaheea
Approx. 80 minutes
SECRETS OF THE STAGE, Vol 2
Topics Covered:
TIPS AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION - We followed 5 professional dancers to several of their restaurant shows and to get candid and original footage of them working the crowd. Each dancer talks about her philosophy of tip collection and we explore the arguments for and against "body tipping".
RESTAURANT VS STAGE DANCING - We use footage from the By Dancers For Dancers performance series along with original footage shot in restaurants and nightclubs to show the many venues in which a dancer may end up performing. Each dancer narrates their performance and explains how they altered the show to fit that specific venue.
PROFESSIONALISM - Professional dancers are asked "what makes a professional dancer?" Their ideas and suggestions for being more professional are voiced over their performances.
ASK THE AUDIENCE - We took the cameras into the audience at the last By Dancers For Dancers show to find out more about the audience perspective. We learn what the audience feels makes an excellent performance.
DANCERS INTERVIEWED
Maria, Zaheea, Bahaia, DaVid, Louchia, Sandra, Shoshanna, Summer
Approx. 80 minutes
SECRETS OF THE STAGE, Vol 3
Topics Covered:
DANCING TO LIVE MUSIC
- Dancers these days just don’t seem to have as many opportunities to dance to live music and are out of their comfort zone when performing with a band. In this section we interview both dancers and musicians to get practical advice about preparation, etiquette, and survival techniques.
CREATIVITY AND INSPIRATION
- In this section we interview dancers about how they fill their creative wells and continue to stay motivated to create new dances. Concrete exercises and habits are suggested while potential blockages and bad habits are discussed.
YOUR PROFESSIONAL IMAGE
- Belly dance photographer Michael Baxter gives is advice about how to get great photos. Professional beauty consultant and belly dancer, Adriana, gives us a make-up lesson.
*BONUS* SURVIVAL ARABIC FOR DANCERS – Leyla Lanty gives us a micro Arabic lesson. You will be able to identify several of the commonly used words in Arabic songs.
FEATURED DANCERS
Nanna Candelaria, Sandra, Amira Ariana, Sabriye Tekbilek, Zari, Shoshanna, Adriana, Bahaia, Luna
FEATURED MUSICIANS
Kaweh, Tim Bolling, Doug Adamz, Al 'Azifoon, Flowers of the Nile, Mary Ellen Donald
FEATURED EXPERTS
Michael Baxter (photography), Leyla Lanty (Arabic)
80 minutes
INSIDER SECRETS: MARKETING YOURSELF
This one-of-a-kind DVD features Cheeky Girls Productions' Executive Director, Michelle Joyce. She breaks down everything you need to know about promotional photos,
Photoshop, websites, social media, workshops, working with sponsors, producing a DVD, and more!
91 minutes
ABOUT THE TEACHER
Michelle Joyce is a professional belly dancer who has performed for audiences around the globe. She has won several awards including 2004 People's Choice Belly Dancer and 2006 East Coast Classic Belly Dance Competition Champion.
