When does someone become a professional dancer that is asked by quite a few students. It is also something that many do not have a good understanding of what is meant by being a proffesional and many times students and others do not know the difference between a dancer is is only at the amatuer level and one who has reached the professional level.
We are first going to take a look at the definitions of a professional and amatuer so we can distinguish between the two. Lets start with the definition of professional. Professional-livelyhood or monetary gain. Skilled, expertise, knowledgable, conforms to standards of profession, recieving pay. It is one who is competentant and who gives instruction to others or is hired by others. They have distinctive qualifications and is someone who is trained, experianced, a master, competent. They teach those who want to learn and they draw an income and pay taxes. A professional dancer has the proper training, works hard and is very dedicated and is one who seeks out legitimate training by other dancers who are qualified and they will have either a coach or mentor. They are one who must train constantly and the not only teach, perform but educate others and are self diciplined and their life is all about dance, in which they are constatnly working on performance and rehearsing while practicing for hours and preparing. It requires a certain amount of talent and love for the art in order to make it a career, mastering the skills, marketing, accounting and public relations. It takes continuas education and not only managing yourself but others. They are true represetnitives of the art and spend time respecting, networking and working toward increasing the awarness withing the dancers own community.
An amatuer is someone who engages in an activity for pleasure there is little to none financial or professional benefit. It is done as either a past time or hobby and the amatuer is not experianced or seasoned. They can be be or still do not have all the skills that is needed to become professional and they do not have enough training and or study and performance. They do not have the knowledge yet that is needed to be at the professional level. They are those that have not mastered all the elements of the dance Most students and most dancers fall under this catagory. They have no desire to gain monetary value and do not have the desire or dedication to reach the professional level.
What does my average day look as a professional belly dancer like most of us we do have other jobs very few professional belly dancers are able to live on what they make by just dancing. I wake up at about 6:30 every morning to get ready for my other job where I spend about 6 hours at 4 days a week. The first thing I do in the morning is usually check my dance email and reply back to anyone that has emailed me, get ready for work and head out the door by 8:45 am. Throughout the day I will recieve texts or phone calls about from either students I already have, prospective students, clients and so on. I am continually touching base with each returning calls or text messages. I go home at lunch and again check my dance email and reply to those that have emailed me. As I go back to work and while working I will come up with choreography, moves, class curriculum is always on my mind so I jot down notes throughout the day on ideas and plans I have. I leave for the day at 4:00 which is when I take care of family stuff but in the mix I am again emailing or on the phone talking belly dance. Every day there is class text to do, cds to burn, packets to make, coming up with choreography, learning choreography and so on. When I have a class I spend most of my time after I get off work preparing and driving to the class and not getting home until 8:30. Once home then this is the time I have to work on my own choroegraphies, getting ready for performance, and or training. Wait, there is still more….my website has to be constantly updated, writing blogs, videos and so forth. Monthly newsletters done, editing videos. Writing articles to be published and seeing what is going on in the dance community that myself and or my students can take part in and talking with other dancers (networking). Marketing myself is an ongoing effort in order to try and get gigs and performances and I am always looking for places for not only myself to dance but my students as well. Then there is the financial side keeping my costs and what comes in is an ongoing thing. This usually puts me up to 11:00 pm and we have not even talked about up keep on costumes and or making, preparing for student recitals and more!! No wonder there are some days when I feel I can’t move!!! I will tell you though that I would not have it any other way!! Being a professional belly dancer takes commitment and time, but for me it is truly worth it when I see a student grow or I put a smile on someones face by dancing!!