BareFoot Belly Dancing!
I love dancing bare foot – it gives me a real connection to the surroundings, my feet can give me feedback and respond in a way that they can’t when wearing shoes.
At a recent gig the floor was gorgeous to dance on – solid wood, clean, warm and really tactile – sadly this isn’t always the case! Floors tend to range between dirty to dangerous!
Hidden skills that many performers have include: dancing with glass in their feet and not changing facial expression when they step in a puddle!
I like to think of it as an extra service – we help clean the floors as we go!
For all problems there are solutions!
Top Tips:
1 – Take your own first aid kit
2 – Take baby wipes or similar to clean your feet at the end of the night
3 – Take ballet slippers (and practice dancing in them ahead of time) for floors that are just not for bare feet
4 – Be aware of which dance moves will show the soles of your feet to your audience
5 – Make a metal map of the floor and the hazards as you dance – the slippy bit, the sticky bit, the bit with splinters so you can adapt.
6 – Let staff know discreetly / between sets if there are spills on the floor
7 – Be adaptable, if you have a floor work section planned but the floor isn’t suitable have a back up plan.
