Hi everyone.....i am quite new to this tribe......and i need some advise...
I teach a small class at a comunity center, and tonight was the first class
of the 8 week session that i usualy run.
I also have 3 verry loyal and dedicated students that never miss calss
for some strange reason , i cannot get begining students to comit to anything more than a beginners class!
so tonight when i got all exited about getting together with my advanced
students to drill for a up coming performance( after a long break for the hollydays)
I got to class, and only one person showed up.
I had reminded them of the corect time and date,and they stood me up!!!!!!!!
Has this ever happened before to any one?
What do you do in these situations , where you count on people being there and they just do not bother to show up?
Any advise will be appreciated!
Thanks!
Viorica
I teach a small class at a comunity center, and tonight was the first class
of the 8 week session that i usualy run.
I also have 3 verry loyal and dedicated students that never miss calss
for some strange reason , i cannot get begining students to comit to anything more than a beginners class!
so tonight when i got all exited about getting together with my advanced
students to drill for a up coming performance( after a long break for the hollydays)
I got to class, and only one person showed up.
I had reminded them of the corect time and date,and they stood me up!!!!!!!!
Has this ever happened before to any one?
What do you do in these situations , where you count on people being there and they just do not bother to show up?
Any advise will be appreciated!
Thanks!
Viorica
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South Carolina
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Re: Agrivation!!!!!!!!!
Thu, January 10, 2008 - 4:01 AMWhen I taught at a community center, I got the same type of students who were just not committed. I eventually stopped teaching there because it never changed, but while I was there, I accepted that each new session would be new people and I prepared for that. I didn't really expect people to continue on after a while.
There are some people who have huge community center classes and lots of returning students, but in my case, my center wasn't very aggressive about advertising ANY of their programs, so there wasn't any class that was just booming. The center was a little run down too, so it probably didn't have a lot of community support. It might be a function of your center not being a vital part of the community. It might not have anything to do with you or belly dance at all. I dont know.
When I moved, business improved a LOT!
Taaj
www.taaj.org
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Re: Agrivation!!!!!!!!!
Thu, January 10, 2008 - 7:55 AMThanks for posting this discussion! I wish I could offer a remedy here. Unfortunately our dance troupe has the same problem! I'm hoping some more experienced dancers or troupe can offer their advice.
How can you get people to show up once they commit! Our new troupe (only about a year old) gets gigs to perform at the standard places: street festivals, charity events, parades, an occasional art show or grand opening. Troupe members are very excited and work hard to prepare for the gig but then no one shows up!
Like Viorica says, it's so very aggravating!!
Any advice?
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Re: Agrivation!!!!!!!!!
Thu, January 10, 2008 - 9:03 AMThat's what i am talking about!!!!!!!
My comunity center , allthough they do advertizing up the wazoo,
it is also an old comunity center and it is run down a bit also.
But i do not have other venews around here that want or even know anything about
Belly Dance, much less ATS(what i teach). so i guess that i am pretty much stuck
in this sotuation for a while!
Thanks for talking to me,!!!!!
Viorica -
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Re: Agrivation!!!!!!!!!
Thu, January 10, 2008 - 4:37 PMNadhari, Are you saying that no audience shows up to watch the performance or no troupe members show up to perform?
Viorica, I would just keep plugging away at it. It takes time to develop a dance community, venues and a community following. I'd spend more time working on the classes though because if you are out there performing and it's just "okay", it will be harder to "sell" your product than if you are out there with a strong, core group of gals who look fantastic. In the meantime, volunteer at nursing homes. This will give you some practice in front of an audience. You may invite the local press to cover it.
Taaj
www.taaj.org -
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Re: Agrivation!!!!!!!!!
Fri, January 11, 2008 - 10:32 AMHi,
I guess I wasn't very clear.
It's our troupe members who don't show. We've been dancing together for over a year now, nearly two. But the level of commitment is pretty much zero. There are two or three of us who will be there no matter what. But the other 6 or 7 just show up if they feel like it.
We often have to limit which choreographies we perform. Or else we're all doing solos with no group pieces at all. (And honestly, I think our teacher/troupe director is getting desperate. She has been letting anyone who shows up to classes perform with us. Even if they're not quite ready.)
Our troupe dances really well together, but there are way more gigs when we almost cannot dance because of the no-shows.
I know we can't force anyone to do anything. But I was hoping for suggestions to encourage these ladies to commit?
I think what Taaj said about just focusing on classes for now is a good idea. I definitely think we don't need to be attempting performances that are not going to be fantastic.
Nadhari -
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Re: Agrivation!!!!!!!!!
Thu, January 17, 2008 - 5:21 PMHi Nadhari,
Has your troupe directer had any kind of meeting/discussion with everyone to let them know that behavior is unacceptable? Maybe they think it's just a fun, casual thing and don't realize that it's causing problems... My girls would never think of doing something like that unless it was a dire emergency because they know I would not stand for it.
One thing I did with my group is to write up a handbook and contract that details exactly what I will expect and require from them once they've become a part of the troupe. We all discussed every little detail from time expectations to costumes to leaving the troupe and more, then we wrote it all out, each member signed and we all know that if we don't meet the requirements - like showing up to rehearsal or gigs we've agreed to dance at - that it's grounds for being dismissed from the troupe. It makes us all take responsibility for keeping the troupe going and it weeds out any potential issues with people who think a troupe sounds fun but really don't want to put in the time/energy/etc.
Good luck!
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Re: Agrivation!!!!!!!!!
