It seems as though “caring” has become extremely trendy in recessionary times. Think how many times you’ve been bombarded with similar advertising messages:
“We care about our customers. We care about customer service. We care about excellence.”
Many belly dancers have gotten into “caring” lately, too. Especially the belly dancers who wish to book more weddings. All belly dancers SHOULD care, because most are borrowing from a culture outside of our own, and if we don’t care, there’s way too much potential for things to go wrong, especially at a wedding. But does your belly dancer REALLY care? Or is it all “hip” service? A quick checklist:
Does she care enough to get to know you personally and fully understand your likes, dislikes and preferences? Does she care enough to build a custom show tailored to YOUR event, rather than the same rehearsed schtick she performs for every audience?
Does she care enough to understand the varying social dynamics of a birthday party vs. a Muslim wedding vs. a corporate conference with a Fortune 100 company? Does she “read the room” and adjust her level of interactivity to match the crowd’s? Or does she force people up to dance with her, even if the situation doesn’t lend itself to tons of audience participation?
Does she care enough to respect the very fine line between dazzling the crowd and upstaging the bride and groom?
Does she care enough to honor requests for a more conservative costume, or even a more “toned-down” show? If she’s not a native speaker of Arabic, Turkish, Greek or Hindi, does she research translations of her music to avoid offending your guests with inappropriate musical choices?
Does she care enough to make responsible professional choices? Does she continue her education, charge the going rate, represent her credentials honestly, compete fairly and ethically, and respect other dancers’ intellectual property?
Does she care enough to work with a contract for your protection?
Does she care enough to treat each performance and each client with the dignity and respect they deserve?
Does she care enough to graciously decline and refer the job to a specialist if you ask her to do something totally outside her area of expertise? Or does she BS you and try to take your money?
Fact: good looks and great dancing are only a fraction of the Big Picture. A true upper echelon entertainer is also a person who truly, genuinely cares. Anybody can be outwardly nice, but a dancer can’t convincingly fake honest-to-goodness “caring,” even if she were to go down this list and memorize every bullet point. Dancers who genuinely care, exude great energy on every level, and instantly put others at ease.
How do YOU feel when you get off the phone with your belly dancer? If you feel like you’re in good hands….then you probably are.
About Carrara: Carrara is an Orlando-based belly dancer who has been caring since, well, long before it became fashionable to care. Specializing in multicultural wedding entertainment for fun and sophisticated couples. To learn more, check out her Booking or Weddings page, or follow her on Facebook.
