.the mythical fame button.

Waterfire 2009 with Quixotic

 Since I started bellydancing, and more specifically since I became a performing bellydancer, I've developed a few trigger words that set me off. Amongst them:

"Opportunity"

"Exposure"

"Promotion"

...and here's the thing: there is no performance gig in the world that will magically launch your career into the stratus. It does not exist. Without fail, most every time I've heard one of those words it's been from some potential client who wants me to work for free, or almost free. I'm sure there are cases where the organizer has convinced themselves that the grande spectacle they're putting on will be a great opportunity for all of the performing acts - but most of the time it's just greedy people trying to get quality product without having to pay - and when people get things for free they don't value them nearly as much as the things they pay for.
This is something to remember.

June 2011, the Midland

I've worked a lot of gigs, and all kinds - from high class "holy crap I can't believe this is happening" jobs, to low class "holy crap why in the hell did I take this" jobs. I've performed to most of the large theaters in Kansas City - the Folly, the Midland, the Starlight, the Madrid (to name a few); and I've done more than a few performances in bars and in peoples living rooms. I've performed with bands, opened for bands, and worked with large performance fusion groups. The jobs where my client has been happy to pay me are the ones where I've been treated well, and the ones where I've had to fight to get paid are the ones where I've been treated like garbage. And very very few of any of them have led to more dance jobs - and when they have it's been years later.

The best promotion you're going to get is the promotion you work for and put together yourself - it's going to come from your website, ads, and a strong and positive social media presence. It's going to come from word of mouth - not from your audience but from the other performers in other genre's of performance you work with - jugglers, hoopers, aerialists, bands, and burlesque dancers. It's going to come from you acting like a professional, but also acting like a civilized human being - all those niceties your parents tried to drill into you: please and thankyou, kindness and humility. It's going to come from hard work and putting 120% into every performance, no matter how much you're being paid or where it's located.

The Boulder Theatre with Devotchka, October 2010, pic by Nathan Iverson

There is no mythical magical fame button.
Working for "promotion" is maybe the biggest scam the entertainment industry ever created for itself.