Someone said to us the other day, "You get what you pay for." That's true...and it's not. Some people think $85 for one girl to dance one 4-minute routine is outrageous. What you don't see: That costume cost her $85-$200 and 8-10 hours stoning, fringing, and altering it. That number was rehearsed 20-30 hours (of unpaid time, mind you) before it ever hit the stage. The performer spends anywhere from 90-120 minutes doing hair, makeup, and packing up costuming and props. The performer spends an average of 90-120 minutes at the venue, doing sound checks, spacing the stage, getting dressed (usually in a closet or office somewhere), dancing, repacking, and collecting the paycheck. So that 4-minute number you're watching that girl dance cost her an average of $142 and 37 hours worth of unpaid work. For big group numbers, multiply that by about 15. So you're actually getting a LOT more than you're paying for.
Pay varies based on each number, but the most we get per number is $50 for a solo, and anywhere from $10-$30 per group number. So in order for us to recoup the cost of the costuming for a solo usually takes 3-4 times of dancing it just to break even, and group numbers (depending on the amount of girls dancing in it) takes us dancing it 10-15 times to recoup the cost to produce it. The advantages of having 11-15 girls on staff are great: We can put on longer shows with a LOT more variety, and have the capability for big Vegas-style group numbers. But it costs a LOT more money to run a group this size, and we'd hate to ever have to cut back on the amount of performers we hire!!!!
Total cost for costuming for a closing number at Bogart's? $1200. For 4 minutes. For one number. Yup.
G
