COVID-19 really crippled the world last year, but here in my area, bookings have returned to normal... almost. The volume still isn't quite up to speed, but close.
One thing different is the number of bookings requesting two male dancers. To be clear, I hate when parties book two dancers. Even from my early days, I have always liked performing solo. I don't have to split tips, worry about what the other guy is doing, or whether he shows up on time. Plus, I like running the show my way.
There are some who like the "safety in numbers" factor from having extra help. Bad party? An extra guy can be handy in damage control. Big party? Two men can attack large crowds better than one. And for two dancers who have established a great rapport with each other, they can ultimately make a better performance and have the shared experience of a good time in some cases.
Then there is the advantage when having a seasoned veteran along, because he can provided an invaluable training experience. Being a seasoned veteran myself (closing in on 20 years now), I'm often the more-experienced half of the pair during these two-man shows, so the burden of running the show or training the new guy often falls onto me. While this isn't a problem in itself, I often get stuck with new recruits who cause absolute train wrecks of a performance. Either they aren't just cut out for the job (lack of charisma and the ability to read a crowd), or their ego far outpaces their ability to actually impress. Now being a former teacher, I like the prospect of passing on knowledge and helping someone learn (thus my blog here), but the problem is, much of my advice is ignored. After a few frustrating situations within the past year, I told my companies to leave me out of two-man bookings at all costs.
To be fair, companies love two-man bookings. It's double the profit for them, so they get a two birds for one stone deal. The problem lies mostly for dancers like me. I simply request to only do one-man parties. Fortunately for me, there are hardly any other male dancers in my area, so the companies rarely have the ability to send another dancer.
