Advertisement
Hi guys......I have been away for a while but I'm back in business
So if it seems that I;m new,it's because I have been out of the country
for a while.
Anywho.......This is my problem-
I have 5 girls in my troupe.
3of the are absolutely flawless
We have 2 verry inportant performance coming up in 3 weeks
2of the troupe members decided to DROP OUT AT THE LAST MINUTE.
I cannot do a 3o-45 nim performance with 3 girls (one of them is 9months pregnant)
Upon speaking to my dropouts, one of them said the she is haveing health problems and the other
said that it's too much.she cannot handle the stress Of 2 hours a week practice.
I mean, i understand if you are sick and need medical attention.
But I also have a family, 2 jobs and can still make it to practice, and classes on top of that.
What the Hell am i going to do?.
Any suggestions will be cherished.
Thanks
So if it seems that I;m new,it's because I have been out of the country
for a while.
Anywho.......This is my problem-
I have 5 girls in my troupe.
3of the are absolutely flawless
We have 2 verry inportant performance coming up in 3 weeks
2of the troupe members decided to DROP OUT AT THE LAST MINUTE.
I cannot do a 3o-45 nim performance with 3 girls (one of them is 9months pregnant)
Upon speaking to my dropouts, one of them said the she is haveing health problems and the other
said that it's too much.she cannot handle the stress Of 2 hours a week practice.
I mean, i understand if you are sick and need medical attention.
But I also have a family, 2 jobs and can still make it to practice, and classes on top of that.
What the Hell am i going to do?.
Any suggestions will be cherished.
Thanks
posted by:
|
South Carolina
|
Advertisement
Advertisement
-
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Thu, October 8, 2009 - 7:14 PMHmm...
Well, for starters 30-45 minutes is a very long time. I understand if it was 3, 10 minutes sets throughout an evening but all at once is LONG! I would start by slicing the set, or if you can't do that.... ask another troupe in town, someone you respect even if it's a different style of belly dance, to see if they would take some of the time off your hands.
We do a lot of that up here.
You could do 10-15 then they could do 10-15 then you could wrap it up with 10-15. Even that's a lot of space to fill, in my humble opinion.
I always vote for keeping things shorter than you think. Leave them wanting more. Don't exhaust the audience.
About the troupe woes..... I'll let other ladies delve into that one for you. Just remember, you're not alone, and no problems that happen in your troupe are the first problems belly dance history.
Good luck!
-
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Fri, October 9, 2009 - 12:00 AMI've found that you can not make someone be any more emotionally or physically present that they want to be (this goes for work, family, lovers, everything). They are doing their best, whether or not that's enough for you- if a pep talk doesn't get them back with the program, they will not give you what you need and there's no way to get them to without both sides resenting each other. It might be time to start looking for some additional members. Actually, in my opinion, larger troupes can work out better- they can split up long sets, and if a couple members can't make a performance there will still be enough to fill in. Sorry this doesn't address your immediate problem. -
-
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Fri, October 9, 2009 - 8:46 AMI have learned that (often) dancers just are not as dedicated as you are.
I am in a similar situation in that I have 2 dancers who will show up to every practice, every performance - no matter what. They want it!!
Other dancers come when they feel like it. It's very annoying, but we've come to realize that the three of us can do a great job, even if no one else shows up. (We do limit performances to a max of 25 minutes).
Our troupe requires that you show up to the two practices that happen immediately before the show. If you don't show up, you don't dance. And if you commit to a gig and then don't show up, you DO NOT dance at the next performance. It sounds a bit harsh, but we have serious problems with lack of commitment.
Some dancers (no matter how much you beg and plead) are only going to show up IF they feel like it. It's not a great way to run a troupe. (And here there is talk of suspending these ladies from the troupe).
I do know another instructor who makes her dancers sign a "form of commitment". She types up a separate form for each and every gig (and she says she would make them sign in blood if she thought she could get by with it). But her girls sign a form that says they will commit to these practices on these dates AND they are committing to the performance on this date.
She swears it works! Something about getting it in writing. . .
I'm sorry about your stress. It seems to come with the job.
Good luck!
And thanks for posting your topic. I'm very curious to hear other ideas and suggestions. -
-
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Mon, October 12, 2009 - 8:10 AM"I have learned that (often) dancers just are not as dedicated as you are.
I am in a similar situation in that I have 2 dancers who will show up to every practice, every performance - no matter what. They want it!! "
Well said, Annie. Just had something similar happen here with our group. The truth really is... if people are dedicated and they want it, they do what they have to do.
