Question 9
This next question ties in with the topic of one of Hezzy’s blogs (titled CAH-RAZY!!) Thanks to the dancers I consulted for this question! I decided to ask around to get several opinions on this one. WHEW...it was complicated. That’s dancer politics for ya.
Q: Is it fair for dancers to become territorial over some of the songs they dance to? Why do some dancers get mad when another performer plays certain songs?
Any dancers reading this column know EXACTLY what I’m talking about. For those not in the know, let me explain: Dancers that have had long-running club careers have songs that they always play when at work. These are songs that they are known for, songs that customers come in and expect them to play, songs that are requested by regular customers. Often, these songs are part of special themed sets for which a dancer has spent a lot of time and effort into her costume, props and performance. A great example of this is pdxblackbook girl Stormy’s signature song for her “Little Red Riding Hood” (by Sam the Sham) set. Stormy has been shaking her cute little ass to this song for over four years! She has a specific costume that she wears for the set. People from out of state have come to the club and requested that she dance to it! This is just one of the cases in which other dancers should be respectful and leave a song for a specific girl to use. This idea might sound silly to some people, but many dancers take their performances very seriously. Themed sets and"signature" songs are a great way to make a name for yourself around town and in turn get more people to come in to see you dance.
Another situation in which the dancers I polled agreed that a song is “theirs” is if it is not in a club’s computer and they have never heard it played by any other dancer. Obviously, songs like this are often obscure…not on the radio’s top 40 playlist, and not extremely well known. That means you can’t expect to be the only stripper in town shakin’ it to “Pour Some Sugar on Me”, “Girls Girls Girls”, “Gold Digger” etc. You get my drift.
However, it is a major pet peeve of dancers I interviewed when coworkers hear a song played, say they really like it, then add it to their own play list when someone else was dancing to it first. They also cited another pet peeve: when a DJ likes a song that he hears as part of a specific dancer’s play list, then he uploads it to the club computer and plays it for other girls. Eek! He’ll probably lose tip-out bucks for that one.
I personally am of the opinion that if you think you can do it better than me, bring it on and let’s see what you can do! But it is far more respectful and creative for a dancer to come up with their own “custom” play lists and theme sets than to be lazy and disrespectful by copying someone else.
That said, some totally awesome places to see special themed sets in PDXXX are:
Dantes Sinferno Cabaret on Sunday nights (where many awesome performers have themed sets), PDXBlackbook Wednesdays at Lucky Devil Lounge (Mirage and Rocket how to bring it!), and weekends at Sassys where Malice shows you what she’s got. Happy clubbing!
P.S. Remember, send me your burning questions via message here on the site. Xoxo Rocket
