One of the most common questions I receive is about how to make a 20-min belly dance show interesting and engaging, especially when performing for a non-Arabic audience. Here are a couple tips that may help you create a memorable program for any kind of audience!

What is a Mejance? - ASKianaDANCE is a limited Youtube series that I did a few years ago answering your questions. Check the video for useful tips and suggestions.

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Opening song: You can stick to a classical mejance entrance, or if you are performing for a non-Arabic audience, you can choose some fusion song that I typically call "belly dance fantasy" song, and enter with some extravagant prop. One tip on mejances: if you don't expect much of audience participation during the entire program, give preference to a bit longer mejances (5 min +), rather than a super short 3-minute version. The beauty of mejance is that it has a lot of different parts in it, so even though it's just one song, the mood will be constantly changing, and it will help to keep the audience's attention.
Second song: Usually I try to keep this song still as my "performance" song unless my audience is super impatient, and someone just jumps on the dance floor. :) This we can't fully control, but there is one trick. I almost always prefer to keep the second song not too crazy upbeat... Of course, nothing super slow, or dramatic, but something that would encourage people to still keep watching rather than rushing into dance. For instance, if it's an Arabic audience, then classical songs are perfect. Alf Leila Wa Leila is a great choice. If it's a non-Arabic audience, then something like "modern baladi" style would work. Basically anything that is different in mood from the opening song, but isn't that easy for people to shake their hips. :)
Audience participation: Now it's time to engage people on the dance floor. Any upbeat pop song works. I usually put two songs for dancing with guests, and also blend them together, so that there is no stop in between. Sometimes guests are too shy to get up and dance, so they may use the stop after the first song as an excuse to come back to their seats. Obviously in such case the energy will be spoiled. Also, try to avoid any long taksims, and lyrical singing parts in the middle of audience participation. The effect may be just the same as with a pause between songs.

4. Closing part: Here comes drum solo and finale for exit. I like to finish with a drum solo. It guarantees that the overall impression of the show will end on the most upbeat note. If the crowd was very much into dancing, I may still interact with people during the drum solo, or often they naturally form a circle around me, and watch with enthusiasm. The one exception in this order is when a client asks me in advance to transform my show into an open dance floor, so that their DJ can take over right after me. In this situation I will put a drum solo before I start engaging people into dancing, and I will cut out the finale (exit) part of the show. In addition, I will ask the DJ at the end of my last song to announce something like: "Give applause to our belly dancer Iana" etc, so that it will serve as a finale for my performance, instead of my usual exit routine.

This is how my typical program looked like. In most cases 5 songs will bring you to a 20+ min show, but of course, sometimes there are variations both in the number of songs as well as the structure of the show. These are just a few tricks to help you to get ready for your holiday gigs. If you want to dig deeper on this topic, I highly recommend to check out my Business Course for Belly Dancer which talks more in depth about preparing a program, editing music, navigating audience participation part, etc.

Let me know if you found this helpful, and feel free to message me back with your show tips!

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Author: Iana Komarnytska
Photographer: Pedro Bonatto