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

So, how do you combine your love of belly dance, Disney and kids? You put together a belly dance princess party business! The age groups I do these for are usually 5-8. After age 8, they are usually too old for princesses.

Usually, I book an hour for these parties, sometimes more. I typically start with a 10-minute belly dance performance, not really dancing, just floating around with a veil. After that, I teach a short dance lesson to the girls. I usually ask the mom hostingn the party to purchase 2-3 yards of fabric at the fabric store to make veils for the children to play with and then keep. Just the spinning alone takes up almost the entire hour. Often, the girls ask questions about the princesses, such as "Do you know the other princesses?" It's really cute.

Clients are often very specific about what they want, so every party is different.

Here are 7 steps to get you started:

1. Do you like kids? And I don’t mean you think kids are great. You have to really like them to do kids’ parties. You have to be patient, you have to be kind, and you can never lose your cool. You have to be willing to be around them, interact with them, and deal with them possibly having a meltdown. If you aren’t able to do this, then these types of parties are not for you.
2. Figure out which Disney princess you look most like and model your whole website and other marketing materials from that. You don’t have to call yourself that princess and infringe any copyright. However, the closer you look to a famiiar princess, the more likely those who love her will hire you. If you go for a generic princess, then you may not get as much business as if you brand yourself.  If you want to go for more than one look, go right ahead!
3. Costuming. I’m not saying you need to own a Jasmine costume. However, going along with step 2, figuring out how to model your costume after a famiiar princess is ideal. It can be as simple as putting some red clip-in pieces into your hair, wearing just the right shade of green, and adding some seashell jewelry — suddenly you are Ariel!
4. Keep families in mind. Let that influence what props you use. You might be able to do a fabulous sword routine, but what about safety? What if kids are running up to you as you’re performing? Or what if they try to pick up your prop once you set it down? These are things that you will need to think about when putting your sets together.  The more your brand your set, the easier it will be to sell yourself as the princess party belly dancer.
5. Party packages. Can you provide hip scarves and veils for the children to try out? Tiaras? The more you can bring to the party to make the little girls feel special, the more desirable you will be. No mom wants to go to 50 different places if she can go to one! Also, these are things you can make money for, in additional to your time. Either sell the items outright as party favors, or charge a rental fee.
6. Even when you’re not doing a kids’ party hold that look with you. If you are performing at a restaurant, keep that element with you. You never know when you might run into a little girl and her parents who might want to hire you for a party. The more that little girl thinks you look like a princess the better!
7. Money. The fee you charge will depend on what the client wants. You can offer more than one option. Some clients just want the lesson and the opportunity for the girls to play around with props, so that fee would include an hour of teaching in a sparkly outfit (not a costume). Otherwise, for full costume, my rate starts with what I would charge for a performance with a lesson. The final option (of course I have to make it complicated) is to go with a per-child fee with a minimum that covers expenses. It all depends on what is easiest for you to sell in your particular market and how many options you want to offer.

Those are just seven of the many ways that you can build your princess party business but there are so many more. Start with these, and build on them as your business grows. If you have any suggestions, feel free! The more we can help each other fine-tune our niche the better!

Amartia is a Baltimore native of Greek descent. She was involved in Greek Folk dancing from childhood to adulthood. She stumbled upon bellydancing class at a local gym and has never looked back! Bellydance appealed to her not only as an art form but a way to stay in shape. Hence one spectator commenting, “…massive melodic muscles of the Mediterranean aka killer abs...”

Amartia is an award-winning bellydancer. She has traveled to compete all over the United States. She is the 2008 Jewel of the Nile and the first place winner for veil dance from Arabian Nights. More recently she was one of the 23 bellydancers chosen to compete in the first season of a reality web-show- Project bellydance! Amartia, Extravagent Entertainment in Maryland has also been featured in Fuse Magazine, written an article on Greek bellydance for Zaghareet, and was the July 2012 Bellydancer of the Month for Brandon’s Oasis.

Amartia also offers Greek translation services for dancers so if you’d like another Greek song translated, feel free to contact her! See amartiabellydance.com/lets-go-greek/greek-song-translation/

PHOTO CREDIT: Photo by Anton Marx.