Occupation: Belly Dance Instructor. Things to consider before making this career choice.

As an army wife, I have a unique set of challenges as a belly dancer.  For one thing, we move around a lot.  Realistically, trying to find a "real job" was kind of pointless if I was going to quit in a year or two.  I did try, though finding a job in this economy is a bit of a challenge.  Finally, I decided to pursue belly dance instructor as a career.  I was already doing it for fun. Why not go professional?

The sad truth is, just because you want to teach belly dance does not mean people want to learn.  I learned the value of supply and demand the hard way.  I knew it as a textbook concept very well, but my love for the dance kept me naive and optimistic.  

When I decided to go pro as a belly dance instructor, I was living in Monticello, Arkansas, the seat of Drew County.  Let me paint you a word picture,  Monticello is a place where there are a lot of churches but no community center.  At least, there wasn't one when I lived there.  In Drew County alone there are at least 71 churches in a population of 18, 723 residents.  By the way, that's just the number that were accounted for.  There were plenty of church groups that weren't officially registered.  Which means that going to church was the thing to do.  There's no need for a community center to host art and cultural events or have a place for people to teach classes or learn new skills, not when you can go to church.  

I just want to mention right now that I do not mean to be disrespectful to the religious, just Monticello as a whole.  It's not my favorite place in the world. Even the cool people I met there hated it just as much as I did.  Also just because someone is religious does not mean they're automatically against belly dance.  I know some awesome Tribal Fusion dancers, Bella*Raqs, who teach classes in a basement of a church where they attend for service.   They remodeled it into a beautiful dance studio where they host haflas and invite their fellowship, who are very supportive.  

In Monticello, however, there was very little support.  In fact, the majority of the community still practices racism, but no one ever admitted to it when confronted.  I also never knew glares could be so hateful until I walked into a restaurant with ink and gauged ears.   Needless to say, there is no strong demand for belly dance classes in Monticello, Arkansas.    

So before you decide to teach belly dance as a career choice, consider your community.  I hate to say it, but the more liberal the community, the more likely you're going to draw in students who are curious.  Not to mention, if you want to set up in a community that's full of open-minded people, then go for it.  Also, consider the satellite communities.  You may have students who are willing to drive to take your classes.  

Next, consider your dance community.  Are there other belly dancers in your town?  If so, be sure that they are aware that you intend to teach classes.  Even if you are going to teach a different style, you are a direct competition.  Unless you live in a community that's thoroughly educated about belly dancing and openly supports it, you are competition.  Letting the other dance instructors know is a courtesy.  Capitalism teaches us that these courtesies are unnecessary and show weakness.  It's the survival of the fittest.  If their business fails, it's not your problem.  Capitalism, however, does not work in creative communities, nor should it. 

Contacting the other instructors beforehand will help you in a couple of ways.  First, it is an opportunity to set up regional rates if they are not set up already.  Regional rates keep everyone from undercutting each other and uphold the artistic quality of belly dancing.  Nobody respects anything if it's cheap or free.  Second, having a good relationship with other dance instructors can help you as a business.  The other instructors can spread the word about your classes = free advertising.  Also, they may refer students to you if your style is more compatible.  Of course if you're a team player, you'll return the favor.  As an instructor in the bible belt, a lot of my students that took my classes were recommended by someone in my belly dance network.  Personal recommendations will always be more effective than paid advertising.  There's a reason why restaurant owners always say, "Tell your friends and family how much you enjoy our food!"  

Now this is all assuming that you are a new belly dancer in town or you're the only belly dancer in town.  If you're already affiliated with an instructor or a troupe, get the green light from your mentor, instructor, and/or troupe director.  He or she can provide you opportunities for you to teach and see if this is your calling.  He or she should also have a sit-down with you and talk about everything mentioned in this article plus useful information that's relevant to your area.  

So what do you do if you don't live in an ideal community.  Or the relations in the belly dance community are toxic?  

I'll be honest.  You probably should not pick belly dance instructor as a career choice.  It is a business, and just like any other business, there are investments.  You have to get liability insurance and event insurance and CPR certification.  You'll have to pay studio rental fees and maybe get additional fitness certifications if the facility requires it.  You'll need to invest time and money in marketing materials like business cards, flyers, advertisements in newspapers and magazines, and maybe a website.  You'll have to do your own bookkeeping, which means you'll also have to pay taxes.  That's just scratching the surface.  It literally becomes a full time job, and there's no guarantee you'll make any profit.  In fact in this economy, not a lot of people have the extra money to pay for belly dance classes.  So most likely, you'll be paying out of pocket for a long time. 

So trying to set up shop where there is no demand or where your competition will actively try to sabotage your business is career suicide, and an expensive one, too.  I don't mean to crush your dreams, but I have to be honest with you.  Besides, not being honest with you is like saying, "Skydiving, is great!  You should do it!", but not tell you that you need a parachute.   

Instead of teaching belly dance as a career, focus on building a strong network of people who will unconditionally support you.  And you will do the same because you're a team player, not a diva.  Help nurture that dance community from something toxic into a sisterhood.  Just like everything else in this world, it's all about the people you know.  In fact, I should have mentioned this in the very beginning:  Don't do anything career-wise until you have a strong network. It'll take a long while, a few years even, but it'll make things so much easier in the long run.