An Intro to Intros by Natalie Borg
We recently celebrated 4 years at Arabesque Nights - Bellydance Cabaret Show in West London and the occasion got me thinking about what I've learnt so far over the years of organising the show and if anything would be useful to fellow dancers. One of the easy items that springs to mind is the dancer bio, that we always ask our performers to send through before the show. We tend have on average at least 8-10 different acts per show. So over four years - give or take repeat performers I must have read maybe up to 300 dancer bios...(at this stage I'm thinking I should start to get out more.)
As dancers we are often focused on 'our dance' - choreo, music, costume, make-up and all the prep that goes with that. So sometimes the finer details can be overlooked. The dancer bio not only gives the event organiser something to help promote a) their event and b) you(!) but also its often used by the presenter/compère on the night to say a few words before you come on stage.
We often focus on 'our entrance' as the start - but your performance starts the moment your introduction is being read on stage.
- It acts as a verbal introduction to YOU and your PERFORMANCE
- It sets the ENERGY and EXPECTATIONS of the AUDIENCE
...AN's 12 Top Tips for Dancer Bios
1) Too Little! or Make sure you write one
Your watching the other performers nervously from backstage and everyone's getting a great mention on stage and performing well - next up it's you but all the presenter says is "Our next performer is (INSERT YOUR NAME HERE)." The music starts, you come on stage - half of the audience are still deep in conversation and suddenly your working twice as hard to get their attention.Why? The other dancers took the time to write a few interesting things about themselves or their performance which a) gave the presenter something interesting to say about them and b) grabbed the audiences attention before they came on stage making them sit up and watch eagerly for that stage entrance they've been working on.
After this blog the common excuse "I can't think of anything to say about myself" - will not longer cut it ladies!
2) Too Much! The dreaded Workshop List/Dancer CV
Arrggghhhhhh! The dreaded 2 sides of A4 dancer bio - with every workshops you've ever attended, every teacher you've ever learnt with and every performance you've ever been in. Plus every 'other' dance style you've had a go at including a tap dance class when you were 4 years old (ok that was me - but it's not in my dancer bio!)3) Just Right - 150 Words Max!
About 150 words max is just about right - if you can't fit what you want to say in that, your probably saying too much. Try starting with just bullet points - (it's easier to read under stage lighting than scanning paragraphs verbatim) and go from there.
4) "Cmon Chuck -What's yer name and where d'ya come from?"
Start with the basics - your stage name/own name and where you are from or where you are based/teach or perform.e.g. Brenda Baladi is a teacher/performer/student (delete as applicable) based in Edinburgh, Scotland (or from Istanbul, Turkey)
5) Name Three of Your Influences
Following on from number 2 this can be a difficult one - so I'm setting you the difficult task of keeping your influences to just three! Out of all the teachers you've studied with and all the workshops you've been on who are the top 3 dancers/teachers that have influenced your dance or had the biggest impact on your dance career so far?e.g. She first started learning dance with Josephine Wise and also regularly attends workshops with Khazafy and is/was heavily influenced/inspired by Randa Kamel.
6) Bring out the big guns
Have you got a competition title? published a book? organise an event? Wow great! Let us know about it - don't hide it. Your not showing off just stating the facts.e.g. - Winner of Miss Bellydance UK...
- Author of 'The Truth About Bellydance'.....
- Organiser of Annual Bellydance Festival...
7) Students or amateurs - no big guns yet?
If you are still in the totally awesome position of being at the earlier stages of your bellydance career you still have interesting things to put in your dance bio just expand upon - see notes 8, 9 and 11.8) One detail of your Future Aspirations or Performances/Workshops
Don't list everything about your past when your future can be just as interesting! Give one detail about what you have planned for the future. This keeps the audience informed about what you've got coming up in your dance career and also helps promote other teachers/events as well.
e.g. - Next perfoming at (ENTER NEXT EVENT)- Looking forward to taking part in (DETAILS OF WORKSHOP)
- Is soon to be teaching at (DETAILS OF FESTIVAL)
- Is participating in (COURSE DETAILS)
- Hopes to (PERFORM FIRST SOLO/STYLE, HOLIDAY TO EGYPT ETC.)
9) Include some details about your performance...
You've spent time researching your music and understanding the lyrics, or lovingly hand-sewing your costume over 5 days. Or this dance is special to you because you'd like to dedicate to someone in the audience. Or the music was used in a film in the 1940's which has an interesting story. Remember to share some details about the dance your about to do with the audience as it will capture there interest and help their understanding/interpretation of your performance.e.g. - Using music from the 1950's film in a scene where....
- The lyrics 'Hobak Nar' translate as Loving you is like hell/fire - the word Nar in arabic can be used interchangably to mean both...
- This is a saidi dance from Upper Egypt
- This is a performance inspired by an original choreography by Raqia Hassan...
10) ....But keep some things secret
If the highlight of your performance is that you suddenly make some fan veils appear from no where don't put it in the bio - keep some things a surprise for the audience!11) Make it Personal
This can tie in with number 5 - if you can add a personal detail about your dance add it in. The audience find it really interesting and it makes you more interesting before you even step foot on stage - they now already have a little personal connection with you rather than you just being the next dancer. Remember 'personal' doesn't mean 'unprofessional' it's ok to let the audience in.e.g. - The dancers mum spent hours hand sewing the beautiful detailing on the costume
- After a nightmare journey of 4 hours our dancer has still arrived to perform for you tonight
- The dancer would like to dedicate this performance to her sister who is in the audience
12) Gone over 150 words? - Don't include all of the above!
These are to be used as a guideline for ideas for your bios - you don't have to include everything and remember to keep it personal to your dance career and experience. Be authentic - it's better to make the most of what you have done rather than try and be someone your not.Final Thoughts
I hope this has given you some fresh ideas of what you can put in your dance bio next time you need one for a performance. It's great to have a standard one saved on your computer or in an email to yourself in your inbox so if you don't have time before your next performance you already have one prepped that you can quickly send to the events organiser.But if you do have time - take a minute to update it - keep it fresh and relevant to that performance. It could make all the difference to those first few seconds when you go on stage.
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www.bellydancestudent.co.uk
www.arabesquenights.com
