My Life as a Dancer ...Or Not
By Emily, age 21, Newfoundland
Sweet Designs Featured Writer
Editor's Note: The views expressed by the authors in this magazine are their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of Sweet Designs Magazine. We are committed to providing a venue for teenage girls and young adult women to express a diverse range of responsible points of view.
The following article contains subject material which may not be suitable for younger readers. After some consideration, I have chosen to publish this account, trusting in our readers' ability to gain from having read it and make their own positive lifestyle choices. Sweet Designs Magazine supports Emily and all our writers for their courage and honesty in taking on personal or controversial topics.
For those of you who read my original article - "My Life as a Dancer" (SDM, Dec '09) - you know what this is about. For those of you who don't, I was a dancer at a nude bar. Even though it's not a job everyone could do, I loved everything about it. I met a ton of interesting people, heard a lot of interesting stories, and made some money. But not everything was quite as good as it seemed.
It didn't work out at the club where I originally started. They told me that I needed more practice and offered to let me come in and practice during the day. One of the managers would come in and watch me to make sure that I was improving. So I kept in contact with her via text and set up my first practice time. The day I was supposed to go in, she texted me and told me that she was sick and couldn't make it. I told her "I hope you feel better" and left her alone for a couple of days to recuperate. A few days later I tried to make another practice time via text. She never texted me back, but I refused to take no for an answer.
I texted her several times before finally calling one Saturday. My number came up as blocked, and in retrospect it is probably the only reason she picked up. We made a practice time for the following Tuesday and I was super excited to finally get to practice. The day I was supposed to go in to practice, she texted me and told me that one of the lights was blown, and it took out the entire light system, and I couldn't go in that day. I tried to make another practice time, but she never texted me back. I called and left several messages for her, but she never called me back.
Finally, I tried to get hold of the manager who met with me the first time. I texted him and explained the situation to him, but he never texted me back. I tried calling him several times, leaving a couple messages on his machine, but again, I got nothing back.
Personally, my friends and I found it very unprofessional to just lie to and avoid someone like this. So I decided to try out at another strip bar. I was really excited. I bought a new outfit for my audition, which consisted of a corset and a pair of matching black panties.
I showed up for my audition and at first it went as I expected. He told me to change into my outfit and I would get up on the stage and show what I could do. I was feeling good about what I was wearing, and I got on stage to a song I'd never heard before and gave it my all. He stopped me about 4 minutes into my audition and told me I could change back into my clothes and then we'd have a chat. I knew it wasn't a good sign.
I got changed and sat at the bar and waited for him while he finished with a phone call. My mind was racing with all kinds of possibilities, but I knew it wasn't good. The best case scenario in my mind was that I wasn't going to be able to be a dancer at the time, but that he'd allow me to practice at the bar. I was not prepared for what he told me.
He proceeded to tell me that I was essentially too fat and pale to be a dancer, to come back in a month when I'd "toned up", and that someone of my caliber was not going to be able to dance at their bar. He then told me to travel around the island and go to bars in different cities to practice.
Not only was I disappointed, I was also highly offended.
So I have come to the conclusion that I simply was not meant to be an exotic dancer, which is sad because I highly enjoyed the job.
So ladies, if you're considering applying for a job as an exotic dancer, take it from me, it is not easy. You should be in impeccable shape, have lots of practice, and have the right personality to be able to dance nude up on stage.
