View Full Version : Why/how did you get into dancing?
KariSwitch
06-09-2015, 12:59 PM
I was in school, and because my mom remarried to a well off guy, my financial aid disappeared. Although he's a nice of enough guy, he wasn't paying my school.
So, I started working at a bar (regular night club) as a bartender. Over the months I worked there, our required outfits got smaller and smaller. The money was too good to really complain. I tried bartending at another club, but didn't make half as much money.
The club had stage and cage dancers too. One weekend, I needed money to get to a friends wedding so I asked for extra shifts at the club I was bartending at. The owner said one of the cage dancers called off sick and I could do that if I wanted. I arrived to work that day, and again we had new outfits (that we had to buy too), and they were basically thongs disguised as booty shorts, and a little more than a sports bra. After I came down from my first shift, a girl who frequented the club (and who I was friendly with) said that I danced well and if I didn't mind dancing nearly naked, I could even make more money dancing naked. She gave me her number to call her if I was really interested. After a night of dancing in next to nothing and having drunk guys shouting and making lude remarks, I figured it couldn't be worse than stripping, and if the money was better...
I met her for coffee two days later, and auditioned after I came back from my friends wedding. The rest my friends is stripper lore...
mercyme
06-11-2015, 09:32 AM
My friend started dancing, made $500 her first night. This is midwest, minimum was 7.25 at the time. I went in for a night right after I turned 18, and my bf freaked. I was doing school full time, and depressed. Didn't have the energy to fight it.
Fast forward 2 years and a weird break up, I got my break up hair cut and said fuck it. I'd been taking pole dancing lessons for 6 months (the only exercise I can stick to), and I was finally comfortable with myself. I bought some 7 inch pleasers and went to work.
whirlerz
06-11-2015, 09:41 AM
I was 16 and desperate to get out of a house where I lived alone with my father who was an abusive bum. I was already a waitress in a coffee house and a clerk at the local dry cleaners while going to high school. I had been feeding myself and paying bills for a good couple years already. Friends and coworkers could easily tell what was going on without me saying a word. It was obvious and I felt ashamed and embarrassed by my predicament. Social workers had been in and out of my house because the school and coworkers had reported suspicion several times. The summer between my Junior and Senior high school years I began packing all my belonging up so that at anytime I could grab them and get away when I stopped feeling scared. That summer my Dad had beat me and broken a couple bones in my hand. It was the final straw and I got a fake id and applied at the best club in the area. The manager not only hired me, but got me a apartment I could afford in a nice area and changed my life. From there I never looked back and never put up with shit. Dancing was my savior. I did positive things for myself with my money (braces, college, lasik, and a house). I feel lucky and privileged that over ten years ago I ended up with good people at a good club. :O And the people and industry has changed several times over, but I feel so thankful for dancing.
Wow! Great story, thanks^!
I think about this ALL of the time. When I first started, I was a virgin in every sense of the word and had no fucking clue how the real world worked. I could've been eaten alive if I'd landed on the steps of the wrong club.
So True!^ Great point, which's why I'm treading so carefully about picking a club
chloe25
06-13-2015, 06:37 AM
The reason i got into dancing was because i had been a really serious study nerd in the final years of school, I got excellent grades but hated my family, we were never close, and I never felt like they understood me or accepted me. From the age of 15 while I studied really hard, I always had secret plans to work in the stripping/ sex industry when I turned 18. The day I turned 18, I went to 2 strip clubs on my 18th birthday and got jobs waitressing at both if them.
I spent 5-6 months waitressing, the tips were fantastic, but then winter came (the slow season) and I decided to take off on a secret trip interstate to try out dancing in some clubs on the Gold Coast. My first night dancing, I lied and told them I already had worked as a dancer, I rocked up after a couple shots of vodka, very drunk. The girl was explaining the rules to me and I feel off the chair! That night I remember my first customer ever, he was a young guy, (I was young too) and he got 2 dances off me in a row! I was amazed, not only had this guy paid me for a quick dance, but apparently I was good, and he offered to have another one! The funny thing I remember, I only pulled my g-string down at the end of the final song! I was such a virgin stripper haha. I got sent home after a couple hours that night, but it was enough to show me the possibilities. I've been dancing ever since and hardly ever have a bad night. It's all about work ethic and attitude, I read a book recently which said something about hustling being mind control. Us dancers are masters of mind control.i love it xxx
chocolatebombshell
06-16-2015, 12:25 AM
Got tired of being a spoiled brat with my parents so I moved on my own and realized that waitress job wasn't hitting on anything. One night I realized my rent was due and didn't want my dad to give it to me so I walked on Bourbon and asked about a job,made my rent and that was it.