I'd take that 45 min set, and see if you have a friend to share it with. We're doing a 45 min set in a few weeks, and I invited one of our mentors who is a folkloric dancer, to share time and help us break things up. I love doing that. It's good for the karma, too :)
-
-
-
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Fri, October 9, 2009 - 10:33 AMThe thing about successful dance troupes is not only inviting good dancers in, but people you know you can work with and spend a lot of time with. This is key, I think. Going into a troupe, you have to understand and require everyone to commit to the same guidelines. It is not only a fun thing that you are doing, it is a job which requires the same professionalism that you would expect in an office environment.
In FC, if you can't make regular rehearsals, you are not going to work with us. If for some reason, you can't make a rehearsal or two before a big show, you will not be in the show. We all adhere to common sense rules and respect each other, and we've never had to sign a contract for any of it. We are there because we want to be.
As for your dilemma, Anna, I would see about splitting the set into two. One at one time and one at another. Is there an intermission during the show? Maybe you could suggest doing a 15 min set in one half and another in the second half. If it is a more casual environment, two sets can be fun for the crowd, as they get to digest what happened the first time and really pay attention the second time. 30-45 is too much for 3 people - physically and it gets boring for the crowd. There's only so much you can do before they lose interest. Think, "short attention span" as the audience will surely have it. ;} -
-
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Fri, October 9, 2009 - 8:59 PMThank you soooo much.
Actually, splitting up the set is a genius idea.
Why didn't i think of that?
I might actually be able to work something out
thanks to your advice.
The main problem here in Charleston South Cackalacky
is that a lot of students make dedication to troupe because they
thinks it sooooo glamorous to be in a troupe and be a belly dancer
but do not realize the hard work and determination
that troupe requires.
And all of that hard work falls on me.
But thank you very much for your input and encouragement.
~shimmies~
Anna -
-
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Sat, October 31, 2009 - 8:26 AM"The main problem here in Charleston South Cackalacky is that a lot of students make dedication to troupe because they thinks it sooooo glamorous to be in a troupe and be a belly dancer but do not realize the hard work and determination that troupe requires. "
Sweetie-- If it makes you feel better, this is NOT an isolated phenom of South Cackalacky........ It happens all over!
-
-
-
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Sat, October 10, 2009 - 10:25 AM<<But I also have a family, 2 jobs and can still make it to practice, and classes on top of that. >>
Pet peeve of mine, after getting that lecture from teachers, drama coaches, team coaches, etc for years. The "other people can handle it, so so should you" complaint is very unfair. How can you judge another person's work and family load, let alone their personal endurance and tolerance levels? How can anyone else really know what another person deals with every day? -
-
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Sat, October 10, 2009 - 1:31 PMThis is a reply to Amy's post - a teacher has to turn up every class. It is disappointing, particularly if you have a small ATS class, when people drift in and out, according to their whim. The words you use, "family load ... personal endurance ... tolerance levels" are heavily weighted, but often the reasons for not turning up to class are for less weighty reasons, headache, sick tummy, too tired. It is very disappointing, as the teacher has spent time in preparation and prepared a class for you. Regardless, the teacher has to turn up with a big positive smile. Thank goodness for the regulars who make every effort to come, some with long drives and children to organise. They make it worthwhile. Not wanting to denigrate people who can't make class each week, but give some thought to your teacher and other class mates. Your turning up is important on so many levels.
Cheers, Susan -
-
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Sat, October 10, 2009 - 1:34 PM... and to Anna - phew, that is a big commitment for performance. Hope it goes well. One of the reasons I love ATS is it is quite flexible, but the difficulty you have experienced is pretty frustrating. Good luck.
