In order to have a show, you need an audience. Trying to get people to come to your show can be tough for small studios and small festivals. It can be even harder when you live in a small backwards town (or city in my case).
We never seem to be able to break the 80 people mark for our shows. We have over 300,000 people in Port Elizabeth, and yet (taking into account that about 200,000 are impoverished and can barely afford to live let alone attend a show) only 0.0008% come to our shows. I understand that belly dancing isn't for everyone, but there really should be more than 60-80 people out of approximately 100,000 at a show, in my opinion. I often hear people lamenting that there is nothing to do in P.E., and yet when you give them something, they don't attend. Even when we have had local and international headliners, turn out is poor.
We keep being told we need to advertise. No, duh! We do. A lot. Posters, Facebook, radio, newspapers, online gig guides, word of mouth, and sending information to local theatre and arts groups that send out monthly or biweekly news letters or emails (except they never include us).
In the last week, we have had several mentions, adverts and an editorial in the local newspapers, without 1 phone call or email for tickets. Our headliner - Levona Bredenkamp - has had her beautiful self in the paper twice. A picture of my bum has even been in the newspaper in adverts (yes, I have a "famous" bum now). Not 1 ticket sold from the newspaper.
Where have we sold tickets? Our students selling tickets to family and friends. ...BUT what about the general public? Perhaps it's because we live in a country (and city) that doesn't understand what belly dancing is. A place where they think belly dancing is erotic dancing. I don't know.
Tomorrow I'll be doing an interview on BayFM at 11am. I hope people are listening and decide our charity is a worthy cause and come to support us.
If you are a PEep, please consider coming to our family friendly belly dance show, or at least donating sanitary towels to our charity, Sanitary Sisters. It's not about money. It's about having a good audience for us to entertain and giving support to our chosen charity.
For more information...
[email protected]
https://www.facebook.com/bellydancepe/
