I always say that a website is NOT a MUST-have for a belly dancer who wants to start performing locally. People will ask where they can find more information about you, and it's good to have a place where you can direct them to. It doesn't need to be necessarily a website, but it can be your professional dance account on Instagram or a FB page, YouTube channel, etc. You absolutely can survive without an actual website. However, here are a couple of very important reasons why a website is much better than just relying on other alternatives:

Your website creates a more professional impression about you. If your potential client is in doubt whom exactly to hire for their event, the website will only strengthen their opinion about your professionalism compared to someone who only has a Fb page (of course, if your website indeed does look professional).
Your website allows you to organize information much better than on a social media feed. You can add information about your dance experience & dance show, you can create dedicated video and photo gallery, etc. Client will be able to find all information easily and fast.
Your website can serve as your sales pitch. If you structure the content in a thoughtful manner, your website can guide your potential client from the initial interest ("oh, maybe it would be nice to invite a belly dancer to my event") to their firm decision about hiring you ("yes! and I want specifically this dancer!"). By the time this client contacts you directly, they already fell in love with your services, and they just want to confirm details of the booking. This sounds like a dream, but that is totally possible. You just need to invest time and thoughts into the creation of your website, and think about the client's experience once they are browsing your web page.
Your website can be a channel through which clients find you. Don't forget that all search engines analyze each website and try to provide the most relevant pages according to each search request. By improving SEO of your website, you get more chances that Google or Yahoo would naturally direct more traffic to your page, hence more potential clients. Also, make sure to register your website in the Google listing for local businesses, so that you reach more targeted audience specifically in your city or area.

I sincerely recommend that you design your website yourself, and always think from the point of view of your potential client who opens the page: what information they will be looking first of all, what message do I want to convey, is this design or layout possibly too overwhelming or messy, etc. You can use a free platform such as WordPress (but more difficult to create a nice design), or paid platforms such as Squarespace or Wix, etc (they have tons of templates, and you can make your own website super easy and fast).

If you want to dig deeper on this topic, I highly recommend to check out my Business Course for Belly Dancer which talks more in depth about all possible tools of promoting your dance business. It also includes my 2-hour lecture dedicated entirely to the nuances of designing website, which content to put, and how to lead a potential client from the basic interest to the firm decision to hire you even before contacting you.

Let me know if you found this helpful, and feel free to message me back with your business tips!

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Author: Iana Komarnytska
Photographer: Pedro Bonatto