At Night I Am "ARIA."

St. Patrick’s Day is truly an amateur day of drinking. This is the one holiday where drinking just maybe president over nudity. Nudity is always a nice bonus. This is just another busy drinking holiday where there is an influx of college students and sport’s March madness. Most dancers work on Patrick’s day to reap the befits of a bustling bar. There will be a lot of green decorations, beaded necklaces, “Kiss me I’m Irish” stickers, and possibly a leprechaun appearance.

As dancers, we can drink on the job, some would even say it’s part of the job. Depending on which day of the week St. Patrick’s Day land on, I know that I look less forward to working on this holiday. Get the buckets ready & I don’t mean for the money. Yes, those same champagne ice bucket used to chill champagne bottles and sometimes used to collect rain money is also served as a puke catcher for those patrons who can’t make it to the bathroom. 

Day time would be the best time to work on this holiday because, by the time the night shift comes around, our jolly patrons would have turned into mumbling buffoons. If not careful so will some of the ladies.

You would think being allowed to drink at work is a good thing. “It would make work more enjoyable” some would say. I have worked in the strip club industry for 20 years, I would to half heartily disagree. 

I remember not being able to drink when I first started dancing. Although dancers can drink on the job, the laws are still strictly enforced. I sustain from drinking until I turned 21. Except for the one time when I was 20 and sneakily took a sip from the champagne flute containing champagne, knowingly bypassing my mock champagne flute filled with ginger ale. I assumed nobody would be watching, I was very wrong. Everybody was watching and the cameras don’t lie. I remember getting reprimanded by the GM and quickly learned my lesson. It wasn’t long till I turn 21 and oh, how I wish I hadn’t rushed it. 

I feel fortunate to be able to remember as much that I do. Drinking on the job has caused many fuzzy, blurry, & blackout kinds of nights, some nights I wish I had forgotten, and times when I felt like I won’t survive another day. I must mind you to make friend with the bartender. They can be your ally or your worst foe. During some moments of clarity, I realize what may really have caused an early evening where I’m sprawl on the bathroom floor not able to stand because the room was spinning so hard. I like my drinks strong, therefore I leave an open invitation for any sinister bartenders who may want to intentionally poison me. At other times, I have notice drinks being served lighter to keep me performing and selling at my optimal capacity.

Yes, you can dance and choose not to drink and those dancers do exist. You can locate them by the shimmer of the reflective fluorescence bouncing off the plastic water bottle they carry around with them. A can of Red-bull may also be a sign of a non-drinker however may be a speed junky. 

I am a drinker. I need a drink, more often two to start my evening. Drinking indeed makes work more enjoyable, especially when I’m usually carrying a mild hangover from the night before and I am faced to be “on” & punctual to men’s taunts abruptly when the clock strike 6pm for shift change. Alcohol can quickly help me transition into “Aria.”

Since I turned 21, I have discovered a few “go-to” cocktails. I started as a light drinker, drinking flavored vodka with seltzer. That was my initial drink of choice, eventually, my pallet moving on to stronger cocktails, such as martinis or flavored vodka served on the rocks. It only took a few years for me to instinctively reach for the strongest drinks at the bar. By this time I knew I was in over my head. I could easily drink an entire bottle of Stoli Raspberry in an evening, straight up! I’d see men’s faces scour when ordering my drink. Retrospectively thinking, it was not my best impression.

During my youth, I don’t remember waking up with hangovers much. However, as I got older, nearing my 30’s, hangovers became more much prevalent. This may be due to my graduating cocktail to Tequila shots. Most recently, my signature drink has become “Patròn on the rock, splash of cranberry (just for a color) w/extra lime wedges.” I said it so much it automatically rolls off my tongue without a thought and has become “the usual” to the bartenders and I’ve unintentionally trained customers how to correctly order my drink; always less cranberry juice. It had a pretty pink color however a serious cocktail. I drank it so religiously that it would be obvious to all where I sat by the sight of where my cocktail laid.

St.Patrick Day 2020, the news of “the corona” has touched down in the United States. News of the virus started circulating after Valentine’s Day. I can sense a difference in the air. “Social distancing” is a new term yet to be fully comprehended, however, it was business, somewhat, as usual. A loyal customer of mine came in briefly on this day to say what I now know, was a final “farewell.” No hugs, no kisses, no handshake, no dances. This is when the seriousness struck me. He handed me my last & final payment. I noticed the money was crispy clean hundred dollar bills that looked and smelled as if it was just printed. He handed it to me with hopes in his eye of a “see you later”, with both of us knowing how unforeseeing the future has become. This was our last encounter.

Some girls may have sensed the change in the air as well and the news has become a catalyst in their efforts in making money. These girls can sense their final opportunities. Pushing the boundaries knowing there are larger worries surrounding them. It already seemed like the apocalypse has touched down in the strip club. The bad girls, naturally naughty, saw all the signs where they easily started breaking the club rules, allowing customers to snap pictures of them inside the club, private dances taken placed at the tables rousing all the men to become rowdier. As management tried to get a handle on the situation, I just watch as the club industry crumbles in front of me. It no longer looked like a sophisticated operation of a high-end establishment, but more an apocalyptic catastrophe. Girl fights in the dressing room, thievery, seedy behavior all around the club, where the club rules seem to be thrown out the window. I know some would think this happens on a daily in strip clubs, however, not to this magnitude.

At this time, constant hand-washing is in full effect with high demands of gel hand sanitizer and disinfectants, where stores are sold out of these products at record speed. I can recall my hands becoming dry, chafed & cracked more than ever stemming from the new guidelines of frequent 20 seconds hand-washings. Masks science at this point is spotty, and not yet widely worn or a requirement and a shortage concern over toilet paper.

