About the Survey.

We ran the survey for three months ending in October 2006. NADA, MADN and other organisations directed their students towards the Wiggle web site. The aim was to discover some basic facts about bellydancers in the UK and, as far as we know, this is the first time anyone has conducted a survey of this size of this group. We had 514 replies. Some students from abroad also replied but we have not included them in the analysis. We asked people to give their postcode as a means of locating them within UK areas, from this we were able to tell that we had replies from all areas of the UK.

• 33% from the South of England
• 31% from the North of England
• 24% from the Midlands (including Wales)
• 11% from Scotland
• (with a small number who did not give their postcode)

We did ask people for their names and emails, this helped avoid duplicated responses, of which there were a few. This information will remain confidential. It may have put a few people off responding, but it was important to avoid the situation where, for example, someone clicked the [send] button twice. We removed this information before we went on to analyse the information, and the spreadsheet we are prepared to send out does not have this personal information on it.

About you.

We got responses from all the age groups listed in the survey...

• 2% were under 20
• 28% were 20 to 34
• 48% were 35 to 49
• 21% were 50 to 64
• and less than 1% were 65 or over

We asked people to give us an overall rating for their experience of the bellydance scene, how happy they were with the current UK bellydance scene. The range of the rating scale ran from "Totally Dissatisfied" to "Extremely Satisfied". The average overall score, for all responders, was 7 out of 10 - which equates with "Quite satisfied with the UK bellydance scene".

We then used that score to compare different groups of bellydancers, for example we looked at satisfaction by region. We discovered that the North of England appeared to be most satisfied, and the Midlands the least, though the difference was not large.

We asked what bellydance organisations people were members of, and discovered that...

• 55% were not a member of any organisation
• 30% were members of the Mosaic Arabic Dance Network
• 19% were members of Northern Arabic Dance Association
• 8% were in various local organisations
• 3% were in the Raqs Sharqi Society
• (more than 100% as a small number were in more than one association)

When we looked to see if being a member of an organisation affected the satisfaction level of the student. It was found that being a member had no effect on people's overall satisfaction.

In the survey we also asked if people were teachers. 11% said that they taught occasionally, and 23% said that they taught regularly.

We asked how long people had been dancing...

• 9% said less than one year
• 49% said one to five years
• 30% said six to ten years
• 7% said eleven to fifteen years
• 4% said over fifteen years
• (and some people didn't answer this question)

Then we looked to see if the length of time people had been dancing affected their satisfaction level. The results suggested that dancers who had been dancing for over ten years had a reduced level of satisfaction, compared to the newcomers.

You as a student.

We asked how many classes you attended as a student each week. 50% of people said they attended one class a week, 25% said they attended two or three, and most of the rest said they attended occasional classes. 2 brave souls said they did 4 or more classes!

We asked what you classes were called...

• 52% said their class was described as "Bellydance"
• 42% said "Egyptian dance"
• 25% said "Arabic"
• 18% said "Tribal"
• 8% said "Raqs Sharqi"
• (more than 100% because some people went to more than one class and they had different names)

We asked how many hours of bellydance do you do in a normal week...

• 7% said less than one hour
• 57% said more than one but less than four hours
• 26% said more than four but less than seven hours
• 6% said more than seven but less than ten
• 4% said more than ten

We also asked how much other exercise people did in the week...

• 16% said less than one hour
• 47% said more than one but less than four hours
• 24% said more than four but less than seven hours
• 8% said more than seven but less than ten
• 5% said more than ten

There was however no correlation between the two sorts of exercise, people who did lots of dancing didn't necessarily do lots of other exercise, or vice versa there was no evidence that those who did little dancing, also did little other exercise.

We asked you how the payment for your class was organised...

• 56% were on a 'pay as you go' basis
• 21% were organised in short blocks of up to 8 lessons
• 15% were longer block bookings
• 2% were taken as a package provided by a fitness club
• (and some people didn't answer this question)

We asked people how much they normally spent on classes and practice sessions..

• 2% said they didn't pay anything as it was part of a package
• 3% pay less than £3 per week
• 34% pay more than £3 and less than £5
• 43% pay more than £5 and less than £10
• 13% pay more than £10 and less than £15
• 5% pay more than £15

We looked at people's spend by region and the students in the South were clearly spending more than the other groups, but they were also doing the most classes. The area with the least outlay was the North of England, who also did the least number of classes per week.

