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WHAT IS A PROFESSIONAL BELLY DANCER?.

how does one earn the title of "professional belly dancer?

Can you earn a decent living with bellydance?

Strictly taken, a professional dancer is someone who earns a living with dancing.
That said, non-professional or amateur dancers could be excellent dancers as well.
Being a professional means that you are able to draw an income an pay taxes.
An independent dancer is CEO of her/his own enterprise. Earning the title of "professional belly dancer" is simply making a career out of oriental dancing just like a laywer or a dentist. It involves more than dancing alone. Management skills for running your own school - if this is the case - or manage ones own self are a must. Mastering the skills of marketing, accountancy, public relations, logistics and so on are part of the game. It sounds very technical,it is the live of a professional dancer. Unless you have a manager or a partner who is in charge.
I would say that when the dancer pays his taxes as a dancer, she/he became professional.
Being professional artist requires lots of work and is in fact a full time job, just like any other job. It requires continuous education on different aspects of the job, not only on the artistic side. Some professionals just survive, others make a more than decent living and top dancers can become very wealthy indeed.