of styles along with lots of kinds of people . A show that only shows one style of dance or one kind of person isn ’ t reflecting the world we live in and as a producer we have a responsibility to book a varied show .
I believe this booking paradigm builds a stronger show that is worth the price of admission . I am not creating shows that are appropriate for a dancer ’ s first performance . There are a lot of options for that kind of show and I am not interested in making another . I want to create shows that show the very best of belly dance . This pressure is even more intense online where people have a limited attention span . In an in-person show , a weaker dancer is protected because people don ’ t want to be seen leaving a dancer ’ s set . Online they can just flip over to Instagram and never come back . You need to build a show that keeps audiences engaged from the moment the emcee starts speaking to the close . I found it ’ s helpful to co-produce with other producers from different dance lineages to get different perspectives . Also , as a producer , I have been spending so much time watching other dancers and creating a wish list of all my favorites who I want to ask to be a part of my show .
Promoting your show : Once you have your amazing cast ( and very engaging emcee , which can make or break a show ) you need to begin the event creation and promotion process . Online shows are easy and cheap to put together . Going online removes some of the barriers producers have had in the past , including the cost for a venue .
Right now , most producers are putting together Zoom events they stream to their social media platforms or send out a link to join the event via Zoom . There are other options , but it looks like this is the platform most producers are using . You can create an event on Facebook and begin to invite every person you have ever met . I have found online shows are getting a lot more interest than any in person show I ’ ve put on . We have a show this weekend and we already have over 400 interested and going on Facebook . You have the opportunity to create a show that could never happen in the real world - take advantage of it ! Ask your performers to help promote and invite people . I also like to promote the performers during the week up to the show with some information on the dancers . You can have a lot of fun with this . Our most recent show was a pro-mask show . So , all our dancers sent in masked selfies to help promote the event .
Producing a smooth show : As a producer , you are going to have to do some technical hand-holding . Our job as producers is to make sure our performers look good and feel good while doing it . That means you are probably going to be communicating with them more than you usually would . Please note : all these technical guides are coming from someone who is not tech savvy and only for a live show . Your personal computer configurations might be different from what works for me .
We have found a lot of success in setting up a tech rehearsal at least a week before to make sure everyone ’ s camera , sound and background match the feel of the show you are going for . I prefer simple , well-lit backgrounds unless the dancer is choosing something different for an artistic purpose . For example , one of our performers wanted to do a piece on feeling isolated , so they did their entire piece from their tub . It was amazing to watch how we can meld our environments and our dance in ways we never could on stage .
When leading the tech rehearsal , you want to walk through each dancer ’ s camera placement , the confines of their space , and costume concept , and make sure the sound is good . A note on sound : some people like to share the sound directly through zoom . It gives the best quality but there is a lag . The sound and the music are not going to match up perfectly . As a performer I prefer to play off a speaker , turning on the “ original sound ” feature and increasing the sensitivity of the computer ’ s microphone . I stay muted for the rest of the show and unmute before my set .
I try not to tell a performer how they should perform , but if you are asked , larger movements and bigger props show up better on camera . If the dancer is going to do level changes I would have them run that through . I saw a dancer who decided to do work on their knees . It would have been lovely ( I ’ m sure ) but the camera only recorded their chest due to the level change . What an unfortunate way to present your set !
Another thing to practice is the “ spotlight ” feature . The emcee will toggle the screen from themselves to the performer . This can bring up a blue box alerting the performer they are being spotlighted and asking if they want to be unmuted based on the sound configurations . That ’ s important to let performers know about this before the set or it can be jarring .
Because Zoom charges different prices depending on the
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