How to become a cage dancer
8 things to know when considering becoming a go-go dancer
Go-go dancing might seem like an easy job. You just get in front of people at a club or party and dance, right? Wrong. There is so much more to it than just moving around. As a former go-go dancer I learned the hard way that it takes more than just looks and moves to succeed. But after figuring it out. I made good money and enjoyed the experience. Here’s what you need to know before becoming a go-go dancer.
1.Train for the Job
Dancers can dance up to 4 hours at a time. Cardio workouts help build endurance. Photo credit: Jeraldine Ramos
Practice dancing and do lots of cardio. Endurance is needed because go-go dancing involves dancing with high energy for long periods of time. If you’re not used to this type of physical workout you’ll tire out easily. You also might also have difficulty breathing and wake-up sore the next day.
2. Take dance classes
Youtube videos are very helpful when learning how to dance or new dance moves. Photo credit: Jeraldine Ramos
In go-go dancing you don’t get to choose what music you are dancing to. The DJs play whatever music they want depending on how the crowed reacts to the mix. The music may change tempo and even style. A go-go dancer must be able to improvise moves depending on the music that is being played. Dance classes or even watching Youtube videos can help you learn different ways to move your body and how to dance to different tempos without looking silly.
3. Connect with go-go groups
Diable Chaton (El Paso/ Las Cruces go-go group) and I, go-go danced when Kaskade a well known music producer and DJ came to The Plum City Lounge in El Paso, Tx. Photo by Mario Arizpe
Go-go groups help dancers find gigs. Check out the go-go groups in your local area, through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. What they post online can give you a glimpse on what type of venues they perform in, if they get a lot of gigs and if they perform for well-known DJs.
Pictures can also show you what types of work they do so you can know what to expect. You don’t have to connect with a group. You can work as an independent go-go dancer and track down jobs on your own.
4. Think like a businessperson
Knowing how to negotiate can get you high paying gigs. I was once paid $100 for thirty minutes of dancing through negotiating. Photo credit: Jeraldine Ramos
When considering a job you need to know how to negotiate your pay according to how much you will be working and how much you will need to be investing in costumes, hair and make-up. Get everything in writing. Having a written contract helps make sure you get paid for services provided. Go-go dancers can earn between $10 to $100 an hour depending on what they negotiate. I have been able to get high paying gigs through negotiating.
5. Promote yourself and the venue
Promoting can not only get people to go to the venue but also get you more jobs while establishing yourself as a go-go dancer.
Photo credit: Jeraldine Ramos
You can promote yourself and the venue using social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Letting people know what days you are available for bookings and when and where you will be dancing is one way of promoting yourself. Promoting yourself and the venue can help you establish your name in the industry and possibly get you more jobs because it shows you can help bring in a crowd.
6. Be Creative
Venues like creativity. I have created many looks from adding gems to my face to doing my make-up like a doll. Photo by Mario Arizpe
With go-go dancing you must be creative. Go-go dancers are often asked to create themes and dress accordingly for an event the venue is promoting. You can get creative through costumes, make-up, and hair styles. Use the Internet to look up pictures for inspiration or watch a video tutorial on how to do your make-up or costume.
7. Be aware of your surroundings
It is important to be aware of your surroundings when people are drinking.
People can become violent and if you are drinking it can be easy for one to slip in a drug into your drink. Photo credit: Jeraldine Ramos
In most venues alcohol will be sold. This means that there might be some drunks that will be disrespectful. And, if you are drinking along with the patrons it can be very easy for someone to drug you. Make sure you know where the nearest bouncers are in order to signal them when someone gets out of hand or if you feel uncomfortable. Be sure to never let your beverage or water bottle out of your sight. Don’t take a drink from anyone you don’t know. Instead insist on being served only by the bartender or event organizers.
