A Belly dancer's Profile

By Salome

A Belly dancer and/or Belly dance teacher wishing to gain employ in a professional capacity would do well to have a promotional package for prospective clients. I use the term client to signify any potential employer, be it a studio owner or an international agent.

A promotional package is comprised of articles that, essentially, demonstrate the desirability of an artist to clients. The profile is one of many such articles. If you have yet to prepare a promotional package, you may have questions that I hope to address in this series of articles.

The profile. An arduous and unwelcome writing task to most. However, using narration, writing that moves through space and time, can provide setting and context. Pepper with quotations to give an intimate air and expositions to explain facts.

The narration, oft times, begins by chronicling the dancer's youth, usually with mention of childhood ballet or jazz classes. This profile is about you and Oriental dance. It's vital that the paper remains relevant if you want to keep your reader engaged. Unless those childhood classes were in Oriental dance I would only dedicate a few words, if any.

Briefly mention your beginnings in Oriental dance and your repertoire. If this profile is going to a client outside the dance community be cognoscente of your language, i.e. words like raqs, sha'abi, assaya, or shemadan are not going to mean anything to a 'civilian' so be descriptive or use English labels.

Education bears mention. A client from the dance community, for example, would be interested to know how many years you have studied and with whom and in what style, your continuing education and related training in subjects like music and culture. A 'civilian' client is probably not going to know who your teacher is, even if he or she is very famous. Stick to what is accurate and going to mean something to the reader.

Don't eat up a lot of time narrating your amateur years. While it was a critical period that led to your development as a polished, quality dancer, it's enough to acknowledge that you paid your dues. For example, "Jane performed in fairs, festivals, competitions and charity events for four years, honing her stage craft".

Narrate your career as a professional. Doesn't need to be a play by play but a good overview, including highlights you are proud of. Avoid waxing poetically about what a scintillating, and beautiful dancer you are. Instead, include testimonial quotes from past clients and peers in this section. This substantiates your desirability and employability by someone other than you. You may want to close the profile with a testimonial, personal statement, future plans or current status.

Tips:

Indicate "Profile" so the reader can determine at a glance what the paper is about.

Put your name at the head or foot of the page. Materials in your promotional kit may become separated in review.

Keep your profile to one page, no longer.

Adjust your profile according to the audition. If you are sending a promotional package to a client to be considered as an instructor, your profile should focus on your experience as an instructor, for performance as a performer.

Try writing a draft, then walk away from it for a day or two. Do a re-write and finally have someone else proof it. Update your profile periodically. As you accomplish new and wonderful things in your career add them to your 'story'.