What is a Professional Bellydancer?

My dance partner Soraya & I performed last weekend @ Emeraldfest fundraiser for Mission Outreach. Despite the heat 100*F, and the asphalt it was fun.
We were well received by a small but lively crowd. The compliment that resounded with me was from the organizer herself, "You were so professional, thanks for blessing me with your talent."

This really got me thinking. What makes a bellydancer professional?
I do not think it all comes down to money the way that it does in "professional" sports or ballet dance. One becomes a professional when they get paid contracts in these arenas. Since we as dancers, operate in a small niche I do not think not being paid makes you less of a professional bellydancer.
I do many performances & most of them are not paid gigs. So in that respect I am not a "Professional" dancer. I do however have many years of experience performing & guiding dancers. Which I feel does in fact make me a professional belly dancer.

I do believe that being a professional means more in the area of conduct, presentation, & skills. To be a professional means that you are a representative of your art form. You treat it with the respect it deserves. You treat your fellow dancers with the respect they deserve. You make an effort to be congenial and to network to increase awareness in our communities for our beautiful dance.
We are all women sharing a love for bellydance after all.

Being a professional bellydancer also means having respect for yourself. You have appropriate fitting costumes. You create you own total look. You never misrepresent yourself by acting "sleazy" in a bellydance costume. Sorry, but belly dancing is largely still misunderstood and behaving less than ladylike perpetuates this view. Also, wear a cover up. It helps conceal the surprise of your beautiful costume as well as your modesty. I'm all for sexy costumes in the context of wearing when performing. Think of it this way, do you wear your bikini around when you're nowhere near a beach or pool? It's common decency & professional.