Matching your set music with your ethnicity?
Hey all! Sooo....I've been reading up some threads about dancers playing up the ethnicity that they appear to be (like if they look Hispanic but aren't, rolling with it when a hopeful customer asks). I'm Peruvian, but I get a lot of custies asking me if I'm Brazilian or Columbian for some reason.. and lately I've been contemplating just telling people I'm Brazilian from now on. It couldn't hurt my income, right?
But my reeeeal question is: Do you think incorporating music with spanish lyrics into my stage show would play up the persona and pique mens' interests? I was thinking about trying out some Calle 13 or Don Omar just to see if it gets a good reaction from the audience or an increase in stage tips. Most of the girls in my club are either blonde or mixed and they dance to mostly metal or r&b. Lately I've been doing lots of classic rock..
I'm going to try it out just for shits and giggles, but I figured I'd make a post on it and see what you all think! I appreciate your input :) Sorry for the long post.
Re: Matching your set music with your ethnicity?
if your club has a lot of hispanic customers, it'll probably be a hit with them.
Re: Matching your set music with your ethnicity?
Yeah, i'd do the same thing. If you like rock, find some rock that has spanish beats, and/or spanish themes or hell there are spanish artists. I like that idea.
I'm not hispanic, but on occasion I dance to it. The music style does set you apart imo.
Re: Matching your set music with your ethnicity?
I never danced to music to go with my ethnicity because no one could ever figure it out. And the few that did I was really impressed with it. Everyone always guessed me to be Italian. I love Italian food...some fashion...o.0. But I'm not Italian. Have gotten Greek, Asian, Hispanic and even Egyptian before.
I'm none of those and I would have confused way too many people if I tried to play up any of them. I think it's a good idea if you are comfortable with it.
Re: Matching your set music with your ethnicity?
I'm a mutt.
I do play to the demographic of the crowd. If the crowd is younger, I'll play top 40 music, if they're older, I'll play classic rock, etc.
Re: Matching your set music with your ethnicity?
I can pass for a lot of things, one being south american, and when i dance to reggaeton and dance hall type stuff, I think it does make me interesting because it's exotic in my current location. When I dance to rock I feel like I get a weird reaction from the crowd, like it's a bit contradictory, so when I do dance to rock I try to make it as mild as possible but still please the crowd.
Re: Matching your set music with your ethnicity?
Go for it! It can't hurt, right?
I would like to say that I used to dance to Latina music (like Shakira) because I had this great dress that just worked for it. I am about as non-latina as you can get, but the guys really dug it. It didn't matter that I was pale skinned and red-haired, it just mattered that I danced in a cha-cha kind of way with my cha-cha dances (which showed off my cha chas), and got into it.
So certainly you will do well looking even more the part.
Re: Matching your set music with your ethnicity?
I have one, but I don't think ppl notice it. On top of that my name doesn't sound latina. But yeah, it can work in your favor... do it. :)
Re: Matching your set music with your ethnicity?
lol, I'm not at all Latina and I love dancing to reggaeton. ;D Dance to whatever you like, and have a good time on stage. If you're feeling your music, having fun and enjoying yourself, that will attract customers more than any particular genre of music. :)
I've had countless customers ask me for dances right after my stage sets and say some version of "you know, I really hate (techno, drum and bass, reggaeton...) but you made it sexy".
Plus most girls at my clubs dance to mainstream rock or R&B, so just dancing to something that sounds different gets me attention--in a good way.
Re: Matching your set music with your ethnicity?
Sometimes I get teased about the whole Nine Inch Nails thing, cause a lot of girls at work don't get it. I don't know, a lot of the time I get the sense that a bunch of the chicks, especially the kind of innocent white ones that aren't good dancers, don't really like the music they dance to (R&B and hip-hop and rap and shit)...they just pretend they like it because they think they should. And it can get really painful watching them onstage, dancing to music like weird robots who don't understand how to move their hips right, but seem to have no clue they're doing something wrong.
But you get weird things happening, too. Once, I was passing by a group of black guys dressed with the whole hardcore gangster thing, with the bling and shit. And one of them saw my tattoo and totally freaked out. He was like, "OH MY GOD! I fucking LOVE Nine Inch Nails, girl! That is BADASS! Yo, dude, check this shit out..." And I kind of gave him this weird look, cause you'd never expect any hardcore NIN fans to dress like that. And he saw the look, and just waved his hand dismissively and said, "Oh, I know, I just dress like this. I fucking hate all that R&B and rap and shit, it all sucks and it has for awhile. I just listen to NIN and Tool and Rage Against the Machine, and Marilyn Manson..." and the list went on and on, and his buddies were giving him the same weird looks I had. He spent so much fucking money on me that night... I guess it goes to show that profiling customers isn't always a good idea.
Dance to music because you enjoy it, not because you think you should. Some people can get into any music onstage, and some people can't...and if you aren't really into it, it can be very obvious.