Cheers, Susan -
-
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Sat, October 10, 2009 - 3:03 PMWe have a small Trouope of 3, and we are having a similar problem.. 2 of us are very committed and make it to the Troupe practice that we have set aside every week on Thursday and 1 of us is kinda hit and miss. The issue have is we have a couple of pretty big performances coming up and we are trying to bring ATS to Topeka, and we really want to put on a GREAT show that way we can portray ATS as is it truly deserves. The 2 of us that come to practice regularly and rearrange our schedules to accomadate extra practices can read eachothers cues and body language very easily, because at practice we really try to compliment eachother and be on the same page. At some of our past performances I have found that it is hard to follow our other member because she is either unsure of the cue or it just isn't clear enough, again these are things we work on at the practice on Thursdays. She has only been dancing for about 5 months and really does a good job when she comes and practices, but when she misses and falls behind, we tend to spend half the practice catching her up. I too have a very demanding job and a family that requires alot of attention, but, I have made this commitment to myself and my dance sisters to put forth as much effort in my danceing as I do into everything else. I am glad to know that we are not the only ones facing this dilema and all the feedback has been great. I agree wholeheartedly that this is sort of like another job and we must put forth the same care in it as we do in all of our other endeavors. We are a small group and hopefully we will be able to recruit more dancers on our down time, but right now we have 2 performances that can, for the lack of a better term, Make or Break us and we must concertrate on that......... -
-
This post was deleted by principessa crankypants
-
-
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Sat, October 10, 2009 - 7:06 PMWell, it just makes sense. If we are trying to gel with each other before a show, it is important for everyone to be there. This goes for the students too - for student rehearsals before performances.
I'm not talking about regular, ongoing rehearsals. We all get sick or busy traveling from time to time, but on the most part, one of the requirements of being in the troupe is being able to make a commitment to rehearsal nights. And if we all decide we aren't going to have a rehearsal for the week, because of too many gigs on the weekend or whatever, we take each others' classes. We have to stay connected in order to dance well together.
This is not a rule to make anyone feel bad. It is out of respect for the group as a whole. The individual may think, "well, I've got this going on and I can't do this or that." But, as we all should know by now, it isn't about the individual, it is about the group.
Sometimes there are loopholes to the rule, depending on the situation. If we were doing a big show with many scheduled rehearsals and one of us could make the majority of the the rehearsals, but not all, we might allow that person to still participate especially if she got together with her songmates on her own time and rehearsed with them. But on the most part, we really want your head to be in the game. Its hard when one person is focusing on other things.
On a side note: even when you do rehearse a lot together, there are always going to be people you dance better with than others. Its a compatibility and trust issue. You have to be able to trust that your dance partners are not going to do anything that we don't understand.
-
-
-
-
-
-
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Mon, October 12, 2009 - 11:32 AMI understand what you're saying Amy, but everyone can't have everything. I truly mean this with the best of intentions-
If you feel like more of your time needs to be focused on your personal life-home, family, work etc there's nothing wrong with that. But know where you're limits are and don't make promises that you might not be able to full fill. Yes, everyone's limits are different. No, no one can know what a person deals with everyday.
In my opinion, studying dance, performing, and being accountable for these things is a lifestyle choice. Being a performer is a lifestyle, not a hobby. You should have an idea of how much time and energy these kinds of commitments require. If you might not be able to give 100%, then stick with classes, and wait until your life settles itself and opens up more time for you to explore performing.
I honestly don't feel like it's a 'they can make it and so should you' I feel like it's a 'You should know your limits so don't commit to something that you can't be there for'. Only you can judge your work and family load, personal endurance and tolerance levels. So, take yourself out of the performance when you know you won't be able to meet the expectations for studying and rehearsal time.
There is nothing wrong with not performing. You can still be a dancer and not be on the stage. And you won't have pressure from any troupe leaders about your attendance if you're sticking with just taking classes.
Oh, and Sandi, Amen!
Cheers,
Carrie -
-
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Tue, October 13, 2009 - 6:15 AMI ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS DISCUSSION! Don't even get me started! I'm just sayin..... (I think this should go in the ATS FAQ tribe under: troupe woe's & dynamics!). A side note on the 45 min. performance......i had this same dilemma where we had actually 2 hour slots to fill. One hour, intermission, another hour. What we did was break it up with solo's, featuring the band and it's members (if a live band is present) and I talked in between educating the audience about the dance, the prop being used in the solo and it's meaning, if any, upcomin performances, classes available, etc. It was great! Good luck girl and let us know how it turned out!
-
-
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Tue, October 13, 2009 - 6:49 AMThis topic is so informative for me. I'm thinking about starting a ITS group (there are none in our area) and I had some questions/concerns about practice logistics. Thanks everyone! :)
-
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Fri, October 16, 2009 - 3:14 PMI hate to admit it but I've given up. I had so many requests to start a troupe in my home town with a waiting list of 10 plus dancers so I finally agreed to find a venue and start classes. Needless to say, less than half of those who had been hounding me bothered to turn up and the commitment got so bad that after 3 weeks in a row when only 1 person turned up to the lesson (admittedly different people each week) I just cancelled classes. It was costing me a fortune to pay for the venue out of my own pocket and I wasn't even covering costs. When they had the brass neck to complain I told them straight out that I didn't have bottomless pockets to keep bailing the troupe out whilst they dealt with their commitment issues and until such time as they were prepared to pay in advance for classes I would no longer be teaching them.
