Grrrr!! Need to rant!

[MissVega]

So I applied to perform at Ecofest Barrie as their website said they were looking for Interpretive and International dancers and got the reply

"Hi there. I really appreciate you sending your information this way.
Your energy and your love of what you do shines through.
I don't think that we can capture the essence of the offering within our program, but please know that we appreciate your art form.
Keep on dancing until you find the slipper that fits. "


And it pissed me off because the tone is bothering me. "Essence of the offering"??? what does that mean exactly. I've heard no before and have never been bothered by it when it is , We aren't looking for dancers, our schedule is full, we already have enough dancers, already have a belly dancer etc.

Is the above the polite way of saying "we don't want a belly dancer at our event"? THEY SAID INTERNATIONAL DANCERS!!! ARG.....

So I responded with this.

I'm very sorry to hear that, as your website said you were looking for International dancers and I assumed that meant ethnic and cultural dances were welcome. I'm not sure what you mean by "the essence of the offering" and as I'm trying to get more involved in arts and entertainment in the Barrie area and promote multiculturalism I would appreciate it if you could explain what you mean by that if you have a chance.
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.
Sincerely,
Cassandra

And got this:

"Well i mean that a certain atmosphere and ambience needs to be addressed when staging what you do. I am all about multiculturalism but also am very aware of what works artistically in programming. Please know that i care a bout ebb and flow of a production. Layering colours and energies is an artform itself. Your work, while lovely is not right for this production. Maybe future"


And there you have it , dance discrimination. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later:/

 

[Belly Love]

I could be wrong, but I think what she's trying to say is that their staging needs to accomodate all the styles of dance and they won't be able to showcase yours well.

Like, they may have only one set up and some styles lined up and don't feel that belly dance will flow somehow with the ones they already have lined up and/or fit with their staging style...?

Okay, I Googled it, staging is not the issue and I can't imagine why you wouldn't fit in with their lineup... Geez, I don't know... maybe it is dance discrimination?!

 

[Ariadne]

I could be wrong, but I think what she's trying to say is that their staging needs to accomodate all the styles of dance and they won't be able to showcase yours well.

That's what it sounded like to me too. Without knowing what other styles of dance will be presented there is no way to know if your dance would have fit.

 

[Aniseteph]

I Google'd it too. Ugh, didn't need the hipster-speak first thing in the morning.

If this applying for a big set on a big stage I can see them worrying about flow etc and whether the audience will get it. But for a couple of numbers on a small stage in a tent? Well personally I think Miss Vega would be like a breath of fresh air. From the clips I've you are one of those rare performers who can transcend your surroundings and deliver an entertaining, engaging (and tasteful) performance wherever. But maybe people who are entertaining and can make the audience want to know more about what they are doing isn't what they are looking for...

My gut feeling (probably wrong and full of negativity and snark, but hey...) is that if you were a dull as ditchwater meh troupe united in tribal sisterhood for... oh I dunno, make it up yourself, blaah blaah strong wimmin blaah sequins are evil blah blah therapy blah you get the idea... it would be a different story. 'Cos that's Ethnic, right? Extra points for 100% organic cotton in your costuming and non-ME music. :wall:

 

[Daimona]

MissVega: I think they have just proved that they are not worth your attention and energy. Let them proceed with what probably will be a boring show (after all, it'll be missing you!). *hugs*

 

[Starmouth]

I have no idea what anything they've said means. Is there a google translate for hippy-speak? :lol:

But seriously Miss Vega, if they don't want you, pfffft. I'm sure there are plenty of other places that will. It is possible that by 'flow' they mean "We already have several belly dancers and we're not sure how you would fit in with them".

 

[PracticalDancer]

I have a suspicion that a certain performer's contract had a clause that is essentially a "non-compete" clause, wherein no other performers of a similar genre were permitted. And, I think I know why . . .

Ecofest Barrie | Barrie's 2nd Annual Ecology Festival - June 11,12, 2011

 

[MariaAZ]

In looking at the application the word "group" stuck out in describing applicants. Perhaps they are giving preference to groups over solo acts?

 

[goddessyasaman]

I think they are for sure saying that they do not want a Belly Dancer, When I read this line "Keep on dancing until you find the slipper that fits. " They were saying in that line( at least it sounded like) "Find another style of dance" but in a nice way I guess I'm not surprised as Belly dance has yet to be taken into the art world.(most likely never well)

In the case of being a Belly dancer, this place is not for such as they don't seem to respect it, yet again no surprise.

 

[Yame]

"Discrimination" is a very loaded word. I wouldn't throw it around so lightly, without really knowing a person's reasons and motivations.

Per other responses on this thread and on Facebook, it's been established that he could have rejected you for a variety of reasons:

1. They don't think they can stage this in a way that would best showcase your dance.
2. They can't figure out a way to fit your act in with the rest of the acts.
3. They already have too many solo acts and were looking for more group acts at this point, or they already have other similar acts.
4. One of the performers already bares her midrif in her dance and has a "non-compete" clause.
5. They don't think you're indie enough.
6. They think belly dance and Caribbean dance are stupid.
7. They don't think your dance is family-friendly.