Dakota Pink
06-22-2015, 04:51 PM
I was putting myself through college full-time and working nights at a minimum wage job was a bitch! I had wanted to be a prostitute my entire life, but after losing my virginity at age 17, I realized I really enjoyed stripping (after my high school graduation I was a one-time private party dancer with my classmates) and I needed money for college. My ex at the time said that it was Ok if I was a waitress in the SC, so of course I tried out as a stripper (fuck any man that tells me what I can or cannot do) and I made $136 on a Sunday and never regretted it. I love dancing, I've quit before for vanilla jobs before and after my degree, but always end up back in the club b/c it's the only thing that I enjoy. I love this industry and have had my burn outs but nothing puts a smile on my face like the SC will.
Cashmere Star
06-23-2015, 01:04 PM
If it wasn't for STDs and prostitution being illegal (in most places), I'd probably be a prostitute too.
AlysonRose
06-24-2015, 09:56 AM
I remember me and a couple friends all wanted to be dancers at like 13-14 because we saw one of our friends cousin and just loved out she got to wear sexy outfits and stuff to work. All while making money just showing off. Obviously a lot more to it than that but we didn't know. But we'd start pretending we were dancers and dressing up and dancing around to music.
Then after high school and working jobs I really didn't care for I started to get into the idea more. I checked out a couple clubs and really loved the atmosphere of it all. Decided to give it a shot and been happy ever since. Even looking back I was always probably destined to be a dancer. My friend I ran into a few months ago said she's not surprised because I was always into dressing up and wearing stuff that flaunted my body. I just always been an attention getter and loved that part.
charlie61
06-24-2015, 04:58 PM
I had saved up my money from cashiering for an entire year just to buy a nice digital camera body. On the day of my graduation from high school, I backed into our landscaper's car, and there went all of my savings. I decided there HAD to be a faster way to make money. Around that time, I read Jenna Jameson's autobiography, which put the concept of dancing as a job into my innocent little head.
So I started toying with the idea of stripping, but more as a joke than anything else. I was extremely shy with severe social anxiety, no social skills, and I had been the "ugly kid" growing up (I was the girl people would ask on dates as a joke in front of their friends). I was a virgin, and I'd never been inside of a bar or a strip club (hell, I'd never even been to a party before). So it really started off as a mental game for me - is this something I could actually do? Me? Really?
But somehow, soon after I turned 18, I mustered up the courage and went in for an audition. I ended up having to go in three separate times, which took an incredible amount of strength for me (each time I tried to go in and couldn't audition, I felt like the universe was telling me I shouldn't pursue it). The first time I showed up on the wrong day, the next time I showed up at the wrong time, and the third time I got it right.
I only went on stage once and then went home after signing up on the schedule. I made $26 (this was back when minimum wage was like $5.25 in my region), and it felt like the most incredible thing. The next morning when I went grocery shopping, I treated myself to a few things that I'd previously wanted but refused to buy for myself...a little container of grocery-store sushi, a pizza, and a bottle of nectarine juice. I was ecstatic, and it felt like the world was opening up in front of me.
And the rest, of course, is history. ;)
Leather_Jacket
06-24-2015, 06:39 PM
I tried working in retail and sales for over 5 years while taking college classes and finding myself further and further in dept. One awful situation lead to another and while visiting my family on the east coast they convinced me to stay. I forgot how hard it was growing up in that house. What started as being the victim of emotional and physical abuse as a child turned into emotional and physical abuse as an adult. I was convinced that if I could take it, then I could be a successful member of my well-to-do family. Growing up, the abuse hurt my self image and when I went into school (in a conservative small town); the kids could smell my insecurity a mile away. I got picked on, bullied, and beat by a lot of kids back then. I started to notice the same pattern as an adult. My self-estem would take a hit, and then I didn't have enough confidence to perform well at work or in my college classes.