We asked students to identify the three most important things about attending classes. The percents do not add up to 100 but show the most popular items, the top 10 were...

• 70% ticked "dancing"
• 44% ticked "having fun"
• 40% ticked "learning a new skill or improving existing skills"
• 23% ticked "getting fit"
• 21% ticked "feeling more confident"
• 14% ticked "learning about another culture"
• 13% ticked "feeling I am doing something different or exotic"
• 12% ticked "doing an activity with friends"
• 12% ticked "having time for myself"
• 11% ticked "feeling more feminine"

We had a look at how these factors influenced people's overall satisfaction with the UK bellydance scene - remember the Score 1 to 10 from ealier. People who said they did bellydancing in order to "have fun" were significantly more happy with the UK scene. Those who ticked "loosing weight" were significantly less happy with the UK scene. There was a hint in the analysis that "enjoying dressing up" was also a contributing factor to a happy student.

We asked you which events you had attended as a student, outside of normal classes, in the last year...

• 12% said they didn't do anything other than regular classes
• 75% said they had attended one or more one-off workshops
• 35% said they had attended a non-residential bellydance festival
• 25% said they had attended a general dance festival
• 24% said they had attended a residential course or weekend
• 6% said they had attended a guided dancers holiday abroad
• (does not add to 100% as people allowed to tick more than one item)

We asked how many workshops (including workshops as part of a residential course or festival) people had attended on the last year...

• 17% said they hadn't attended any
• 51% said they had attended between one and five workshops
• 18% said they had attended between six and ten workshops
• 6% said they had attended between eleven and fifteen workshops
• 8% said they had attended more than fifteen workshops

You as performer.

We asked what experience you have had, in the last year, as a performer.

• 28% said "occasionally danced solo, unpaid, at haflas"
• 10% said "regularly danced solo, unpaid, at haflas"
• 32% said "I am part of a troupe that occasionally dances, unpaid, at haflas"
• 16% said "I am part of a troupe that regularly dances, unpaid, at haflas"
• 27% said "I am part of a troupe that occasionally dances, unpaid, at public performances"
• 11% said "I am part of a troupe that regularly dances, unpaid, at public performances"
• 19% said "I am part of a troupe that occasionally charges for public performances"
• 3% said "I am part of a troupe that does frequent paid performances"
• 18% said "I am paid for occasional solo performances"
• 4% said "I am paid for frequent solo performances"
• 3% said "I have a regular paid booking to perform at a restaurant or similar"

We asked those who made performances how much income you got from this (excluding any income from teaching). 67% did not get any income from performing. 25% made a small amount of income from performing but this was swallowed up by expenses and other dance activities. 5% said that performances made a small contribution to their income but only 3% said that performances made a significant contribution - including 3 people who said that performing was their main source of income.

Your skills and involvement.

We asked some questions to try to work out how people thought of themselves in relation to bellydance...

• 67% ticked "I am actively learning how to improve my bellydance skills"
• 9% ticked "I am actively learning how to do the basics of bellydance"
• 9% ticked "I am a trained professional bellydancer and actively dancing on a regular basis"
• 5% ticked "I learned how to bellydance some time ago but don't dance regularly"
• 5% ticked "I am studying to do bellydance as a professional dancer"
• 2% ticked "I am a trained professional dancer and am now studying bellydance"
• 2% ticked "Bellydance is part of my family or cultural background and I am actively dancing on a regular basis"

We asked people to describe their current skill level....

• 9% ticked "Beginner"
• 24% ticked "Improver"
• 38% ticked "Intermediate"
• 24% ticked "Advanced"
• 4% ticked "Professional or Expert"

A more detailed analysis of this has shown that people in the North of England were more likely to describe themselves as beginners and less likely to describe themselves as intermediate and advanced. Whereas people in the South of England were less likely to describe themselves as beginners and more likely to describe themselves as intermediate and advanced. Given there is no objective way of knowing what people's 'real' standard is, it is not clear if this result reflects an innate modesty in the North, a real difference in skill, or the availability of more advanced classes.

We asked what your learning ambitions were...

• 33% felt "they were improving using a combination of classes, workshops and other methods"
• 28% felt "they would like to improve but could not do so due to a lack of time, money, or suitable more advancd class"
• 19% felt "they were improving because at least one of their classes was developing their skills"
• 8% felt "they were quite happy with where they were at the moment"
• 6% felt "they were improving by attending workshops and private lessons"
• 3% felt "they were improving by using video's or DVD's for self learning"

Classes you attend.