It’s to no surprise that the club shut down abruptly a few days after this due to a nationwide lockdown. 

I hopped on a plane the night of St. Patrick 2020, Mexico bound. Vacationing is vital for dancers. Vacation is my form of detox. I have been busy working since Thanksgiving, working late into the nights, drinking on the daily, hangovers on a daily, celebrating rigorously with no holidays or weekends missed. This vacation has been long-planned before all this & I was glad to escape what seemed to be destruction and devastation. I had pre-booked this vacation some time ago not knowing what’s to evolve. There were no restrictions on travel yet. Hearing that the club had close down while I was in Mexico, was not a big surprise. It seems all for the best. The last image I have of the club seemed as if it was filled with rabid & already zombified females where customers have long been waiting for this “lucky” day. 

If the environment inside a small strip club started to show signs of an “end of days” clip, I can only imagine what will happen outside the strip club. 

I thought I was safe, enjoying my detoxification in a distant and remote paradise island with work cancel until further notice…then Mexico closed its borders…

February 14, Valentine’s Day is an important Hallmark holiday for smitten crushes & blushing admirers. Cupid is fluttering today for sure in the strip club. Today is a day to be filled with copious pleasantries and surprises. Valentines Day 2020 was the same as any other Valentine’s Day. The pandemic has not become a worry yet, and we have yet to know what’s to come. On this day, there is an array of flower arrangements at the club’s front door waiting for its recipient to pick them up. They are usually roses in a variety of colors sent from customers. Flower arrangement also comes in different sizes. One year, there was an enormous bouquet that towered over at the rest of them. It was so large, I was pretty sure it wasn’t for me. Surprise! It was for me. It was so large I had to dump the water out and place it in my car in pieces and rearranged them at home. Some dancers do not take flowers home, for various reasons. Those arrangements would then be donated to another girl who can enjoy them at home.

It always feels good to receive such surprises from whom I call “fans.” However, be wary of accepting expensive gifts. A nice gesture can easily be confused for hidden agendas and menacing motives. Preferably the best practice is to accept cash only!

I can recall an expensive gift I had received on one Valentine’s Day. For my love of photography, I had gotten a studio camera from a customer at the club. I thought it was a very sweet gesture. I accepted the gift and thought nothing more of it. In fact, I was using it throughout the entire year, and then came the following Valentine’s Day. I was surprised by 6 large police officers who came to arrest me at the strip club. The customer claimed that it was given as a transactional payment and that he did not receive his end of the “transaction” and accused me of stealing. Talk about having my heart skip a beat! There were many policemen at the strip club that came to do this “fun arrest.” They surely did not need 6 police offers to come to arrest me. I was caught off guard and never thought it would be me that would be cuffed and perp walk out of the strip club. 

I didn’t know why I was getting arrested. I had no idea that it was over that camera! The large policemen in full gear cornered me in the dressing room. I was confused. They didn’t even allow me to change out of my dress! They however allowed me to take off my 7-inch heels and put on my boots, while we are dead in the middle of winter I asked if I could put on my coat over my skimpy dress. I did the perp walk right in front of the DJ booth where the music has halted and I felt all the eyes and inquisitive minds on me more than when I was on stage.

I was directed out the back door and cuffed outside and placed in the backseat of a police car. I was cuffed the entire ride, all the way to the police station, as I realize that I have a bag of weed in my coat pocket. “Oh no.”  I thought. They eventually found it when they were processing my personal items. Weed was not officially legal, so they crumpled it upfront of me. They counted out my money and it was still early in the evening that I have not made much yet. I was short bail $10. They suggest I get this money before the bondsmen leave for the weekend and I will be held in a county jail for that time. Funny to think that I have received more than $10 from these policemen when I was dancing for them just last week.

I thought this charge was absurd! After they booked me, they tossed me into a cold hard cell. The policeman was nice enough to toss me a felt blanket to cover up with. I took the opportunity to catch up on my nap, besides, I just had gotten back from an international trip, taking photos with that camera. 

I knew my girls would figure out how to bail me out. Although they were not allowed to leave the club to come to get me, they were able to send out a guest. The police officers made sure to ask me if I knew who this person was before he released me as if all of a sudden they cared. I didn’t know him at all. He was a sweet elderly fellow. He paid my bail and gave me a ride back to the club. It was 11 pm when I returned to the club.

The lesson of this story is to be cautious and be wary of accepting grandiose gifts especially given in a strip club.

The court case has long been dismissed. I’ve yet to see the mug shot they took of me, with my hair and make-up all done up. This was a case of obsession and I was lucky he didn’t become a stalker. He wanted me & I was unaware of his obsession to marry me and when he realized that wasn’t going to happen he wanted to bring chaos into my life.

Heartbreak is inevitable on Valentine’s Day. Most guys go into a strip club seeking a gal to mend their hearts. Some guys enjoy having their hearts broken and by the same gal on a regular. And some other guys have gone the round of girls and have yet to find a compatible match. Some guys are still waiting to be acknowledged with hopes to have some time next to her. Spoiler alert, if you don’t have any money to give her, she may just always be too busy.

Valentine’s night is a popular evening for couples. It’s harder to approach couples. It takes more couth. The woman usually leads. She will either like you or won’t. It’s most uncomfortable when you can sense her uneasiness. Do I still dance in front of her? Do I still take off my clothes? Do I dance for her husband who sitting next to her? The answer is all yes, as an entertainer, I performance no matter how uncomfortable it may feel.

Dancing for couples is more of a challenge. You will have 2 sets of hands to constantly swat away. Women seem to think the rules less apply to them in a strip club and they will be quicker than me in taking off their clothes! Women feel softer, smell sweet, and are more generous. I would try to direct their energy & attention towards each other instead of having all their focus on me. Believe it or not women patrons are more aggressive and handsy than men are and you will get solicited to be a 3rd companion on their date.