I took a job as a waitress to hide my earnings (I had to give 50% of my earnings to my family while living with them no matter what that amount was.) I saved just enough to visit the west coast again where my real support system was. I realized I needed to get away from the abuse and try to make it on my own before my pride had been completely diminished. So I cut ties, moved back, and looked for another job. Again I was making minimum wage in a city where rent alone costs a grand a month AND I was still pushing to get my degree. The job I was working let me do something I was passionate about, but management made sure proof of our hours were not on record and they would take hours and over time off of employees paychecks. Scheduling had become a mess as well and I would come in for unscheduled shifts that I would later not be paid for. I couldn't pay my bills.
I overheard one of my co-workers talking about how she used to strip. The idea had occurred to me before but I mostly joked about the possibility. No one in my family would DARE to pull that. That, and the idea of me being a sexy confident bad-ass was just unreal. But when I pictured myself that way it was really exciting, I had always wanted to be someone like that (My childhood dream was to be Catwoman.) I heard about a cabaret that a bar show cased every Sunday so I took my boyfriend along that week. It was a blast and I decided it was time. I wanted it, and nothing was gonna stop me. I asked my ex-stripper/co-worker/friend to show me how and she showed me a couple pole tricks and even supplied some of her guy friends for lap dance lessons. We had a blast and it really boosted me up. Our next stop was to check out the strip clubs in the area. When we arrived at my friends old club, the bouncer recognized her right away and practically begged me to audition (we had no intention of having me try out THAT night). It was my first time in a strip club, ever and I was not wearing anything even close to appropriate stripper wear. But we did it, and I was hired. My first day I made more than what I would have made 2 weeks at my retail job. I was hooked and even though somedays may be shitty, I love my job. I love everything that stripping has given me... confidence, love for myself, a roof over my head, time for my school, time for me, and the occasional little things that I just want to have.
Cashmere Star
06-24-2015, 10:38 PM
These are all such wonderful stories, ladies! :)
I remember me and a couple friends all wanted to be dancers at like 13-14 because we saw one of our friends cousin and just loved out she got to wear sexy outfits and stuff to work. All while making money just showing off. Obviously a lot more to it than that but we didn't know. But we'd start pretending we were dancers and dressing up and dancing around to music.
That's so cute! If I was a parent and I caught my daughter (or son LOL) pretending to be a stripper I'd laugh my ass off and say something about it being "in the blood".
[QUOTE=AlysonRose;2773347]Even looking back I was always probably destined to be a dancer. My friend I ran into a few months ago said she's not surprised because I was always into dressing up and wearing stuff that flaunted my body. I just always been an attention getter and loved that part.
Same with me. It was only a matter of time! Who would've guessed?
What started as being the victim of emotional and physical abuse as a child turned into emotional and physical abuse as an adult.
Glad you got out! One of my reasons for stripping is similar to that, though I don't mention it much.
Aurora_Sunset
06-25-2015, 09:05 AM
My senior year of college, I bought a dance pole and started doing online lessons. I'm not even sure where I first saw pole dancing, but I was really intrigued by it. I also lived with several men who, of course, always referred to it as the stripper pole, what I was doing on it as "stripping," and asking me when I was gonna go strip professionally. I'd only ever been in the local strip club once, but I'd had so much fun and the girls seemed amazing. So I practiced a lot on my pole for a few months. Realistically, nowadays, I know pole work means next to nothing, but at the time, I don't think I would have had the confidence to go in and audition without that "preparation." I also was a "late bloomer." I was a nerdy, background kid throughout school - not very attractive until I went away to college. Didn't lose my virginity until 20, and still never really believed that I was considered a "hot girl" or anything... But people kept telling me I could totally do it, so I finally recruited my best friend at the time to go to the club with me and we sat at the bar for a little while, tipping the girls who came by until I had the confidence to go talk to the DJ About being hired.
Silly, newbie me, I didn't even bring anything to audition in. It literally didn't cross my mind to bring in an outfit or think that I'd actually have to dance lol But it was somewhat busy night, and also a dive, so I think just being relatively hot in street clothes was enough for them. They told me to come back in a week to start. I went and posted to my online pole community about how I was going to start dancing and someone there actually mentioned Stripperweb, and that's how I found this place! I don't know how well I would have done without that redirect here, honestly.
