parasitegirl | October 30 gig

Oh,the joy of the “can’t miss” gig, don’t underestimate it!

You can’t be a needy dancer or performer. You simply can’t need validation from the crowd each time you perform. If you need that positive energy and response to get you to perform, to tap into what it is you have to give, you probably need to rethink things. It’s not always going to be there for you. Your dance explorations need to sustain you, because sometimes that’s all you’ll be feeding off of.

The audience doesn’t owe you anything. Yes, you’re giving them the gift of you. You might be giving them all of you, leaving it all on the dance floor, but that doesn’t mean they owe you anything. Maybe you’re even giving them a gift because they’ve paid you to do so, but it’s still you giving yourself. Gifts aren’t something you give in order to get something back for your investment: Those are called bribes.

With that being said, I am not above bribing my audiences with some “crowd pleasers” I do want them to be with me and will try to get that

Still, nothing like having them with you and cheering you on. It does feel amazing.

I do one or two restaurant gigs a week, sometimes three but then I start getting wilted. I like doing restaurant gigs for the same reasons that I dislike them: they build character. On bad nights the gigs can grind you, toss out about on the whims of costumers and owners, and can feel like work…but if you can get through that and start to find what keeps you motivated to keep plugging away, what makes you love the dance even when no one seems to want what you’re giving, you can be unstoppable.

But on the goodnights when people who would never think to go see bellydance, or who have booked a dancer on a whim, are THERE and getting it and giving it back? How much fun is that? That’s totally great! That’s a grand grand high. Don’t dismiss that high by saying the GP is easily pleased! The GP is easily displeased as well, enjoy the love while you can.

Last Friday was a can’t miss gig. The little place in Satiama has called me for a Friday party. Saitama usually only has dancers Saturday night, but will call us for parties. For Saturdays we’re schedules/booked by my friend Nourah but for parties the owners will contact us directly depending on what a party wants. This party wanted me, but probably only because my picture and name are all over the web page and they wanted the fun dancer on the webpage. Indeed when I talked to some of the party before the gig they were telling people “you think she’s pretty now, you should see her when she dances, I’ve seen pictures!” I didn’t tell them “You think I’m pretty now, you should see me with my hair pulled back, my glasses on, and a cup of Hagendaaz!”

The owner picked me up at the station and filled me in on the ride. The party was a work group with some connection to doing film stuff with NHK broadcasting, with one member going away and two birthday people…Creative types with three reasons to drink and be merry? Loooking good. The owner asked asked me how I liked yogurt because they had a new yogurt soup I might want to try. This is the place I sometimes stay for food…and it is also the place that really likes to feed me.

The restaurant is small, but every restaurant here is small. It was full, but that means maybe 30-40 people…tops. Everyone was wearing some nod to Halloween. Fopr Japan dwellers, it was a Tokyu Hands/ Donki Hote crown. Oversized sequined bowties, animal ears, assorted wigs, elderly salary man in Pooh Bear ears and blue eyeliner, young man in a turban and plastic mustache mask…you get the point.

They knew my name from the web page, so when I entered the restaurant in my street clothes the cheer went up.

“Ozma is here! Whoooooooooooo!”

At the restaurant even the chair behind the cash register was in use, so there was no place to hang out while the meat was getting served except with the party…so 20 questions for your belly dancer time as I sat with some birthday people (lemme tell you, remembering who the birthday people are is easier when you can be told “the girl in the bride veil and the guy in the baldspot wig!”

I answered many bellydance related questions, mostly from women who were interested byt had never tried or seen much. BD questions I don’t mind, personal questions I skirt. I do explain that I am American (Not Turkish) but that the music used, and the style of dance presented, will be mostly Turkish.

It was as “can’t miss” a crowd as it could be. Audible “ooooooohs!” with crowd pleaser movements, and random “oooooooohs” with things I don’t even think of as crowd pleasers. Someone in the group must have known that tipping is sometimes part of how an audience interacts with a belly dancer (because tipping is not part of Japanese life in general). Four men approached me, one at a time, with 1,000 yen bills. It was obvious that they were excited about tipping but, once near me, had no idea exactly what to do next. So there was a cheer when one stood up, and sort of a hushed quiet when people weren’t sure what would happen next, and another cheer when I guided them to exactly where the bills could be put. Mission accomplished! Dancer tipped! Culture exchange done!

When the restaurant is full there is no way to get everyone up to dance, but with everyone in the place knowing everyone else I just let one dancer pick the next victim(s) and it worked out fine. I have no problem with having groups use peer pressure to make each other dance, none at all.

After changing I had the new soup, bread, and some water with thyme essence in it before I decided to call it a night. I explained to the owner that I really didn’t need anymore dull conversation with Blue Eyeshadow Old Man and was headed home.

I said my goodbyes and they all clapped and waved goodbyes. “Bye OZMA!!! BYYYEEEE BYYEEE!”

The owner insisted on giving me a lift to the station, mostly to double check that the old man hadn’t tried to harass me. Nope, just boring. Time to head home on a high note.