Valentine’s Day 2021 is of a different kind. I have stopped dancing since the club closed when the pandemic hit (March 2020). It has been about a year of quarantining and social distancing. No hugs, no kisses, not even handshakes! Valentine’s 2021 is the year of genuine love. I no longer receive flowers and gifts from randoms guests at the strip club, but rather I got to enjoy this day with people who are within my closest circle, the ones that really matter. I did more giving than receiving this year and I enjoyed that so much more.

Last year was New Years 2020 and I remember celebrating it as a dancer, in a busy strip club, as I have done for the past 20 years. The COVID pandemic has yet to be announced here in the U.S. and all is well as we celebrated into the night ironically with the iconic roaring 20’s theme.

It was a great theme to represent what we expected 2020 to be, a year of great changes. You see, 1920 was the year of economic boom, where jazz music blossomed, Art Deco peaked, and women started wearing makeup, hiked up their dress, danced, drank alcohol, smoked cigarettes, and had gone against social and sexual norms and nearing the end of the Spanish Flu pandemic.

We all look and dressed the part of flappers with short bobbed hairdo adorn with embellished headbands, our dress vintage with slinky fringes, carefully thought out and selected fabric of luxurious satin, sexy silk, and faux fur boas, accessorized with pearl necklaces, and my favorite accessory satin elbow high gloves. I loved them so much that I planned to incorporate the gloves into my 2020 ensemble. I felt a playful and sultry seductiveness as I see eyes locked and hypnotized by the movement of my gloves, the only thing left on me during my performance. 

As a dancer, our fashion has to always be evolving. I had planned to adopt some inspiration from the roaring 20’s fashion. Little did I know that 2020 had different plans for me, for us all. 

Every New Year’s Eve, the club would select a fun theme to ring in the New Year. Only on this day, glitter is OK. Glitter is not OK 364 days in a strip club. Most men do not like the sight of glitter, as well don’t their wives. I can recall one New Year’s Eve party when we made glitter the theme! There was so much confetti and glitter thrown everywhere! I did not think it was possible to even clean it all up. It’s great to see that when you head back to work the next night, there would be no remnants of the blurry drunken evening you just had. Kudos to the cleaning company. 

One thing I learned from working in a strip club, is that it doesn’t matter what happened last night, it’s a new night to write a new blurry story.

How about a disco 1970’s theme? A real-life replay of Saturday Night Fever. Disco lights bouncing off silhouettes of girls with g strings, afros and blown out hair. A club overloaded with peppy dancers in the celebratory mood ready to entertain for your dollars. On this night, it’s common to see it “rain” in multiple areas of the floor and stage. Raining dead presidents is surely in the forecast this evening. 

On this night, the club will open later than usual because it will close later than usual with after-hour parties often held. The owners will surely be there to be the host of the party and celebrate with all of us through the countdown. 

For having worked in this industry for so long, my New Year’s Eve has become predictable. I would normally be occupied by my top customer from the year. He will be my top VIP, for he has been my most loyal paying customer to me as well as to the club. I will be expected to be next to him when the clock strikes midnight, where he’s sure to have secured that first kiss. After so many years, I learned to have exquite timing and find myself in the ladies room just as clock strikes midnight. This way I avoided the “accidental” slip of a tongue in the kiss, or a sneak grab from my geriatric customer. This way, I can enter the New Year’s more gracefully. I did this for several years and I was never missed, because there are plenty of girls around ready to take my spot. As long as I’m not gone for too long, we will drink and laugh as he slips me crispy $100 bills enticing me not to leave again. We will celebrate into the evening as we have done with all the other major holidays in the past year. 

Entertainers do not get New Year’s Eve off. It’s the busiest night of the year, we work. We will celebrate and be punctual just like any other night, besides this night the dancer earnings will start in the black, on this night you can keep all your money, no house fee. It is high energy on this night. It will get crazier and wilder than any other night in the year. All stages will be open, with a faster stage rotation to fairly run through all the talents this evening.

If an owner owns multiple clubs, this will be the night to consolidate into one club, where the staff and dancers celebrate all under one roof as a cohesive company party. 

The dressing room will be extra crammed tonight with additional girls from other clubs that the owner owns. I know it may feel awkward to enter into someone else’s domain, but this is the rare occasion when the clubs merged. Club girls can act like rival gangs from West Side Story. The house girls alone are already crammed like sardines in a small dressing room, let alone now having to accompany another set of girls from another club. It gets tight in there, girl’s belongings stacked on top of each other, with no seating available, all trying to get a piece of the mirror behind other girls trying to do the same. This was all before the new popular term “social distancing.” In fact, social distancing would be impossible in that dressing room. I can imagine this new word would have the girls squabbling over space even more so, like wolves and their territory.

There was none of this, New Years’ Eve 2021. Clubs are still shut down due to the pandemic and a vaccine is still in its developmental stages. The COVID surges continued to keep the clubs and bars shut down as word of a new strain has emerged. New York City in 2021 was historically empty as we did our countdown from our couches, toast our champagne flute thru ZOOM, and kissed the ones that are truly close to us. 

Happy New Year!

Christmas season 2020 is not the same as any other in history. It would’ve been my 20th Christmas year. Dancers have yet to come up for air, for we all have been working extra hard ever since Drinksgiving Wednesday. “T’is is the season!” Girls are pulling double shifts, and taking full advantage of the busy holiday crowd. Saving up for that special purchase for Christmas, I mean this is why we dance, to have the opportunity to be able to afford all that we want. Some girls just want it all while some speaks of never able to achieve even a little. Like in all other aspects of life, it’s a mindset. This is the wrong place to be in if you are limited in the mind for it will thrash you into the deep underworld where it will be hard to get out. 