We asked some questions to try to get a flavour of what happens at regular classes. We asked how much time in your class is given to non-dance activity (chatting, shopping, planning events, etc.). 77% spent a small amount of time on this, and most time was devoted to dancing. 10% felt they wasted too much time on these non-dance activities, and 8% said they spent a fair amount of time on non-dance but were happy with this situation. Only 3% said that they spent little or no time on non-dance activities and had no time to socialise.

We asked how physically difficult you found your classes...

• 10% ticked "The classes are easy and never make them feel tired"
• 37% ticked "The classes are fairly easy and I sometimes feel tired"
• 30% ticked "The classes are fairly demanding and often make me feel tired"
• 22% ticked "The classes are stretching and leave me tired but exhilerated"

We asked how the classes have affected you physical fitness...

• 8% ticked "have done nothing to improve my physical fitness"
• 47% ticked "have helped improve my fitness in a gentle way"
• 42% ticked "have definitely but gradually improved my level of fitness"
• 3% ticked "are improving my fitness but I sometimes feel overly tired or stiff after class"

We next asked people about any injuries they had that were caused or made worse by class activities. Does not add up to 100% as people could choose more than one option...

• 57% reported no injuries at all
• 11% reported very mild stiffness or pain in neck, back, shoulders or arms
• 10% reported very mild stiffness or pain in hips, thighs or knees
• 5% reported very mild stiffness or pain in calves, ankles or feet
• 3% other very mild injuries
• 2% reported more serious stiffness or pain in neck, back, shoulders or arms
• 4% reported more serious stiffness or pain in hips, thighs or knees
• 3% reported more serious stiffness or pain in calves, ankles or feet
• 2% other more serious injuries

We asked how far your teacher pushed you and others in the class...

• 15% said their teacher was cautious and did not let anybody take any risks
• 71% said their teacher gave people the choice about trying difficult moves
• 6% said their teacher would not allow some people to even try difficult moves
• 2% said their teacher often insisted students try moves they were uncomfortable with
• 2% said their teacher was variable, sometimes cautious sometimes pushing students hard

We asked if you had ever sued a bellydance teacher for compensation following an accident in a class or workshop. 97% of people have never felt the need to do this, or that it was appropriate. Only 5 people in our sample reported even considering taking action, and none reported having successfully made a claim.

We asked how classes have affected your personal confidence...

• 54% said "the classes made me much more confident and happier about my body"
• 31% said "the classes made me a little more confident and help me think positively about my body"
• 10% said "the classes have had no impact on my confidence"
• 4% said "the classes have done nothing or damaged their confidence or body image"

The next two questions asked you how much you wanted to know about the historical and cultural background to the dance, and how much of this information you actually got in your class. 75% of people felt they were interested in at least some aspects of this information - and were getting a moderate amount of information in their class. It would appear that the balance is about right though classes will vary and there may be a few people out there who want more information but are not being given it.

Your local scene.

We asked people to tell us where they felt they fitted amongst other local dancers...

• 13% felt they were still very much beginners
• 34% felt they were pretty much average compared to other dancers
• 39% felt they were up to the standard of the better dancers in their area
• 14% said they were recognised as one of the best dancers in their area

Again people in the North of England were most modest in their claims (average being "I am very much average compared to other dancers in my area"), followed by the Midlands, the South, and with the highest value we had Scotland. It is clear that the students in Scotland who responded to the survey feel most confident in their abilities in comparison to the other dancers in their area with an average rating of "I am up to the standard of the better dancers in my area".

The last question was about how many workshops, haflas and other events were organised in your area...

• 41% said there were very few local events and they almost always had to travel a long way
• 38% said there were enough local events but they often had to travel
• 17% said there were plenty of local events
• 4% said there were far more local events than they could make use of

The North came out as the best area for local events, though no area is doing very well at providing them.

Becoming a teacher.

176 teachers answered the survey. We asked them how, or why, they first began teaching...

