PHOTO CREDIT: Above photo by John Rickman Photography, San Jose, California.

Even if you're just a student, when performing in front of an audience you still owe them the very best performance you are capable of providing at this point in your dance journey. And that does include looking your best with respect to costuming, makeup, and grooming. I'm not saying that means you must cover your scars, it's just a general statement about the value of trying to look your best every time you perform. I ask my students to come to performances with clean hair that's styled attractively, wrinkle-free costumes, and stage makeup.

The scar issue is tricky. Audiences at belly dance "insider" events such as haflas, festivals, recitals, and student showcases tend to be very supportive of the performers. At these events, audiences consist primarily of other dancers, their friends, and their families. I would expect such an audience to encourage performers regardless of scars, body type, or any other issue with physical appearance. Admittedly, sometimes there are mean-spirited people even among these audiences, but on the whole I find these events to be positive experiences that allow performers to explore their personal comfort levels with their bodies.

PHOTO CREDIT: Photo by Michael Baxter, Santa Clara, California.

The general public is a different type of audience, and it varies by situation. If you're dancing at an event with a large number of drunken college students in the audience, their behavior could be very hurtful. If you're dancing at a nursing home or hospital, the audience may be so appreciative that they'll be warm and enthusiastic regardless of whether your scars are showing. If you're on the "community stage" at a city festival, you might get all kinds, from very supportive to nasty hecklers.

This is where your teacher's experience comes in. Part of the knowledge she can share with you is an expectation of what the audience is going to be like. Her instinct will be to try to protect you from unkind remarks, and to keep the audience focused on the positive qualities you have to offer. This is most likely why she has given you the advice she did.

Ultimately, you have the right to make your own decision on whether to cover / camouflage the scar, or whether to let it fully show. Your decision may vary depending on the nature of the performance - the audience composition, the level of lighting, the distance between you and the audience, etc.

If you choose to let the scar show, you may inspire a woman in the audience to feel more comfortable with her own scars, or you may overhear a rude remark about your scar made by an audience member. You may also make your teacher wonder whether you value her advice and can be relied on to follow it, which in turn could lead to her excluding you from some performance opportunities. Just remember that by making a decision to let the scar show, you are opening the door to these possibilities, both good and bad. We all choose to take risks in our lives every day, and this is one that you can choose to take or not, as you see fit.

If you aspire to building your career on working as a paid professional dancer, performing in nightclubs and private parties, then you will need to find a way to cover or disguise those scars, either with costuming, jewelry, tattoos, or makeup. People who pay to hire a professional dancer expect the illusion of glamor, and scars don't fit the glamorous image. Clients and audiences expect a different standard from a paid professional versus a student or hobbyist. This is just as true for Oriental dance as it is for painting, music, or any other art form.

If you want to seek work as a professional dance artist, you'll need to conduct yourself as one, and that goes for paying attention to your appearance as well as to your dance technique and business practices. Belly dance is show business. In show business, the performer's physical appearance is part of the package the customer is buying.

Show business can actually be brutal, because the customers often value your physical appearance more highly than they do your dance skills. Actresses, singers, and other entertainers experience it, too. Every professional dancer can tell you about the callers who complain of sticker shock when she quotes a price and then ask, "Well, don't you have a sexy younger student I can hire for cheaper?" or the restaurant owner who brought in a new young dancer who looked great in a costume but danced poorly. It can be maddening to see how little some clients value dance skill. The only way a professional dancer can survive emotionally is to remind herself over and over that these situations are not a reflection on her worth as a person, just thoughtless clients behaving badly.

For a working professional dancer, her income depends heavily on working a steady stream of regular gigs, in a variety of situations. She may be hired for shows at restaurants, Arab or Turkish weddings, birthday parties for men, women's health clinics, baby showers, bachelorette parties, hookah bars, retirement communities, going-away parties, fraternity/sorority parties, Middle Eastern themed corporate parties, and more. Some of these audiences are likely to appreciate a dancer's scars, while others are likely to be very judgmental. A professional needs to understand her market well enough to anticipate which gigs are likely to respond each way, and make choices accordingly. For the high-glamor gigs such as weddings and corporate parties, it would be a good idea to find ways to cover or camouflage the scars. See below for suggestions on options for how to do that.

PHOTO CREDIT: Photo by John Rickman Photography, San Jose, Calfornia.

• Some dancers wear belly dance costumes that look like elaborate evening gowns, dripping with beaded fringe, instead of the bra/belt ensemble. In the photograph to the right, I am wearing such a dress, and I don't even have any scars!
• Look for body makeup that is designed to cover scars. You may have to shop around a bit, but it does exist! One brand name, Dermablend, is sold in department stores such as J.C. Penney. Even if the general shape of the scar is still visible after you put the makeup on, it will probably reduce the level of contrast between the scar's color and that of your neighboring skin, and therefore make the scar less obvious.
• Learn how to do traditional folk dances and perform them. Folk costumes, such as the red dress I'm wearing in the photo next to the "If You Just Dance for Fun" section above, do cover the midriff, and are usually much more comfortable than a body stocking.
• Work with your favorite tattoo artist to create a beautiful design that incorporates the scar as part of the image.
• Consult your dermatologist and ask whether there are treatments such as lotions or skin lasers that might make the scars fade a bit.
• If you like the two-piece bra/belt set, you might consider adding a stomach drape to your costume. This is jewelry or beaded fringe that attaches to your dance bra and covers your stomach. You can make your stomach drape from fringe, beads, coins, glittery fabric, or other materials that suit your costuming style. This, too, is popular among dancers who don't have scars, so you'll be right in style with everyone else if you go this route!
• If you have a surgical scar (or injury) on your upper back, then perhaps long hair (a wig, maybe?), a vest, a shrug, or a headdress that hangs down your back will provide attractive coverage.

PHOTO CREDIT: Above photo by Lina Jang, New York City, New York.

• Ask the Costume Goddess: Large Tummy. Dina Lydia, the Costume Goddess, offers costume ideas for camouflaging the abdomen.
• Ask the Costume Goddess: Apple-Shaped Figure. Although the focus of this article is to provide costume ideas for dancers with large waistlines, some of Dina's suggestions can also apply to scarred areas.

• Ask the Costume Goddess: What Is a Baladi Dress? Another dancer with scars on her stomach area asks about baladi dresses as a costume option.
• Ask the Costume Goddess: Using a Veil with a Baladi Dress. For dancers who embrace a sparkly look with a covered midriff, will a veil work with a baladi dress?