Caroline_afifi

I dont arrange it. I assume it is tips if it is over the amount that we agreed upon. I dont have a system either so each situation is unique but i never dance with tips in mind.

Kashmir

NZ is a non-tipping culture. We expect to be paid (in full) for any job undertaken - whether it be a plumber, a waiter, or a dancer. Minimum wage is quite reasonable. I price my gigs assuming that will be the total fee received.

That said, few people would turn down a bonus - ie payment over and above the agreed (and often pre-paid) price - provided it was offered in an acceptable manner - such as in an envelop or with the gig fee. Unacceptable delivery would include pushing it into clothing or dropping it on the ground to be picked up - would you do that to your doctor?

Personally I despise touting for tips. To my mind it is akin to begging and lacking in self respect. I know in the States it forms a large part of people's income and I wonder about a system that reduces people to this to survive (don't give me the "for service" argument - the "minimum tip" was added to most restaurant bills I received while working in the States - "service" is a total red herring)

A further twist has arisen in NZ with a well known restaurateur going on record as saying she encourages tipping and takes a significant amount that way - so she doesn't have to pay tax on her income (not true by NZ law - I assume she means she doesn't declare it). I just hope the IRD do her over really well

Andrea Deagon

Kashmir, I can't tell you how many times I have wished the US was a non-tipping country -- the only problem with that being, even the limitations of tipping here make it hard to figure out whom to tip, and how much, when traveling overseas in countries where tipping is ubiquitous.

I think tipping in the costume just got hold in the US early on and it is so ensconced that it is hard to get rid of. I once worked in a restaurant where tipping was either in a tip jar, or by showering, and there were still people who held out their dollar bills just because that's what one does (as far as they knew) for the belly dancer. I gave them a nice smile and ignored the money.

I will say that I never minded being showered with tips. It was usually done by men who were making a statement that was as much about the general atmosphere of the party and their role in the community, as it was about relationship wth the dancer. In that situation, it is easy to feel that money = good luck & prosperity, not "dance for me baby & I'll stick a dollar in your costume." Somebody else picked up the tips and gave them to me later, without me asking. Since you weren't asking for it, it was a nice bonus.

I read an article online, though I don't have the URL, about Turkish dancers and their issues with tipping, and it sounded a lot like some situations I have heard of here in the US. (Google Birgul Beray & tipping and it should come up.) So I have no doubt that the tipping issues are authentic to the culture. They just sit uncomfortably here.

__________________
"I am not contradictory, I am dispersed." (Roland Barthes)

Jane

It's random most of the time. For belly-grams I usually get tipped after and for stage stuff I never get tipped.

Money is good! It's also instant gratification in the "how am I doing?" depatment. When an audience member tips me, it shows that they like my dancing, want to interact with me and value the dance enough to give me a little extra. I think that to Americans money equals respect. If we think someting is worth it, we're willing to pay. If it's cr@p, we want it free and equally if it's free it must be cr@p. I went around with a basket on my head for tips with another dancer I was working with in a nightclub. Her regular gig, not mine. That was the leat amount of tips I'd ever gotten. I felt like I was begging and I hated it. The most, and most heartfelt tips are given in the heat of the dance and because the audience wants to participate and be a part of the show.

I don't know. I've never been to a strip club or seen a live stripper.