There will always be the Naughties and the Nice, and really all year round. How about both? It is possible at the strip club. Why not treat yourself? It is Christmas. How about having Mrs. Clause sit on your lap! How about multiple Mrs. Clauses! 

Christmas is the time to have the Christmas spirit and dress the role. There is will be many Mrs.Clause, elves, & cute plays on Frosty the snowwoman. There will be a runway of different and creative Christmas fashion, costumes, and outfits, just like Victoria’s Secret, and better! These costumes can be exquisite! This is not a time to spare expense here and I can assure you nobody will be wearing the same unless they are planning to rip it off each other in a catfight. Lots of reds and whites, Pom-poms, textures, sequenced, and glimmer.

Christmas is my favorite holiday season to work. You would see me in all red, my cape custom made from a lustrous velvet material, and hidden underneath, is another custom piece, a sexy matching Santa G-strong bikini complete with those fluffy white Pom-poms.  As I transform into a sexy Mrs. Clause, my outfit is not complete with a sexy red garter belt with matching thigh highs adorn with dangling Christmas bells that’ll softly chime as I move. Which will be the only thing left on me after I have removed my bikini. At the end of some performer’s stage set, she may be left just wearing a Santa hat, LED String lights, a reindeer headband, an elf’s hat, or striped stocking. 

The club will be turned into a festive winter wonderland, with Christmas lighting, stronger fluorescence bouncing off strung up cut out snowflakes. There is usually a Christmas tree uniquely adorn with garlands made of g-strings and garters, topped with a clear heel, and instead of stockings, there are sexy knee-highs. There won’t be any gift under the tree, because the club has Grinches too that will steal it. We all know better dealing enough of that with our belongings in the back dressing room year-round.

The club will have an annual party and the guest will be encouraged to bring in gifts for a charity like Toys for Tots where we offer to do playful, & possibly naked, gift wrapping as an incentive. I enjoy doing this very much because the charity will also benefit from my efforts.

This is a busy season, not only for Santa, some girls decide to will work every day and night until the New Year. This time can be the most lucrative time of the year. The girls may even get gifts as a bonus, jewelry, gift cards, designer handbags, and other accessories. I have even heard dancers utilize their children to get expensive gifts for them from customers. Whether naughty or nice, I think it’s an opportunity for all.

How about receiving a surprise gift from a customer(s) you have had no time for? Yes, this happens. Sometimes dancers are fully booked, and the really good ones, most likely pre-booked year-round. I am guilty. I feel bad because these guys just want a moment with you but failed to get your attention during your busy hustle. He’s probably sat there and watch you bounce around from set appointments with loyal customers to working your stage sets, and aware of every time you have been whisk away into the Champagne room and had timed you! All while you are unaware. It’s very flattering, and you just have so much time to spread your time and attention, because your time and attention is your true value. The good part is that these guys maybe finally get noticed after the awkward Christmas exchange, however, you do not know if he is naughty or nice.

Some girls will exchange gifts with each other, while some get secret gag gifts from your frenemies, like coal, soap, deodorant, mints, you get the idea.

Shoppers will still be the high traffickers through the strip club after Christmas. Some people are still on vacation and have yet to return home. Some energies are still running high after Christmas and excited for the next big event, New Years!

It’s 2020 and most (not all) strip clubs are no longer open for these affairs. After 20 years, it has ended here for me. For the few clubs that are lucky enough to still be open, I wonder if Mrs.Claus and the elves are social distancing and wearing a mask this year? I’m guessing, highly unlikely.

In the times of Pre-COVID, Thanksgiving Eve was, perhaps, the busiest drinking night of the year.

“Drinksgiving” is Thanksgiving Eve. On this Wednesday, it is one of the busiest drinking day of the year, including in a strip club. On this Wednesday, the club will be open extra hours with all shifts available for the girls to work. The schedule line up will be filled with girls working a ”double” trying to reap the benefit of a busy bar. Similar to St. Patrick’s Day, it will be filled with all sorts of daytime drinkers. 

On this day, travelers from all over returns home to reunite with family members, and college students returning home to meet up with hometown friends. I have danced for so long that I have seen customers move far away & years later to return on this day. This is a great day to reminisce and flirt about your history. It’s always fun to hear their updates on how much life has changed. Expect to see distant travelers as well as the same local faces that are there on every holiday. 

Plan to have a busy day and evening on this day. I give credit to the ladies that can work a double shift! A double shift is 12 hours+ (open to close.) It’s a talent to dance that long in those sky-high heels as well as keeping your spirit high and energy up as you try to pace your drinking, while encountering and greeting myriad guests visiting the club on this day.

The key to being able to work a double shift is to moderate the day drinking. If you start drinking at noontime, the end of the day shift can be your demise! You don’t want to be too drunk by the beginning of thrnight shift! The night shift is expected to be even busier than the day shift because of it being a national holiday tomorrow. I have only worked the night shifts knowing to prepare my energy for its wildly busy evening. 

On this Wednesday, there will be food, special cocktails, and a festive theme to help the guests come in to celebrate “Friendsgiving.”

As of a few years ago, recreational marijuana became legal in my state. “Drinksgiving” now is also “Green Wednesday,” for the marijuana tribe users. This day consists of swapping, sharing, and enjoying creative marijuana edibles and treats. You can always tell which group of girls are the pot-head dancers, they are the ones that seems to be most “chill.” If you look close enough, you can observe the profound difference in energy level of girls in various groups, such as the amphetamine group of girls, the zombie junk bags, the head-med prescription dopes, and the hot mess alcoholics. The weed smokers are the most relaxed of the bunch with a sense of humor. 

