Everyone Should Dance

You may or may not know, but I love to dance.  I'm not the greatest dancer - definitely not a technical dancer - but am a passionate dancer.  I dance because it makes me happy, and it's universal.  I don't think it matters where you are in the world, everyone should have music in their lives.  It doesn't matter if you don't understand the lyrics, or if you have two left feet, but if you don't have music then life would be rather quiet don't you think?  Can you imagine what life would be like without music.  I believe even deaf people can 'hear' music - they hear the vibrations of sort - although I'm not deaf nor know anyone that is, so I can't be 100% sure on that one.

Every country has their own style of music, and I love the fact that Australia is so multicultural that we embrace all kinds of music through the many festivals and events we hold here.  Of course, those that know me, know my two loves are K-Pop (Korean music) and even more so Bollywood and Indian music.  The great thing I love about Indian music is that every now and then I'm introduced to another style/region - whether its classic Bollywood from Mumbai, or popular Punjabi songs (Pollywood / Lollywood), to songs from Utta Pratesh (Bhojpuri), Telugu (Tollywood), or Tamil regions (Kollywood).  You can view other Hollywood-inspired names on this list here.

I'm therefore very excited to be dancing with my SARI Bollywood Dance troupe next weekend in our very first Indian dance competition!  We have been performing as a group since 2010, but never competed in competitions before..  We entered our first one last year, and whilst we did make the finals, we were unable to compete.  This year, however, we have made it happen!  We are in the finals of the Indian Australian Singing & Dancing Competition, and we are heading to Sydney!!

Sometimes I wish that there was more work in the entertainment industry so I could work full time.. but sadly there isn't.  Especially when many gigs we get asked to do for free or for exposure.. well can't really pay the bills with exposure now can we.  But on the upside, as a casual worker, I'm now allowing myself more time to focus on my dancing so I can make fun videos like this one.  I hope you enjoy, and if you leave a comment, please be nice.. I am human after all!  lol

Would You Work For Free?

If you have a friend that is an actor, a dancer, a singer, a photographer, a musician, a painter, a writer, or any other sort of creative artist or even someone who works in the service industry, then chances are they've probably been asked at some point to provide their services in return for 'exposure' or 'experience'.  You may have even asked them yourself.  Sure, everyone loves getting something for nothing, and what is better than 'free' entertainment.  Sadly though it means no value is placed on that service.  Of course, if your best friend is a photographer and they offer to photograph your wedding as a present to you, then you might not say no, but in general don't you think they deserve to be paid for what they do?

We spend just as much time studying and perfecting our craft as the next person.  I always knew when I was younger that I wanted to perform, but my parents never considered it a 'real' job.  Of course we know that only a small handful of performers make it 'big' in the industry, but there are plenty of other performers out there that are still making regular work by doing what they have been trained to do...  and in some ways we probably have to work twice as hard to do so because we don't have a 9-5 job day in/day out.  But like everyone else we still have bills to pay, we still have to eat, we may even still have study debts or have to pay for continuous further training and development, and on top of that we are most likely working as a sole trader so also have to pay our own insurance, and travel costs.

Sure, we will generally happily travel for a paid job, even if the pay is less than the travel cost, because we are being PAID, and therefore being valued!  Of course, we'd love to sometimes be paid a bit more, but something is better than nothing.  But sadly, there are many younger, less experienced performers out there willing to do anything for 'exposure' or 'experience' and this isn't helping the rest of us.

I saw an audition listing today from a medium sized business (whom also happen to be in the service / entertainment industry) and I was disgusted to see they were wanting actors for a Cinema Commercial, noting it was UNPAID but GREAT EXPOSURE!  Seriously, what are they thinking??  This company is paying to have a cinema ad, but can't afford to pay actors?   Sure, an actor might think this is good exposure, but by doing an unpaid commercial they are doing themselves out of a paid commercial for the next 3 years!!  How is that good exposure when you can't work for 3 years, and you didn't get paid for the first job in the first place??  Thankfully the listing was reported and removed.

Of course there are the occasional times when we might be happy to work for free - it might be a student film where no-one is getting paid; or a festival film which either no-one is getting paid or they will pay if they sell or make money on the film later.  Usually these are done with the agreement that the performer will get a copy of the film for their 'showreel'.. of course your showreel is only about 2-3mins and there is only so much you can put in there..  but sadly, there are many films out there that I've done that I've never ever seen nor heard of again.