8. Have fun and smile
Smiling and having a good-time sets the mood of venue which can make it look like people are enjoying themselves. Photo by Mario Arizpe
Go-go dancers put the energy in the party. Not smiling puts out the vibe that you are not having fun and can make people leave. People come out to enjoy themselves so be sure to keep their spirits up.
Besides, why not have fun when you are dancing!
Go-Go Dancer - Salary, How to Become, Job Description & Best Schools
How to Become a
The complete career guide to be a Go-Go Dancer: salary, job growth, employers, best schools, and education you may need to get started.
Why We Love It
Go-go dancers work for bars, casinos, nightclubs, and other venues where dancing is a major component of the entertainment provided. They dress up in costumes, wear provocative clothing, and dance to many different types of music to entertain crowds and get people in the mood to join in on the dancing.
What is a Go-Go Dancer?
The following job responsibilities are common for individuals in go-go dancer roles:
- Perform a variety of dances to entertain crowds and encourage dancing at nightclubs, bars, concerts, and other venues where music is a major component of entertainment
- Dance for long periods of time while working
- Design creative costumes—outfits, makeup, and accessories—for performances
- Audition for go-go dancing opportunities
- Promote performances to draw crowds and grow followings
A Day in the Life
Go-go dancing is often confused with exotic dancing, though the two roles are very different.
First, go-go dancers generally do not take their clothes off when dancing. They don’t do lap dances or work for tips. The main role of a go-go dancer is to entertain crowds and get people in the mood to get out on the dance floor and join in on the fun. They are promoters and entertainers that perform at nightclubs, bars, casinos, concerts, and raves. They do not work in strip clubs.
Most go-go dancers are professionally-trained, career dancers. Before performances, they put together their costumes, do their makeup, and choose their accessories. In some venues, they may have designated uniforms, but in others, their goal is to find creative, provocative, and eye-catching costumes that will draw the attention of the crowd and get people in the mood to dance and have a good time.
Go-go dancing can be hard work. Dancers usually perform for 30 minutes to an hour at a time, take a short break, and then start dancing again. While they may have an idea of the type of music the DJ is going to play, the specific songs and beats are usually a surprise, so most of them are trained in a variety of dance styles so they can continue dancing appropriately regardless of what song starts playing.
They also promote themselves and their careers by advertising their events and trying to grow followers. This helps prove their ability to draw a crowd when auditioning for new positions.
Typical Work Schedule
Most go-go dancers work evening and weekend shifts; they need to be available at hours when people are out in the world drinking and having a good time. Generally, they only work part-time.
Typical Employers
Some go-go dancers are hired by DJs to perform in a series of shows to help get the crowd in the mood to dance. Others work for nightclubs or casinos and are employees of the companies they work for. Some are hired by entertainment providers and work in multiple venues as needed. Finally, some find their own work and spend time auditioning for different groups, venues, and opportunities.
How To Become a Go-Go Dancer
Higher education is not required to become a go-go dancer, though many go-go dancers do have formal dance training.
For most roles, only a high school diploma is required. Some go-go dancers learn to dance by taking dance lessons as children and adolescents, and they apply the skills they learned while studying dance in their youth to work as go-go dancers as adults. Others may have just studied dance on their own, or may have natural dancing talent with no formal education.
Many go-go dancers find work simply by asking other go-go dancers if they can audition. Entertainment groups, DJs, nightclubs, and casinos are frequently looking for additional dancers. Speaking with another go-go dancer may land aspiring go-go dancers an audition, and if they’re willing to get up on stage and look good dancing, they can land recurring positions at the venues they auditioned for. Other go-go dancers take a more formal approach and apply for open positions that were formally advertised.
Unfortunately, a career in go-go dancing has a time limit. For most, the work is too hard to continue after a certain age.
Because of this, many go-go dancers work towards a bachelor’s degree in theater, arts, or dance. With a bachelor’s degree, they can qualify to work as dance instructors later in life when go-go dancing gets to be too hard on their bodies. Because these dancers get professional training while studying for a degree, they can qualify to teach a variety of dance styles.