I discovered after that it's been a massive problem here - when I first started dancing there were 4 different classes in town. Now there are none - not a single one could keep going because of the total lack of commitment.
In fairness a couple of people have approached me since very remorsefully and offered to split the cost of a venue 3 ways with me even if they don't turn up but on past experience I'm very wary of taking them at face value. -
-
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Thu, October 29, 2009 - 12:53 AMGosh this thread is a real shock to me. I'm fairly new to the belly dance scene, but I literally cannot get enough of it. So far I have come into contact with so many poeple who literally adore this dance style that it makes me feel like a tiny little minow in a sea of big fish! My Raq Sharqi class started out with about 16 people and we're down to about 8 now that we're nearing the end, so attendance seems pretty good. But having read this post I can almost visualise that a lot of the ladies I go with probably don't have the determination/time/will to bring themselves through all the way.
Also to hear that there are problems of this nature in setting up a class really disheartens me because I kind of live in the hope that one day there will be a class closer to home for me (most of the classes for ATS, which I have not yet begun, are over an hour away). Not that I've lost hope yet though of course, it just makes you realise that unless you have 'the bug' as my mum calls it, you just aren't going to commit. Very sad.
Didn't realise how difficult the life of a teacher could be - a real eye opener. -
-
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Thu, October 29, 2009 - 3:58 AMDear Topazmirror - if the closest class is an hour away, you are lucky. Support your teacher. I have spent 2 days with other ATS dancers and teachers from Japan, New Caledonia, New Zealand and they WISH a teacher was only one hour away. I teach here in Newcastle Australia. The closest ATS teacher from here is 3 hours away. Go on, make the leap. -
-
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Thu, October 29, 2009 - 12:45 PMHi Susan, thanks for this - didn't realise I may perhaps be in a better position than most newbies!
I am definately going to make the leap you can count on it, but I want to be a little better at isolation/control first. ATS is my new years resolution! (planned it a bit early I know!) -
-
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Thu, October 29, 2009 - 12:53 PMOh and Anna - good luck with jiggling things about I hope you work it out. -
-
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Thu, October 29, 2009 - 6:47 PMExactly! You have to go to the teacher no matter the distance! Seriously. I've traveled 2 hours in rush hour traffic one way for years to get to my classes cuz that's where the tribal teacher was! But coming home only took 50 minutes cuz it was late at nite! It was soo worth it cuz I got a great education, made lifelong friends and was in an amazing performing troupe that traveled, competed, taught workshops and ended up on a DVD! Then my next troupe, same thing. Drove 2 hours, etc. Now I'm locally teaching and I have students doing the drive because I am thee only ATS teacher in the area for them. Good luck on your dance journey my tribal sistah! -
-
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Fri, October 30, 2009 - 12:29 AMI drove an hour each way for one of my fave teachers, and 3 hours each way weekly to study with Paulette. I now have students who drive 90 minutes each way to study with me! I understand and so honor that passion!! -
-
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Fri, October 30, 2009 - 3:51 AMHey, it's late here in Australia and I have just finished teaching tonight. Am organising a tribal student soiree in my home town, so right now I am hungry, tired and over it. When I am like this, I usually don't write on the internet in case I regret my rash words, but could we start another threat - who drives the biggest distance to get to an ATS teacher? Sorry, I am tired. Aren't we lucky we have this dancestyle though? Thank you Carolena and everyone who makes this one of the highlights in our lives.
With sincere respect and love, Susan -
-
This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Fri, October 30, 2009 - 3:52 AMOh goodness - I meant "ANOTHER THREAD" NOT "threat". See? I told you I am tired.
Cheers, Susan
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Re: I AM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
Sat, October 31, 2009 - 9:49 AMRivka--i sooo hear you. You truly cant please everyone--- I have tried to rotate so that i can fit everyone's schedules into MY classes, and it still gets me little. So I just found a new venue that isn't going to tear holes in moth laden pockets, and I will keep on, keepin' on. I want to dance so much, and I need the dancers to do it--- thankfully I have gotten some new blood, so I just try to teach from the eyes of a newcomer--- keep the interest there, and offer student performance opps--- I am actually going out tonight to scope out new venues, so wish me luck!
-