All events have limited resources, a limited amount of time, and a limited amount of space. At some point, a selection must be made. Selections are made based on a variety of things. All the reasons stated above are possible reasons for the selection against you, along with dozens of other possible reasons I just don't have the time to think about. Some are more likely than others, but still, it could be any of these reasons or a mix of them and more.

 

[~Diana~]

Sounds like they are looking for people who are OBVIOUSLY international and doing OBVIOUSLY international dances.

 

[Greek Bonfire]

I saw that they have a "Gypsy" performer. Maybe in their ignorance, they think your dance style is part of that genre? I would ask them specifically what they mean instead of talking like they got their language from a lawyer!

 

[MissVega]

THanks everyone
I'm over it now. Can't be bothered to dwell on it. I know the whole winning over my area thing won't happen overnight, although that would have been nice lol!
Oh well, carry on, carry forward, carry something

 

[Yame]

Yet another possible reason: "not ethnic enough."

To continue my train of thought though, anytime you look for a job or for a gig, there is a possibility of rejection. We can sit here all day and come up with all the reasons we can think of, we can sit here and make assumptions about what the person making the decision is thinking, sit here and pick at his words and try to derive every last bit of possible meaning, sit here and talk shit about them and say they are just jealous or they are just snobbish or they are just uninformed or whatever else.

But at the end of the day, for whatever reason your act just wasn't what they were looking for. The professional thing to do is to let it go and look for other opportunities. Professional dancers need to be able to handle all kinds of rejection well. Not all rejection is fair, not all rejection is based on dance skill. Even the best dancers in the world can't just dance wherever they want.

I know some people are saying you should ask them what they mean, but you already did that and already got a response. How do you think you would come across if you kept nagging them for clarification until you felt you had a satisfactory answer? I think it's not only unnecessary, but would come across as immature.

I get that you're saying you are not feeling personally attacked. You are feeling like they are discriminating against belly dance and Caribbean dance, not against you personally, and that's why they didn't select you. Although I think that's unlikely (they have a flamenco-ish dancer/singer with a bare midriff on their page), you could be right.

But in my view, the way to combat the misconceptions about belly dance is to be a classy dancer and to try to learn as much as you can and be as good as you can. And you already do that.

(PS.: I know you already vented and probably have let go of it by now. But this thread will probably be alive for a while and keep generating responses, so I wanted to address it a little further.)

 

[MissVega]

LOL read above post
And I never did reply to his response and had no intention of doing so. There would have been no point. If I have to force my way in, then I don't want to be there.

 

[Yame]

THanks everyone
I'm over it now. Can't be bothered to dwell on it. I know the whole winning over my area thing won't happen overnight, although that would have been nice lol!
Oh well, carry on, carry forward, carry something

Looks like I took too long to type my response, so you can free to disregard it if it's irrelevant by now (though it could still be relevant to other people in similar situations).

I think that depending on where you live, these types of things can be very frustrating. In areas that are very conservative, for example, or where people are close-minded.

But in cases like that, like you just said there is no point in fighting your way in. You can slowly build up a reputation, and change minds, though. Just keep at it.

 

[Greek Bonfire]

Here's a thought: maybe you, being from Canada, they wanted you to submit a Canadian dance, and they couldn't wrap their minds around you doing otherwise.

 

[MissVega]

Looks like I took too long to type my response, so you can free to disregard it if it's irrelevant by now (though it could still be relevant to other people in similar situations).

I think that depending on where you live, these types of things can be very frustrating. In areas that are very conservative, for example, or where people are close-minded.

But in cases like that, like you just said there is no point in fighting your way in. You can slowly build up a reputation, and change minds, though. Just keep at it.

Yah I realized that after when I looked the times of the posts!
BUt it's good to be up as a resource for other dancers.

I was spoiled in the town I went to University in. Every city/community event I danced at there always invited me back or led to more opportunities. Even this year the City's big multicultural festival invited me back and when I explained I no longer lived there and they would have to compensate me more than my normal rate for gas and travel time and they just said "No problem". It's hard to go from being requested to it feeling like no one wants anything to do with your dance

I got a very blunt response from another this morning that all it said was "we're not interested" lol.

 

[Belly Love]

I have no idea what anything they've said means. Is there a google translate for hippy-speak? :lol:

I was thinking the same thing- what is this hippie language?!

I think that's a huge part of the problem. They really should have said to her directly, why they wouldn't be using her. NONE OF US can really understand what they are saying... and it's in English

If they gave a direct, understandable reply, instead of saying it like an imaginary fairy angel would, we all wouldn't be mulling over this!

 

[Yame]

Yah I realized that after when I looked the times of the posts!
BUt it's good to be up as a resource for other dancers.

I was spoiled in the town I went to University in. Every city/community event I danced at there always invited me back or led to more opportunities. Even this year the City's big multicultural festival invited me back and when I explained I no longer lived there and they would have to compensate me more than my normal rate for gas and travel time and they just said "No problem". It's hard to go from being requested to it feeling like no one wants anything to do with your dance

I got a very blunt response from another this morning that all it said was "we're not interested" lol.

I can definitely understand that. Over here I get performance opportunities along with respect and appreciation. But sometimes I think, what if I ever had to move back to my small church town in Brazil? Where would I perform? What would people think of me? It must be a tough situation to be in, without any easy solution.