I'm a long time veteran & I've danced many places across the country. You didn't specify were you are located, so we can only help you so much. Here the general answers though:
Do i have to dance in heels?
This depends on the local laws & the clubs. In some places like TX & AL there are laws in place that require entertainers to keep their shoes on. Not keeping your shoes on can result in a ticket where you will likely be found guilty of the charge & fined heavily for prostitution. Yes, it sounds dumb, but that's the way it is.
In areas where the law doesn't require you to have your shoes on then the rules are up to the club. Many clubs require entertainers to wear shoes with a 4" minimum heel. If you are shopping for shoes & don't know if the heel is 4", take out your state ID & rotate it to where it rests on the shorter side, if the heel is a bit longer than your state ID it is probably a 4" heel. Other clubs don't have a type of shoe requirement. I have seen girls play off the school girl or "soccer" look with a pair of knee highs & sneakers. I've seen clubs allow dancers to work in flats too because of a bad back or problems with their feet. I've also seen plenty of girls dance barefoot... including at gentlemen's clubs that were strict. Often if a girl isn't allowed to dance barefoot it's either because the owner/management doesn't like how it looks, the staff believes it spreads germs/bacteria (which it can), or the insurance company doesn't allow it as a safety pre-caution in-case a dancer were to step on a piece of glass or something. The places where you generally see dancers barefoot though tend to use blankets on the floor, or sometimes features will do this especially if they plan to do things like back-flips on stage. The only feature I can think of who does all sorts of crazy moves in her heels is Jade Simone St. Claire.
Do i actually have to do all the tricks some girls do on the pole?
No you don't have to do the tricks or any at all. In very upscale clubs the stages often don't have poles or allow floorwork, so your best bet is to concentrate on learning how to move across the stage gracefully, posing, & talking to customers. It there is a pole on stage you can use it, but don't over-use it because it can cause a decrease in your tips when you aren't out talking to people. Sadly many customers don't tip for pole tricks or see it as a form of circus entertainment... i.e. it's amusing on stage but most dancers don't concentrate on making it look sensual so the customer isn't as likely to want a dance just from seeing an entertainer use the pole.
Can the customers touch and feel on me?
Again, this depends on the state/local laws as well as the club. Many clubs let entertainers go over the legal limits or mislead entertainers into thinking that certain things are or aren't illegal... often according to what the club management sees as beneficial for themselves. If you want to stay out of legal trouble you ought to either look up your local laws or consult with a local lawyer who can help you out in understanding them. Some areas are pretty much full contact, others are no contact. You will also find areas where laws are very strict yet no one really pays attention & they operate as full contact, in which cases they often get raided as well.
Can i make my own rules?
If your rules go against the club rules then no, however if your rules are stricter than club rules than maybe. For example, I will dance at nude clubs, at which many offer nude lapdances. I am pretty OCD about germs though so I don't give nude dances at the clubs or when working with others. I'm very upfront with managers about this. I'll still "flash" customers, but I'm not sitting in their laps in full buff. Some clubs/companies are okay with this, & others aren't. If they aren't okay then I simply don't work there.
Can i dance to any song?
Again the answer is maybe, or better yet "usually". In most clubs the DJ will generally just ask you what type of music you like & pick your music for you. If you don't like a song they play just let them know & tip them well so they don't play it for you again. If you get a super cool DJ then they might literally let you pick the songs for every single set, but those are rare especially in bitter cities. Whatever you do though, tip the DJ & don't be a jerk to him... that will only get you on the list of girls with bad attitudes & they are likely to not give a damn what you want... basically you'll get banned from the DJ booth. Try to place nice & realize that you don't own a song either... anyone can dance to any song. At the same time, do be respectful & don't purposely dance to a song you know another girl really enjoys dancing to.
Many clubs are now installing the jukebox systems which I hate! If you end up in a club like this there is typically not anyhow to keep the crowd tipping & keep the energy going, or the bartender or security will double as a DJ via a wireless microphone. In these instances not only will you have to pick your own music, but you will have to pay very close attention to the rotation list in-case the girl ahead of you leaves work or another girl gets added into the list right above you.
In the very worst of situations the clubs have a set list of what they play like "only Top 40", & you won't get a say at all in your songs. These are very rare though & usually a sign that the entertainers in the past abused their privilege to pick out the songs they performed to.
You will also find that customers will pay you to dance to particular songs, especially if its outside of your normal genre. For example, a regular of one of my friends has a huge crush on her & brings her in expensive gifts often from Gucci. He won't dance with any other girls, but he really like the way I dance & he knows she & I are friends. He will pay me large sums of money to dance to metal or rock, which I wouldn't normally dance to. What he pays me would basically be the equivalent of what girls talk about when they say "make it rain", but he is too modest to do that & just hands me large bills before my sets.
I'm also going to agree that you ought not bring up racial issues here. We as a forum just went though some major things regarding that where a number of members were banned because of the subjects of race & weight causing extreme bickering... so it's still a very tender subject here.
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