I use to never go out “for a smoke.” I don’t smoke cigarettes, but for the girls that do, they will normally congregate together when it’s time for their cigarette breaks. Only 3 at a time! Or else there would be too many girls outside smoking and not on the floor working. I finally saw what this ”break” was all about when I started to venture out to smoke my joint. This outside space is another space for more locker room talk, and chatters about customer relations and issues. A break from the inside environment, where there is a moment of solitude, fresh air, no loud music, no customers. Something about the fresh air (obviously away from the 2nd hand smoke) that resets the mind and mood. I would observe the fidgety cigarette smoker, the weed smoker, as well as the double fisters; smoking cigarettes in one hand while smoking a joint in the others, and usually accompanied by a large ice coffee that is set on the ground because they have no hands left. 

Today is as much of a special day for you and your regular customers. It’s not just another holiday to celebrate together in the club, but it is the day to give thanks, although you should give thanks every day. I had a few regulars customers where it is a priority to delegate time for these special men. It’s a time to be thankful for all the time and money spent throughout the entire year. We have spent the year sharing laughs and turmoils, morale boosts and support, Birthdays, and other holiday events that have become part of your scheduled routine. It’s a day to show gratitude for how loyal your customers have been to you year-round.

This Wednesday is a precursor to a busy rest of the year. Tomorrow the club will be closed and you’ll have a day to spend with your family, knowing the club will expect you to be just as punctual for the club’s reopening on the following busy Black Friday. The club will open early again for all those shoppers and the beginning of a long holiday weekend.

The club will be filled with shoppers, out-of-towners, the loners, the weekend worriers, and with the same people you usually see in the club. The shoppers usually like to do a pit stop at the club for a shopping intermission for a cold refreshment and some eye candy, maybe a conversation, and maybe a dance. Today, these men are especially ready to spend. That’s the holiday spirit! Shoppers will keep strolling in until about January time, even when doing returns will get a pit stop at the club as if it’s a watering hole and leaving their wives at the mall to shop. Try to catch the men that just return an item, these guys are sure likely there to spend that cash he just received.

2020 is the year that ended all this. 2020 is the year that shut down Strip clubS, bars, restricted travel, and significantly smaller social gathering. Of course, retailers still expect a busy outcome for the famous crazy Black Friday, however, the number will show that the turnout is significantly low this year, as for other industries.

The world is no longer the same as 20 years ago. This pandemic pretty much decimated the strip club industry. 

Where is the best place to see the most fun, and sluttiest costumes? A strip club of course! With the perks of seductive and sultry entertainment of the many creative ways, it would be taken off. 

Some would say Halloween exists all year round in a strip club. Dancers accentuate playing their alter ego as a character and answer to a stage name on a daily. Dancers religiously wear costumes, apply heavy makeup, wear hair wigs, nail extensions, and lengthy lashes. The elevated clear heels that we wear for work is acceptable to be worn in public on this day; if one dares too. I know those heels are not made to be worn on pavement or gravel especially amateurs wearers.

French maids, nurses, kittens, latex dominatrix, bunnies, Mrs.Claus, elves, and other Christmas entities are a few costumes that can be found in a strip club other than Halloween night. 

I have played a nurse throughout the year. My costume, a button-up white lab coat paired with a clipboard, stethoscope, & a pen that looks like a bloody filled syringe. Older gentlemen love this. I would often head toward the silver foxes and blue-hairs to check their blood pressure as a fun way to approach them & quickly break the ice. I would also be sought out after a bachelor who just has been emasculated on stage and who may have just been whipped in celebration. I would be the nurse to help soothe their wounds.

I have also been a French maid, equipped with white gloves, sexy lined stocking, apron, and fluffy feather duster. I must say I was not sought out as much as the tending nurse. I observed the same result when I was dressed as a prisoner, in my striped outfit carrying around a ball & chain. People were less interested in getting dances from a convict. Who would’ve thunk!

Halloween night is an evening where all the girls get involved and the costumes are more creative than the norm. Anything goes on this evening. A Halloween costume contest is usually held as an incentive to dress up. There are always 1 or 2 girls that don’t want to comply & less into the Halloween spirit. These girls seem to not want to put in any extra effort & do not want to part-take in dressing up in a Halloween costume. Some girls take this opportunity to walk around in skimpier outfits than normally allowed as the club rules. Eventually feeling indifferent will have them seeking out last-minute costumes from other dancers. There are always extra ears and tail hanging around for last-minute thought costumes of cats, puppies, or devils.

Some clubs hold a themed Halloween party. One year, the club may look like a hospital filled with sexy nurses, another year, it may look like a police station filled with hot policewomen, or life-size dollhouse filled with barbies & dolls, a heavenly room filled with angels, or reddish hell filled with deviant devils and sultry vampires. 

I have played them all. 

The key on this evening is to find costumes that you can easily get off and on during your performance. A lot of the Halloween costumes out there are not made to be easily taken on & off. Skintight, skimpy, and sexy costumes are acceptable to wear for civilians on this holiday, however not made to be easily removed. 

Working one of my first Halloween night, 20 years ago, as an amateur, I thought it would be a great idea to wear large white angel wings made with real feathers. I quickly learned it was not a good idea. The wings were so large that I couldn’t dance or walk by anybody without hitting people with my wings. By the end of the night, I looked more like a fallen angel with tattered & broken wings. It’s a funny thing to see new amateurs make the same common mistakes in which they quickly learn as I did. 