Fri, January 18, 2008 - 5:24 AMRequire X number of rehearsals for performances, or they are not allowed to perform. Regardless of the venue, students should absolutely have professional standards of rehearsal and behavior. So, if they're not serious about rehearsing, they probably aren't serious about performing. Tell them that they have to show up to be allowed to perform with the group. It will show to the audience that they don't rehearse enough. ESPECIALLY with ATS. If they don't follow the moves right away and aren't rehearsed enough in their transitions, they lag behind and it's painful to watch. I've seen WAY too much of that. -
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Re: Agrivation!!!!!!!!!
Sat, January 26, 2008 - 11:18 PMYes.That is exactly in the predicament that i am going through now!
Last night, only one person showed up for practice(there are only 4 of us)
Now i feel that my troupe is falling apart.
We have sat down and i told them how this whole thing is supposed to work,
but it seems that they are not concerned at all
about practice times, meetings or any of the up- coming shows that we do.
They think that because we are not getting payed for certain performances, ( Haflas and donations)they should not
have to work as hard or at all.
It really tears me up that i have put so much work into all that i have done , and
it seems to be in vain!
thanks everyone for you opinions, advice and friendship!
Viorica -
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Re: Agrivation!!!!!!!!!
Tue, January 29, 2008 - 1:30 PMIt's really hard when it seems that everyone else is not as dedicated as you. I'm feeling the same way within my troupe. Everyone wants the "high profile" gigs and no one wants to dance other times. Right now we are at a point where we are starting to rebuild our troupe. It's tough because the original troupe has been dancing together for 2 years. But we've realized that we cannot force anyone to be dedicated. And we are starting almost from scratch.
It is really painful; it's a serious loss from my point of view. And it will take a long time before this new group of ladies is ready to perform even the "little" gigs.
I feel very frustrated and very alone. I'm sorry you are going through the same ordeal.
I just have to believe that in time our troupe will grow to be wonderful. It's just a matter of holding out for the dedicated dancers.
Best of luck to you!
Nadhari
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Re: Agrivation!!!!!!!!!
Wed, January 30, 2008 - 10:14 AMEveryone has made some very valid points. Your advanced students should have enough respect for you to be at the performance or notify you well in advance so you can cancel the performance with the people you are dancing for. If not then I suggest you do not schedule them unless you have enough people dedicated to do it. You may want to set up a car pool as well so you know who you have and be ready to adjust your routine if need be.
There is no excuse other than sickness or work that should prevent anyone from not showing up at a performance and you should be notified as soon as possible then so you can revamp the routine to the number of committed people. If you have students, at the next performance, do not include those that did not show up for the last one.
A performance groupe is made up of dedicated people who really want to perform. You have to set your guidelines and stick by them.
My 2 cents
Zahirah
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Re: Agrivation!!!!!!!!!
Thu, January 31, 2008 - 7:00 AMI agree that it seems that noone is as dedicated as the teacher. This seems to be the case anywhere I have been. The teacher or leader has the responsibility of it all. Other members of the troupe/performance group do not have the head ache of organizing, choreographing, teaching, and more when it come to doing this. They do not have to commit unless you tell them what it is you expect and that if they don't follow the guideline, they are out of it.
We recently disbanded our troupe. I had people not show up for performances or cancel at the last moment for big performances and not show up for rehearsals. Now, not everyone was guilty of it all the time but, it happend fairly often. Their is A LOT of pressure in doing a troupe of performance group. I decided that I do not want the headache or responsibility of keeping people in check of what they commit to.
Oh, one more thing. I did find that it helped when it was for something paid, but that can lead to other headaches which is a whole other topic. -
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Re: Agrivation!!!!!!!!!
Wed, February 6, 2008 - 1:18 PMWe have trouble getting people to commit if the venue isn't "artsy enough" We have this local woman , who was one of my students, and she has a lot of physical limitations so she decided to go into business for herself selling bellydance stuff. She's absolutely wonderful and has learned a lot in a very short time. Anyways, she has done these craft shows in our local mall, and she wanted us to dance at them, and she was able to get a section where we could do this, and she pays in product (which is a sweet deal) and let's each dancer pick out something they want. and 1 song is enough to get paid. Well, getting people to dance was like pulling teeth. People were like "I don't wanna dance in the mall". So it ends up being the same 4 dancers each time coz' we have befriended her and love what she is doing and hey the pay's good. ; ) For starters, I am in a pretty small town, where there are not a lot of venues for performing, period. let alone something that pays even in trade. I kinda feel like if we want to perform here, we can't be too picky about our venues. But if its an art show, and there is no pay, and the place even makes money off of you, dancers line up, and I have seen dancers beg to perform someplace "cool" and then get exploited. I find it a bit sad.
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Re: Agrivation!!!!!!!!!
Wed, February 13, 2008 - 3:35 PMIt happens.
You may have to find a place for YOU, they can find what they want to do instead.
If you have three loyal students, hang on to them and direct the others to Beginners. Unless they want to dedicate the time and effort for something more, they are not Performers.
Its not a given. Performance is reward for dedication, not a right by paying for a few sessions and calling it good.
I only have two shows a year. All but one of my girls show up! its always a great time too!
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Re: Agrivation!!!!!!!!!
Wed, February 13, 2008 - 6:09 PMMany of these ladies words are very excellent advice and I agree.("Performance is reward for dedication, not a right by paying for a few sessions and calling it good. ") I have to say to focus on the ones that ARE working hard and contributing and participating and are really putting their best feet forward. That's what is going to make your troupe. Because you don't want to be on stage looking half assed as it really becomes a let down for yourself (and begins to wear on you) and can wear on the members that HAVE that desire to achieve a goal. Some people as content with where they are and that is not a bad thing at all. Some people want to surpass that. whats right for one may not be right for the other. definitely guidelines and stick to them, because people see what you produce and also if you want to build something more its your name on it.
