Surprising things as a new dancer
I started dancing 3 weeks ago and have worked all of 6 shifts. (Not even a full weeks' worth of hours at my last job! }:D) So far, I've really enjoyed it and the freedom it's given me.
Disclaimer: I'm working in Denver so maybe some of these are just Denver specific.
Just for fun, here are the things I found most surprising in no particular order:
1. Most of the girls wear way less makeup than I do. In fact, some of them look nearly “natural”. For example, I was the only one wearing fake lashes the other day.
2. Very few girls have BAs or tans, and most are at a healthy normal weight (not the tanorexic look like I was expecting). One notable thing is that there are only a couple curvy dancers here.
3. Most of the girls have been way more kind and supportive than I was expecting. I'm glad SW braced me for the possibility of bitches trying to tear me down, though, cause it's helped me let the rare instance of negativity roll of my back. (Example: an "experienced dancer" who was auditioning complimented my thick, wild hair and added that it looked almost "ethnic"; I was thinking of all the gorgeous black girls with amazing hair I'm friends with, and was still riding the high of having sold a handful of dances. So I thanked her enthusiastically. It wasn't til I got home that I realized she was meant it passive aggressively AND in a racist way. Buuuut I'm the one who made money that night, and she was the one who didn't get hired, soooo,,,)
4. I never appreciated my boobs before this. Seriously. I was considering a BA before this just cause I hated my tits. Before I started dancing, all I saw were my huge, puffy areolas set atop boobs that looked too saggy. I wanted the perfectly round, gravity defying tits with tiny nipples. What changed my mind was seeing all the different shapes of boobs belonging to real girls and how they all fit their body types.
5. It's gotten exponentially easier to talk to and approach guys, in AND outside of the club. This is useful when your friends are supposed to meet up with you to go out, but they're running late... and you're sitting by yourself at the bar and find yourself striking up a great convo with the bartender. The kind of convo you'd be too shy to strike up before. 8)
6. My feet hurt way less than I would've thought as I try to stay off my feet as much as possible. My KNEES, however, were bruised and begging for mercy after crawling around on the hard stage after just three or four sets. My advice: have some ice and arnica gel on hand for after that first shift!!!
Overall, it's been way easier than I ever would've thought.
I'm curious, do any of you more experienced dancers have certain things that surprised you at first?