One of my favorite costumes was a UPS delivery person. The recognizable brown color, although a skimpy 2 piece, booty shorts with a matching front tied top carrying around a cardboard box I used to collect my money. It must have been a relatable concept for the men for I did very well this evening and my costume was very comfortable.

I also observed that men prefer cute, sexy costumes and less of the gory types. Men already don’t like heavy body makeup, glitter, and fragrances on regular evenings. Too much of these things and it may rub off on them leaving evidence and traces for their wives. I have seen men turn down dances due to these very reasons. 

Some girls love Halloween and lives just for this night. These girls go all out on this day. This may be their favorite evening to toil with the men. “What? You don’t like seeing a naked girl with a deep bloody sliced neck?” Some of the special effects look so realistic, it’s enough to spook the men. These men are terrified of the painted pale complexion, runny blood, the shades of the black and blue bruises place all over her body. A different kind of energy can be evoked through the role we play with this evening. This would be the “Trick.”

On Halloween night, we would get guests coming in from other local Halloween parties and they too are dressed up and get themselves involve in the costume contest. One time, I received a carved jack-o-lantern from a customer in the club. On it was a carving of the exact replication of my tattoo. Creepy? I thought so. Especially when he told me the number of hours he spent on it. What’s Halloween without a little creepiness. It was impressive but questionable.

I came close to winning the Halloween contest; the year I was a “Hawaiian dashboard hula girl” adorn with leis, a grass skirt, and complete with coconut shell bra top. I was runner up to a sexy Ghostbuster! 

I must say Halloween night is not usually a busy evening at the strip club unless it lands on a weekend. Even still, anybody who is a parent knows that this holiday is best spent with their kids, especially for those single mom who are dancers. 

Halloween is an evening where you can further transform into whatever you want to portray. This could be a time to fill a customer request for his fantasy. I did this once, where I was requested to be a Gypsy belly dancer, where he had brought in the costume for me to wear! For this, he “treated” me very well. 

We will still strip our costume off on stage leaving us to our vulnerabilities, stark nakedness with just our makeup and shoes. “Trick or Treat” has a different meaning here, where “Tricks” happens on stage and the “Treat” comes in the form of currency. 

I suppose whoever is left still dancing during this pandemic, a mask will be the common theme. I would just wear my hazmat suit and call in a day.

Bouncers are the security, floor hosts, or doormen. These men are our additional eyes and enforcement. Their role is to watch over us, protect us, help collect money, keep order, and implement club rules. Their role is as important as any other position in the club, if not more. 

I’ve had great comradery and relationships with many bouncers throughout my years. I don’t sleep with them, but I know that dancers often do. I believe they do this as a strategy to get a upper hand, and gain a close ally within the club; so they think. 

There is no point to feel heated over these politics. I have seen a few of these relationships and most never ends well. The ending result usually has either one be forced to leave the club when the relationship starts to fail.

In one establishment I worked at, they are preferred to be labeled as “floor host.” Their job is the same as a bouncer but add the role of a host. He greets the guests as they enter the club, seats them, quickly assess their value, & brings them the choice of their preferred type of ladies. Whatever the girl makes from that guest, 30% would go to that floor host for having brought her to the customer. 

I started to notice some political sways in the club. I would observe the same girls to be 1st to be selected & brought to high paying clientels. I soon discovered instead of bringing their true requested girls, the floor host are now acting like salesmen and swaying customer’s choices for their own benefit, either because they are getting paid more than 30% AND they are sleeping with these dancers. 

I would find myself getting brought to the last choices of customers, or ones that are not big spenders, the men that didn’t even request for me. I felt like they sent me to do an impossible close, and still have to give them 30%.

Floor hosts are good to have when trying to collect money that has been thrown everywhere. They would be the one to assist you with broom & bucket. They get cut of that also, respectfully. 

The doormen mans the exterior of the club and are the first security you must bypass. They decide whether you have entry or not. I barely ever see these guys through the evening because they are outside.

In this big establishment, the security staff would all be wearing secret service type earpieces so they can easily maintain situational awareness throughout the building, and quickly locate anyone.

Security is good for breaking up fights, throwing out disgruntled customers, maintain order as well as the waitstaff’s extra eyes. Security comes especially handy when walking out to our car, especially late nights in a bustling city with a lively night life and with a bag full of cash. 

Don’t be fooled. As a dancer, if you got issues with the club then you will also have issues with the bouncers. This security team will be the one to escort you out of the building as you are fired. As well as be the enforcer to the club’s no re-entry rule if you are banned or blacklisted, whether dancer or customer.

I have also worked at clubs where the security is a lackluster. They are not big or intimidating and not the macho-est, but work best in numbers, with a bouncer manning each corner and doorway. If something was to go array, you would hope they’d be brave enough to do something about it, if they are even paying attention. These guys may be here only for the money, I mean we all are, but while playing our positions. These bouncers can be slick. If you are not paying attention, he has the ability to over or undercharge for your dances. 

Dance rule #1: Always get your money first before doing your dance. This way, it can help you keep track and avoid any issues when it comes time for the customers to pay. If a customer can not pay for dances after the fact, you will be paying for those dances out of your own pocket!

Bouncers rely most on tips as dancers do, therefore it’s only natural to wash each other hands. The more dancers make the more bouncers make as it trickles down. However, “floor host” may make just as much as dancers do!

The security staff come & go just like dancers. A revolving door for some. They are involved in the drama, just like dancers are, however they play an important role in handling commands directly from the owners. This prompts me to think, in this industry, we are all easily replaced.

I have known security men that have been fired for being too “aggressive.” Unfortunately, the club may have to let him go due to liabilities of his actions, some even get imprisoned. And some bouncers hired just out of prison! Like dancers, bouncers come from all walks of life, except I have yet to meet a female security staff.