• 30% said their own teacher encouraged and supported them to set up their first class
• 26% said they had been invited to take over a class when the teacher left
• 24% said people wanted a class locally and there was no-one else would run it
• 15% said they felt frustrated with the level of teaching locally and wanted to branch out on their own
• 6% said they had done classes before but where they live now there were no classes

We asked the teachers what specific training they had to teach bellydance. Some teachers ticked more than one item so the percentages do not add up to 100%

• 75% said they had observed their own teacher and learned from them
• 39% said that they had taken a workshop or short course on teaching dance or fitness
• 32% said they had work experience as a trainer of adults
• 30% had qualifications as a teacher or trainer of adults
• 27% had done self study on how to teach adults
• 14% said they had qualifications as a general dance or fitness teacher
• 13% said they had qualifications as a bellydance teacher
• 12% were qualified school teachers

Only 88 people gave any indications of actual qualifications held and some of these were not in fact qualifications relating to bellydance or teaching. The most common teaching qualifications were the City and Guilds courses (730, 740 etc) which are commonly undertaken by teachers in adult education settings. PGCE and BEd courses, normally relating to school teaching, were also mentioned. General fitness instructor and dance-exercise qualifications provided by YMCA, City & Guilds and RSA were quoted as well as qualifications from dance organisations such as RAD and IDTA. The vast majority of specific bellydance teaching qualifications quoted were the JWAAD course, with some giving the ASMED and Suraya Hilal course qualifications. A small minority mentioned overseas based courses.

We asked how long people had been teaching regularly...

• 24% said less than a year
• 52% said between one and five years
• 17% said between six and ten years
• 4% said eleven to fifteen years
• 2% said more than fifteen years

About the classes you teach.

We asked how many classes were normally (term time) taught per week...

• 37% said they taught one class per week
• 35% said they taught two or three classes per week
• 22% said they taught four or five classes per week
• 6% said they taught more than five classes per week

We asked if that was an increase or decrease on twelve months ago...

• 44% said they were not teaching last year, but now are
• 43% said the number of classes has increased
• 12% said the number had stayed the same
• 1% said the number had decreased
• (we removed the teachers who were not teaching regularly)

We asked people how their classes were organised. Teachers who taught more than one class may have ticked more than one option so the percents don't add up to 100%.

• 61% said they organised classes in a hired hall, school or studio
• 26% said classes were funded or organised by a local authority
• 20% said their classes were in a dance school, fitness club, or similar
• 7% had classes in premises they own or lease
• 2% had classes funded or organised by local arts or charity groups

We asked to tell us how many students they teach in a normal week...

• 26% said they taught 15 or less
• 32% said they taught 16 to 30 students
• 16% said they taught 31 to 45 students
• 11% said they taught 46 to 60 students
• 8% said they taught 61 to 75 students
• 7% said they taught over 75 students

We asked teachers to tell us if the number of students they were teaching had increased or decreased from one year ago. The increase in students, reported by the teacher, matches the increase in classes.

We asked teachers to tell us what their plans were for the next twelve months...

• less than 1% said they intended to stop teaching
• 6% said they intended to take a temporary break from teaching
• 4% said they intended to drop classes or reduce their teaching hours
• 52% said they intended to stay the same as now
• 37% said they intended to increase the classes or teaching hours

Income from teaching.

We asked teachers to tell us what sort of income they made from teaching...

• 16% said their income did not cover their costs
• 42% said they made a small profit that was used up on other dance activity
• 21% said it made a negligible contribution to their income
• 16% said it made a significant contribution to their income
• 4% said it made the main contribution to their income

Workshops and other Events.

We asked teachers how many workshops they had taught, including those at residential courses or festivals...

• 44% said they had not taught any workshops
• 40% said they had taught 1 to 5 workshops
• 9% said they had taught 6 to 10 workshops
• 7% said they had taught 11 or more workshops

We asked teachers how many workshops they had organised...

• 49% said they had not organised any workshops
• 43% said they had organised 1 to 5 workshops
• 8% said they had organised 6 or more

We asked teachers how many haflas, or similar social events, they had organised...

• 47% said they had not organised any social events
• 51% said they had organised 1 to 5 social events
• 2% said they had organised 6 or more social events

Souk or bazaar.

We asked if people sold bellydance materials and costumes as well as teaching...

• 55% said no they just taught
• 39% said they sold a small amount of stuff to their class members
• 6% said they had an established business as a trader

Final conclusions.

We set out on this survey with an aim of asking open questions to get a feel of what was 'out there' as, to our knowledge, nothing like this had been attempted before. We hope that you have found the survey results interesting and that they may be helpful to the varous organisations working on the scene. We had a wonderful number of replies (thank you) and we hope to run a similar survey at the end of 2007. At that stage we will be able to see if anything has changed and perhaps push for more detail about some issues.