Elmer Valentine, who’s given credit for inventing the gogo dancer in his Whiskey a Go Go club on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, died. Not that this blog is solely about dance, but I can at least explain for why I show so much interest in it and have the banner overhead of me in a shadowbox.
I started my gogo dancing career at a lesbian Cream party in a South San Francisco dance club. I disappeared on the box in my conservative all-black outfit, dancing my technically polished hip hop. My showmanship proved lackluster for a crowd wanting an intimate connection I knew not how to fake. Dollar bills stayed aloft at their fingertips around my box but found their way to neon-fishnets-clad hips and breasts moving sexually. What I wish I had known about the inside of nightclub entertainment:
First, apparel: Most clubs require you to wear your own outfits. The less the better is just how it is. Ultimately, what you wear is sex.
Second, lingo: Terms of endearment substitute for your name (or stage name as it may be) – “lovely,” “honey,” “sweetheart,” “babe” – with overt flirtation and passe.
Third, dance space:
- Boxes are usually in the thick of the crowd, smack in the middle of the floor or lining it, and require more reined in movements because boxes shift and shake easily. While I enjoy being close to the crowd, boxes are the hardest to dance on, while in platform heels/boots.
- Poles are fun and act as a dancing partner to spin around among other things, allowing for switching up dance movements quite a bit. I learned in Vegas early on (thanks hometown!). If you want to learn, go to a strip club and observe, take a class and explore your poletential, or watch video clips.
- Shadowboxes are beautiful and unforgiving. You are separated from the crowd entirely, unable to see out, but they can see you, all of your outline. Stay as close to the divider as possible to keep a clear silhouette, move slower than you think you should, and don’t talk (they can see your lips move).
- Cages are ideal because you have a railing to use as leverage and for balance, allowing you to dance fiercely. Because they tend to be set above the crowd, be mindful of how you move so that people can’t snap photos of bits you’d rather keep private.
Since that cream party, I’ve danced in the heart of San Francisco for higher end clubs and other popular clubs sponsored by local radio. I’ve lucked out with getting to wear custom-designed outfits and jewelry, bond with extraordinary and versatile dancers, and learn choreography from dance captains with extensive dance backgrounds and college degrees.
Edit made 10-2009: I “hung up my hat” by removing my belly button ring (ha) in 2008, and have since pursued dance in other avenues, namely becoming a dance committee member to help enhance visibility for all in the dance industry. I’m thrilled to have had each and every experience through go-go dancing, certain of their impossibility otherwise. The vein I tapped – dance, performance art, music, and the creators therein – is forever with me.
Tags: cream party, dance, dance party, dancer, dancing, elmer valentine, go-go, gogo, hip hop dance, hiphop dance, night entertainment, night life, night performance, night performer, nightclub, nightlife, pole dancing, poletential, san francisco night life, south san francisco club, whiskey a go go