As a dancer, I always get asked if my dancers can perform for free.  Maybe it's a charity event, a fundraiser or a community event, there is always a good reason for the event.  And maybe we will perform for free - if we feel it is value to us; if we are wanting to support the cause/event/charity; and/or if we know that no-one else is getting paid either - and I mean NO-ONE..   But this isn't always the case.  One event last year we pulled out of because we found out certain groups were getting paid, and others weren't.  How is this fair?  It was supposedly a 'community event'.  It should either be pay everyone or pay no-one.

We need to make a change in the way people view our services.. This is what we have chosen to be our profession, and surely we deserve to be respected for that just like anyone else.   We are not asking for ridiculous amounts of money for a job, but we deserve to ask for something.

Burlesque Night with Dita

Well despite having no voice, I managed to get a better nights sleep and went to the doctors today.  Not much she could do (viral infection) but she did recommend an overly expensive script-only nasal spray, as she suspected that my sinuses were contributing to my sore throat and coughing (even though I can breathe through my nose fine), and this is what has led to the performers nightmare of completely losing my voice.  Okay, I can whisper - but this doesn't help when I've been getting phone calls all day for possible work, and haven't been able to answer the calls :(

On the upside, I haven't coughed much at all today, which is just as well as tonight the stunning Dita Von Teese is in town, and at $95 a ticket I really didn't want to miss it!  Normally I would find any excuse to dress up (after all, that's one of the reasons I became an actor - because I can dress up as different characters); but I've gone down the sensible path of wearing comfy jeans and top, with jumper and throwover - because getting better is more important to me at the moment than looking good.  Mind you, I did still put on some makeup & sparkly earrings!  I was going to take a selfie - but I couldn't get a good pic (they all actually make me look like I'm pale and sick - which I am! lol).  If any good ones are taken later, I might post one then.

Before I got into Bollywood, I was into Burlesque.  Now this was well and truly before the lame movie of the same name came out.. I actually discovered Burlesque when I was working as an exotic dancer (when I was younger and a bit fitter!).  Someone likened my dance style to that of Burlesque, to which I was fascinated about it.  Of course, it wasn't as widely known about by the general public back then as it was now.  I remember having a big birthday bash (at the Tivoli where I'm headed tonight actually), and I hired the gorgeous (Dr) Lola the Vamp to dance at my party.  This was my first true introduction to the art form.  Little did I realise at the time, but we had a mutual friend in Lisa Lamb (may she rest in peace).  Lisa was a Brisbane comedian and also danced at my party that night.  After then, I decided to take some classes with Lola and whilst I really loved the dance form, and met lots of lovely dancers (many whom have gone on to become quite well-known in the Burlesque scene), I was never quite ready to do my own performance.   Mind you, I still continued to dance - after Lola stopped teaching, I started classes with Lena Marlene from Scoundrells.  Lena had a completely different style to Lola, but I loved them both!  But there was still something stopping me from doing my own routine.

In 2009, despite not having performed myself, I wanted to do something in the scene, so decided to run the inaugural Miss Burlesque QLD competition.  This was held over 6 months (one show on the last Sunday of each month) at the Brisbane Arts Theatre.  Each show had a vaudeville / variety section, then the competition section.  One dancer was selected by audience vote each month, and the grand finals held at the last show were judged by a panel of dance experts (including Dr Lola).   The winner of this competition was the lovely, Miss Alyssa Kitt - who has since gone on to win more competitions, and perform around the world!

During this same time, I also discovered my passion for Bollywood Dance and in 2010 I decided to focus on Bollywood over Burlesque.  The Burlesque competition was continued on a national scale by another group, which I was glad to see, and I do miss it sometimes, so am very excited to be catching up with some of my Burly-friends tonight (albeit voice-free!)!!

POST SHOW UPDATE:  

Worst night of my life!!  Didn't even stay for the full show.  The venue was standing room only.  Now I've never been much of a concert person, and I understand the concept of standing room only, which is fine when you are going to listen to a band play etc, but I now know is completely inappropriate for a performance show.  Not only was the venue so overcrowded (I would hate to have been there in the event of an emergency.. wouldn't have a hope in hell of getting out alive).. but unless you were one of the lucky few to get through the door first and secure a spot along the upstairs railing, or had a VIP ticket (which was double the standard ticket price) where you got to stand down the front near the stage, or unless you were about 7 feet tall, there was no hope in hell you could see anything happening on the stage!  As far as 'experiences' go, I'd have to say this was the worse experience of my life and I'll be contacting Ticketmaster tomorrow for a refund.  I didn't pay $95 to stand in a crowded room and listen to music - I paid to see a show, dammit!  Not happy at all!!