Some bouncers excel & show exemplary skills and end up leaving to do more serious security roles. They move on to owning their own security company, become private transporters, and personal bodyguard for the upper echelon. I recognize some to this very day escorting celebrities and high profile figures in taboids and tv. Similiar to dancers who has excelled and have become professional pole ambassadors, actresses, rappers, or…dentist hygienists.

I want to extend my gratitude to all the security men, bouncers, and floor hosts that has provided me with assistance and safety while working in the club during my 20 year stint.

The stage is where all eyes are on you. Here is where you have the opportunity to catch others’ attention and acknowledge whose eyes you’ve caught in the room. The stage is filled with all kinds of emotions. It may be a nightmare for some, while others become a star and climb the heights of people fantasies or at least to the top of the pole.

During my 20 years of dancing, I have endured every one of those emotions. I have felt fear, shyness, embarrassment, bashfulness, uncomfortableness, and I have also felt the high when I get a standing ovation, so confident my ego was soaring, money thrown from all angles that it looks like the sky is raining cash. Praises, compliments, and admiration only continue to fuel my self-esteem and confidence.

Epic fails happen more often than you may think. All kinds of things can happen during a stage performance. The art of performing also means to play it off smoothly. “The show must go on!” You must make unpredictable incidents unnoticed & roll with whatever happens. Wardrobe malfunctions, slippery stage, oily pole, wigs falling off, accessories snags, broken jewelry, heels breaking, missteps, trips, and falls, even being on stage longer than expected where the next girl is nowhere to seen, to even recognizing a family member in the crowd.

The show MUST GO ON.

Being on stage can also be a high. The same effect like any other drug, the good and the bad. Some days you can feel as if you are Madonna herself performing her best set and the audience is going crazy. You barely have time to rake up your money or put back on your clothes and a line as formed off stage, waiting to be the first to get your attention.

Then, there will be other days where you are not feeling like Madonna, however, you still must go up there, do your best performance, get stark naked in front of a room filled with people with your feelings of vulnerableness and apprehensiveness.

When you are not feeling your best, your nerves and mind will try to get the best of you. You will be hypersensitive to whispers, looks, & chatters. You’re swagger diminishes, and you’ll feel like you keep tripping over your own two feet. Sometimes, the lack of money or patrons on stage could trigger these insecurities. The more you think about it, the more anxious you will feel and the mind will continue to plays tricks on you, toiling with your emotions. You are a performer, you still must go on.

Watching other dancers on stage may also play on your nerves. By doing this, you will amp yourself up by comparison of how well or not well the other dancers are doing. This is something I learned not to do. Every performer is unique in every way, appearance, suaveness, attitude, dance moves, and talent. Nevermind what they are doing, I found that I perform better and was less nervous when I stopped comparing myself to others.

In my 20 years I have learned to have a strong mindset. Mindset is everything whether you are a dancer or not. A strong mind can conquer all or it will conquer you. I never really got over stage freight completely, it comes and goes throughout my 20 years. There will always be different sicarios you’ll find yourself in, but that is a vital part of getting better and stronger.

Stage sets are usually only 3 songs, approximately 10-12 mins. It helps if you can select songs that you enjoy, the time will speed by quickly to a good tune and you can dance like nobody is watching. Patrons enjoy watching this as well as they too may shy and uncomfortable. There is always somebody watching, even if the stage is empty, eyes can be from the bar, from the tables, from the couches across the room. Dancers should still perform with an empty stage. It is not the easiest thing, but how else will you attract somebody to go to stage?

I see too many dancers not performing on stage due to an empty stage where there are no patrons or money. No matter if there are 1 or 10 patrons in the club, performers should always perform. I have learned that not performing will surely get you no money. There is nothing to entice a patron to approach the stage, there is no playful tease, no connecting eye contact, or any sort of emanating interest. This is where I learned the art of seduction. While other dancers are not doing their job, there lies the opportunity to do and be better.

The stage is where the infamous pole is. This is where dancer would show off their acrobatic talents and strengths. It’s not my thing, although I have tried it, and I have climbed to the top of a 2 story tall brass pole. I got back down safely, and now I can check it of my bucket list. It is not for everybody.

I call myself a danceless dancer, where my moves are not technical dance moves, but more like sexy seductive poses. I move slowly, lots of smiles, eye contact, giggles, with cheeky teases. My presence is sophisticated, pleasant, playful, & tasteful. We are all unique, and this is my uniqueness.

The contrast is the more aggressive type. The ones that like to play DOM and berate men. This works for them. Some performers move fast and go through their routines without any crowd interactions. Some just stay on the pole afar from the crowd. Some may have talents of a contortionist, while others love to be salacious and possess no shame. Having variety in the strip club is a good thing. That is entertainment.

Where else can you wear clear heels? Not the formal stiletto types but the sky-high, break your ankle type heels. Nowhere, but at the strip club. 

There are heels for all types of dancing. Ballroom dancers perform in wearing standardized Ballroom shoes. Latin dancer who may dance Salsa or Tango has a special style of shoe for flexibility and allows for pointed feet. Ballerinas have their designated kinds, whereas Tap dancers wear something like smooth Jazz shoes where metal is fixed on the bottom of the toe and heel. Exotic dancers are no different.

20 years ago you only had options of opaque colors of platform stiletto style heels. I’m not exactly sure when the traditional style pumps left the strip club, but I started dancing entering the era that popularized platforms, latex, vinyl and pleather. The option would be Black, White, Red, and a few other colors and they all came with ankle straps, due to the fresh fashion trend. 4 inches is the minimal requirement height for heels as part of the required “uniform.” If you can call it that. 7inch is considered the norm.

