An interview with GoGo dancers

I feel I should introduce myself with an old interview I did about the basics of GoGo dancing and what it is all about, I can't wait to get more in depth, but this is an awesome icebreaker, I hope to hear some feedback so I can delve further into the beauty and pain of being paid for your looks and the strength and power it requires....


Interview: While girls and guys were asking questions online to us about our hopes for the future and our company, a DJ read them and asked us some of his own questions. It really made me happy to answer them and explain myself, who I am, and what I believe for the future. 
What do you plan to do to help go-go dancers gain a more respected image in the scene?
K: Doing things like REQUIRING contracts on ALL jobs. No one may work for free, ever. Not allowing substance use or abuse while working. Making it so that everything is regulated and watched over, Checking up on how girls act when we are not present, helping girls to book good gigs with promoters, djs, event coordinators and other people we know and trust. There will be a whole system in place for safety, security and reliability put into place. I want this to become an opportunity for performers to do just that, perform and get paid, recognized and appreciated for their real talents. Also to support each other and keep the cat-fighting and other catty actions out of the system...basically to BUILD a system here in Milwaukee and bring this out of the dark ages!
P: We are going to be working under signed contracts written for each event. We are not going to work for free (EVER). & Because we don't work for free we will have more awesome and better matching outfits! Also the girls wont be falling off stage trashed because you need to work sober! We are going to revolutionize the way people look at gogo dancers - even if we work underground raves and events like that, we will show up and do our job and be professional. There are too many girls who work for free or work for drugs and thats not a good image.
K: Paige, we share a brain. it's so lovely.
P: I know!
K: Also things like ONLY allowing girls who are of age to work 21+ events. No more back door bartering for gigs. Everything will be LEGAL and by the books!

What about girls who show up to events dressed like go-go's and aren't working?
P: If some random girls want to jump on stage - hopefully the people running the event will realize who the hired girls are and respect that by kicking them off stage. however this will not always be the case. WE are still getting paid no matter what because of the contract so if some silly girl wants to jump on stage and do it for free thats her loss. Personally I think that is offensive and disrespectful of girls to jump on stage when there is obviously hired girls working the gig. Just my opinion.

K: Every event attendee is allowed to dress as they please. That is beyond out control. Things like coming to MY company and having custom made one-of-a-kind rave wear makes a difference. Initiating in things like uniformity with outfits. Girls can wear whatever they want, and I truly support that. I am taking steps like buying PROFESSIONAL go go boots to distinguish myself for those on the floor and who belongs on stage. There is nothing we can do about others personal choices, but we can only make out selves stand out better.t is also HIGHLY dangerous when a girl does that. She can either hurt a professional dancer, or herself. If you have never danced on a 7 foot speaker its terrifying. There will be heightened security of the stage as much as possible. and that will be our job to enforce with the promoters until they understand these things. A fellow dancer and I came up with a phrase the other day to help unite Go Go Dancers, “Off the stage unless you’re paid”. It sounds harsh but actually means a better world for both professional performers and those who want to be. Let me explain: if you wish to join the ranks of performer’s like myself, hopping up on stage at any chance you get is a, dangerous, b, disrespectful and c, damaging. Dangerous because a fall from speakers or a stage (I have danced on 7 foot stacks before) can lead to serious injury. Or if you’re grabbing to get up can cause a performer to fall. it is disrespectful because you are taking the attention away from the dancer who is paid to be there, and more often than not, you need to impress that performer to get hired for a gig. Troops like mine would NEVER consider hiring a girl or guy who was pushing to get up on stage. You wanna show off your moves? talk to promoters, DJs, The dancer’s themselves. Make a video. A website. Start from the bottom like we did before you hop up on stage for free. Which leads me to my last point: It is DAMAGING. As a dancer I live, that’s right, live, pay bills eat and pay for school all on a dancer’s salary. It is not regular since I am not currently a resident dancer anymore and am not getting paid an hourly wage. What I make determines what I eat, how I spend, how well I sleep at night. When you are willing to get up on stage for free or some some ridiculously reduced rate (like getting paid in drugs or liquor) it undercuts the standard for treatment and payment in the industry, making my job harder, making me resentful, making me hate you, making it harder to consider Go Go dancing a legitimate business venture or job. So please, Ladies, Gentlemen, try to go through legitimate means to be able to be seen and dance. because a job well done with respect is worth so much more than the rush of cheers from a bunch of fucked up kids. This is my profession, I am a professional. Please be one to and one day I could hire you.


P: If these things sound good to you, we highly recommend people coming to the tryouts to make sure that you can help hustle in this change for the good of all performers.



This is an amazingly intelligent thread. Good job Kat and Paige.

 Makes me reflect how many times I get up on stage for free in order to network and further my self. Wish I could always get paid. I make a lot of sacrifices in order to do so, i can only hope one day they pay off (other than the intrinsic value). I totally agree that making sure you are contracted and paid raises the standard for the entire region, forcing promoters to actually have to work, raising the level of competition for musicians so things like pay2play and brostep are a thing of the past.