My glamorous first year as a professional belly dancer 😂
My glamorous first year as a professional belly dancer:
Income: about $6,000
Home: a tent 😂
When I first decided to Bellydance full time, the only place I knew of to get regular work was the Renaissance Festival. So I packed all of my belongings into storage, put my costumes in my car and started doing Renaissance festivals.
I started in Arizona. The troupe I connected with there already had their slate of dancers for the season, but invited me to come and dance for tips whenever I wanted to. So I got a job at a jewelry booth down the lane and ran over to their stage during my two breaks each day to perform. On Saturday nights, I would sleep in a 7×7 tiny wooden box above the jewelry booth. Just me, my sleeping bag in a tiny black-and-white TV my mom gave me to help pass the time.
While I was in Arizona I l studied at the Domba studio every free moment I had. Through one of their dancers I was invited to perform with an amazing West African dance troupe – Nommobugunte – at the Michigan Renaissance Festival and of course, I said yes!
While in Michigan, I lived in my friend’s garage during the week and helped her make costumes for her booth at the fair. I studied lots of West African dance with her during the week and then I would drive up to the festival with my tent on the weekends to perform.
And of course, I would always come back to Texas for our local Festival each year! And while I was in town, I started getting more gigs at restaurants, nightclubs, and parties… And for the first time I began to feel like maybe this crazy lack-of-plan might actually turn into something sustainable.
I don’t romanticize those years. There were some really fun adventures and some really tough days. I relied a lot on the kindness of others to stay afloat.
And I learned that I could figure things out as I went. And I’m still at it over two decades later.
🌟 Meet Your Instructor:
Sahira is an international belly dance performer and instructor with over 25 years of experience helping women around the world embrace their confidence, creativity, and health through dance. She’s taught at festivals in over a dozen countries and has been featured in major media worldwide! Learn more at SahiraBellyDances.com
💃 Let’s dance! Hit play and start dancing now!
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