I use to think, the higher the heels, the more veteran you must be to be able to dance in anything higher than 7inches. This statement has some truths. I see many daring young ladies showing off their shoes that stretch as high as 10inches! That is talent alone being able to gracefully perform on stage with such a piece on their feet. 

Clear heels eventually became a staple representing exotic dancers. As the club wear fashion morphed from the success of materials like polycarbonate and acrylic resin, ankle became stronger and the ankle straps became an option. Then rhinestone were added, all colors of the rainbow, glittered and glowing, some are even fitted with LED lights and even a goldfish bowl can be brandished into exotic heels.

1 does not fit all. The shoes the girls wear tells a story of who they are or who they are trying to portray. Shoes have always represented us in our daily lives, so why would being in a strip club be any different? Your persona will emit through your shoes, especially when it will be the only thing that is left on you.

The look of a clear heels creates an illusions, thats we may look like graceful ballerinas walking on our tippy-toes. The heels forces our posture for a sexier stance. The heels will give u automatic pose of standing tall, with wary steps, chest up, ass out. It draws attention to long legs, small feet, and sexy arched back.

I have seen clear heels worn outside a strip club, as prom shoes, weddings, fitness competitions, pageant events, even Cinderella has a pair. What makes it exotic wear is the height.

It may not be a surprise that the most common injury found amongst dancers are sprains and strains. Injuries that may include back, leg, and knee pains. Blisters and corns are common in all professional dancers’ feet. Therefore selecting the right pair of shoes may make all the difference.

If you have weak ankles, go with an ankle strap. If you are already tall, do you need to be much taller? Height can be an intimidating thing to men. What kind of outfits do you mostly wear? Clear heel goes with everything! Maybe you have a bubbly personality, there are copious styles with glitter and bling out heels. Maybe you are like a precious metal, chromatic colors like silver or rose gold can help relay the message in your aesthetics. Glow in the darks and neons has recently been an added new trend.

I have sprained my ankle once during my 20 years of dancing and it was not while I working. Having worn these heels as a professional, it trained me to be a very surefooted person. So when I had an accident that caused a severe ankle sprain, I was out of commission for my recovery. It was a surreal feeling, for I am a dancer and I need my feet! After some physical therapy, I returned and had to reassess my heel option. I returned to work on a 4 inch platform stiletto style heel with ankle straps, and red, symbolic to my injury. I felt like a new born baby giraffe, just learning how to walk, carefully skating on what feels like a slippery stage.

I ultimately stuck with this height, eventually, my ankles got strong enough to be supported without ankle straps. I tried to go back to wearing the 7-inch heels however I found that I no longer liked wearing them. My 4 inch heels were not as dramatic as the objectified taller ones, however, it much more comfortable, safe and my talents have prevailed over the dangerous goddy kicks.

I found myself different from my peers by wearing shorter heels. Although, during this time I learned that men preferred the smaller heels and enjoy not being towered over. This look may beccloser to representing the realities of their fantasy and not a Marlyn Manson, or Lady Gaga music video. I think the culture may have gotten a little carried away. That is ART for you! 

This COVID pandemic of 2020 started to affect businesses in United States around mid-March 2020. Every business got shut down due to the Corona virus, including strip clubs.

The United States is different from other countries because each state has their own restrictions and protocols of handling the pandemic. This is one of the factors that contribute to the spike of affected people in multiple states. Some states  have quarantine bands that last longer than others. Some states may be more strict with their mask rules while others are more relaxed. And some people will still travel in between states during this time, and may inadvertently carry & spread it to the states they traveled to and all along the way. 

Here we are in July 2020, the strip club I worked at (seven years) was abruptly closed, is still closed, and not expected to reopen until a vaccine has been made for this virus. A vaccine is still at its infancy of research and development. Call this year a wash for this club. A vaccine will not propagate until at least 2021, when further studies and research has been discovered.

So what does that mean for my 20-year dance career? It means it’s time to finally let go. Fortunately, I recognize the time for a change. Change is a great thing. If it weren’t for change, caterpillars would not metamorph into butterflies; trees will not change with the seasons, and the seedlings would never bloom into a flowers.

The club can’t possibly be waiting for all of us to show back up there a year later! Who know what kind of condition or situation people have  endured during this pandemic. A lot of thing can happen in one year’s time. 

There are some gals, waiting at the club’s front door steps since the place has been closed, just waiting for the doors to open back up. These girls are trying to hold on. It’s obvious these girls are not ready for change. I honestly do not think things will be the same. A year has been frozen at this club, you would think this would urge the ladies to seek alternative work.

Who really know what the future may hold for the club. If it does open, will patrons still stream in? Will the earning powers be the same? Fewer patrons and less money will only paint a picture of the girls acting like wild hogs fighting over food. It would be like a Zombie apocalypse within the club where few will survive the new order.

Desperation will bring out the worst in some people, especially the ones who doesn’t want change. It will be those same girls who thinks they know it all, the negative ones, the ones that are always speak of impending doom, the ones that speak of never making enough money, the mean ones who bully others for their self egotism, and the ones who chooses to live their life in scandalous ways. 

It’s no surprise that some have seek refuge in other clubs that have already reopened for business. These girls are being pro-active and not just waiting for hopes of the club to reopen, however, their desperation shows with their willingness to ignore state regulations, and cross state lines to continue their entertainment of being up close and personal.

It’s probably best they start working at a new club. 2021 is some distance away. Joining a new club will balance out the apocalyptic urges of desperation due to an existing hierarchy of the new club’s house girls. The newbie gals will be working in their house, on their turf. The house girls must be feeling a sort of take-over. This means the sale floor could still become a menacing catty battlefield.

In which is added extra entertainment for the patrons.