I started on a day shift and made 80 bucks. I was ECSTATIC. I remember standing in the dressing room at the end of my shift, counting my little stack of singles over and over again going "Omg omg omg." At the time, I had a student job in a food court. Even when I had pulled double shifts 6 days a week all summer, I was still only pulling in about 1000 a month, so making almost $100 in 5 hours was AMAZING to me. I remember going back to work at the food court and bragging to everyone about the $80 I made in ONE SHIFT, and they were all so impressed. Even the supervisors in that job were making dick.
Knowing that school was ending in a few months and then I'd not only be out of my student job, but be completely independent and on my own after that, I used stripping 4-5 nights a week to get myself ahead financially. I ended up quitting right when summer hit cuz the money got hella bad and I burned out, but I had managed to save enough that I spent a fun summer just kinda screwing around before needing to get a job again in August. To this day, I regret pulling out over the summer and going back to vanilla work for 2 years. Ugh... wtf was I thinking?
Even so, these days I associate stripping, and now escorting, with financial freedom. Both of them pulled me out of a dark place financially and set me up for future success. The past 6 months, I've had to spend a lot of money and I get all pissy when I look at my bank account vs. how much I know I pulled in, and then I remind myself to shut up and be grateful that I had that much money to spend on things I needed, and holy fuck, where would I be if I hadn't walked into that little divey strip club and found SW and everything else? Yikes. For as annoying as men can be, I'm really glad I had pervy guy friends back then who kept telling me I should totally go be a stripper lol
Lil_Lindsay
06-26-2015, 09:11 PM
I was 23, in process of divorcing my now ex husband, have kids to take care of with no child support and my roommate at the time was a dancer and suggested I try it out instead of my hostess job where I was making minimum wage. I didn't start out stripping because I was terrified and shy but slowly went from shot girl to stripping because of the $. I left to work office jobs but the longest I was able to survive was 3 years. I never thought I'd still be doing this, but I'm glad I am able to since even with a degree I make more $ in a couple days than a week of working 9-5.
ImmoralAllure
07-06-2015, 02:26 AM
deleted
wendylove
07-06-2015, 05:14 AM
love being naked .... loved danceing.... loved partying ............='s stripper.....
SexyStella
08-03-2015, 09:32 AM
4 of my girlfriends dreamed about being strippers. Honestly, I had no idea what a stripper even was and I think neither did they but I needed a job. This was 2003 in Stockholm, Sweden so there was no information what so ever to come by (no Instagram and Twitter back then). We all waited for each other to turn 18 and then we went in for our auditions, we all got it, 12 years later I'm the only one of us still in clear heels, they lasted a week - couple months.
KaraLynn
08-03-2015, 01:18 PM
I had just gotten fired from my job and was struggling to find a new one. I had a friend who was dancing who suggested it to me and helped me get into my first club.
Daniellaa
08-03-2015, 07:31 PM
I dont really have an interesting story or some big reason why I needed the money badly or anything. I was 18. I never actually tried any other jobs before dancing. I had always thought about it and thought it looked really cool. I loved the idea of getting to work those hours. Not having to get up early in the morning and work some 40 hour a week job was so appealing...im such a night person. The freedom and all the free time I would have to live my life and not be stuck working all the time. I had friends who were dancers and liked it. Not to mention the money!
Paradise420
08-18-2015, 11:01 AM
I've always loved to dance and always wanted to become a professional dancer of some form.... When I was maybe 18/19 I was in beauty college I thought another way to make some extra change to go to college would be to use my dance skills. So I went around SF and auditioned every where the good the bad clubs all of them turned me down... Never understood why. Took time off gained friends in the industry they encouraged me to keep trying... So I kept trying still no luck till I just said fine I'll work at The Lusty Lady SF that was the best experience ever and if I could do it again I would in a heart beat. After that establishment closed I was back to searching for a new dance home that made me feel the way the lusty made me feel... And that's a long shot was working at the condor for a night or two the girls were a bit to much but the club was coo... Worked at the roaring 20's was coo a bit more ratchet but I made a lot on my stage shows... I worked at little darlings that was coo... Now I'm trying to get back into it on a major scale... I love dancing and the free feeling of dancing nude... I'm 5'9" 155lbs 34D-28-42 African American any advice or anything that will help... Www.diamondsosexxi.com is where you can see a photo... I'm trying to get into modeling also...