Re: Matching your set music with your ethnicity?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
firemaiden04
Sometimes I get teased about the whole Nine Inch Nails thing, cause a lot of girls at work don't get it. I don't know, a lot of the time I get the sense that a bunch of the chicks, especially the kind of innocent white ones that aren't good dancers, don't really like the music they dance to (R&B and hip-hop and rap and shit)...they just pretend they like it because they think they should. And it can get really painful watching them onstage, dancing to music like weird robots who don't understand how to move their hips right, but seem to have no clue they're doing something wrong.
But you get weird things happening, too. Once, I was passing by a group of black guys dressed with the whole hardcore gangster thing, with the bling and shit. And one of them saw my tattoo and totally freaked out. He was like, "OH MY GOD! I fucking LOVE Nine Inch Nails, girl! That is BADASS! Yo, dude, check this shit out..." And I kind of gave him this weird look, cause you'd never expect any hardcore NIN fans to dress like that. And he saw the look, and just waved his hand dismissively and said, "Oh, I know, I just dress like this. I fucking hate all that R&B and rap and shit, it all sucks and it has for awhile. I just listen to NIN and Tool and Rage Against the Machine, and Marilyn Manson..." and the list went on and on, and his buddies were giving him the same weird looks I had. He spent so much fucking money on me that night... I guess it goes to show that profiling customers isn't always a good idea.
Dance to music because you enjoy it, not because you think you should. Some people can get into any music onstage, and some people can't...and if you aren't really into it, it can be very obvious.
Lol. I get teased about nine inch nails at my club also.
Re: Matching your set music with your ethnicity?
This thread is old and the OP may not be active but it's Colombian** like, from COLOMBIA- dammit!!, I get super irked by that.
If you are making more money by claiming to be of a certain background so be it! Be careful if someone of that background comes in and tries to speak to you in the native language; you better have at least a few phrases nailed down with believable accent.
I do not think matching your music to your "ethnicity" makes any difference positive or negative unless one of the following things applies- you work in an area where you are considered "exotic"- Mexican in LA?; not special; Cuban girl in North Dakota; HOT! You are legit foreign (dancing in any country) and play music from your homeland or you are doing a specific type of dancing like: belly dancing, salsa, bachata or something else sensual).
It really comes down to economics, for most dancers not much money is made on stage (urban clubs excluded) so I would really think about it before mixing it up like this.
Re: Matching your set music with your ethnicity?
I think it matters more of what style you're going for... Like don't wear a dress and rhinestone jewelry and then put on gangster rap...
Also maybe depends on what the clientele expect. I'm a slender white girl; some clubs I have danced to rap/hip hop and nobody's batted an eye, but other clubs the guys will raise their eyebrows & not tip because they expect me to be twerking and humping the floor (which I don't). Same goes for say, the big booty Cuban ladies if they were to put on country music, they'd get mostly baffled looks cause it's unexpected.
I think a lot of guys want us to fit in a little mold & it kind of shakes them when we don't. Maybe it could work to your advantage, maybe not.
Re: Matching your set music with your ethnicity?
i agree, i think guys have that need for us to fit our respective stereotypes.
To answer the OP's question (although i know it's an old thread)
If there's mostly non spanish speakers, I would strongly advise against spanish music. American guys always complain about spanish music here.
On the other hand, you will totally get more tips from a latin crowd with some good reggae ton (sp?)
Re: Matching your set music with your ethnicity?
I've always done best matching music with my style of dancing and personal style. Like Selina mentioned above, if you don't have the dancing style and body type to dance to rap it might make customers raise their eyebrows because it looks out of place for you.
I am ethnically hard to guess (usually guessed in the Italian, Greek or Spanish categories but I'm actually none of those things) with a curvy body type but I am not really a twerker or a hip hop type girl so that music is mismatched for me even though someone might expect me to be a twerker or a hip hop girl because of my body. Rock music (especially the slower dark type) fits with my style and way of dancing the best so I tend to dance best when it's on and do best when it's on even when customers don't necessarily like it.
So I think those factors are more important when determining what type of music is best for you to dance to than ethnicity alone. If you're unsure try out a few different types of music until you figure out what fits and what makes you earn the most money and attract the most attention. (I'm aware this is an old thread so this advice is more for anyone who might be wondering the same thing as the OP was)
Re: Matching your set music with your ethnicity?
So should I play a goddamn Irish jig or put on some mariachi music? This is the most absurd thing I've ever heard of. Dance to whatever the hell you like, but keep your audience in mind.
Re: Matching your set music with your ethnicity?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
tempest666
So should I play a goddamn Irish jig or put on some mariachi music? This is the most absurd thing I've ever heard of. Dance to whatever the hell you like, but keep your audience in mind.
I play old Japanese music from pre 1960s or Okinawan folk music, and Enya and 50 cent, and Marilyn Manson all in the same night!