Go-Go Dancer Salary Data
We’ve provided you the following to learn more about this career. The salary and growth data on this page comes from recently published Bureau of Labor Statistics data while the recommendations and editorial content are based on our research.
National Anual Salary
Low Range
---Average
---High Range
---National Hourly Wage
Low Range
$9/hrAverage
$18/hrHigh Range
$33/hrHow do Go-Go Dancer salaries stack up to other jobs across the country? Based on the latest jobs data nationwide, Go-Go Dancer's can make an average annual salary of ---, or $18 per hour.
This makes it an Above Average Salary. On the lower end, they can make --- or $9 per hour, perhaps when just starting out or based on the state you live in.
Salary Rankings And Facts
Highest Education Among Go-Go Dancers
- 0.5% Doctorate
- 4.3% Masters
- 17% Bachelors
- 10.6% Associates
- 29% College
- 26.7% High School
- 11.9% Less than High School
Job Growth Projections and Forecast
2014 Total Jobs
13,0002024 Est. Jobs
13,600Job Growth Rate
4.
6% Est. New Jobs
600How does Go-Go Dancer job growth stack up to other jobs across the country? By 2024, there will be a change of 600 jobs for a total of 13,600 people employed in the career nationwide. This is a 4.6% change in growth over the next ten years, giving the career a growth rate nationwide of Below Average.
Growth Rankings And Facts
What Companies Employ The Most Go-Go Dancers
| Industry | Current Jobs | New Jobs Needed | % Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-employed workers | 2,000 | 100 | 0% |
| Drinking places (alcoholic beverages) | 1,700 | --- | --- |
| Other schools and instruction; private | 900 | 200 | 0% |
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Madina Beisekeyeva: 10 life hacks on how to become a professional dancer
Madina Beisekeeva is a professional choreographer, director of the MB DANCE dance studio.
She has been dancing all her life and today travels and teaches dance in China.
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Set a goal
Why do you want to become a professional dancer? There are two types of people: professionals who dance for themselves, like to work on themselves, gain new knowledge and become better. And there are those who want to become a dancer for a specific purpose.
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Work on oneself
It may be different. Physical activity: push-ups, jumps, squats or work on mistakes. To see your mistakes, you need to film the dance. You will find out what you are missing and work on it.
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For those who choreograph
Try to update your playlist frequently. I am inspired by music. My choreography depends on the music and my mood. If the music is lyrical, then I dance accordingly. The same with hip-hop.
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When there is no inspiration
This happens periodically.
Especially among the residents of my country, because there are few events related to dancing. I advise you to leave the country, take master classes, return charged and teach others. -
Try something else
Trying different types of dance is important. If a dancer dances in one direction and takes a master class in another, then he will not achieve anything. Therefore, I advise you to develop yourself in different styles.
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Decide on a basic style
In order to achieve a certain effect, you need to focus on a specific style. You need to decide what you like best. For example, what do you do best?
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Always go forward
There are times when you choreograph and you start to get stuck at one point. In such cases, I advise you to skip it and move on without getting hung up.
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Follow Instagram
It's the 21st century, so no matter how talented you are, your resume and portfolio is Instagram.
Even if you don't have that many subscribers, then try to work on the content. If you dance at home and don't share your creativity with the world, then no one will know about you. -
Don't think too much
For example, you are at a master class and you are learning new moves. Your body has muscle memory. When your body is relaxed and ready to work, then at that moment the mind can declare: there are so many people here, they are looking at me and I can’t. Then the blocking of the body begins and there is no freedom of action.
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Accept yourself and your shortcomings
You can win hundreds of battles, dance on all popular stages, but if you don't decide that you are a professional, then this will not happen. There are flaws in dancing and complex movements where your teacher bypasses you, but the trick is that you are different. And it's wonderful!
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How much do dancers earn and how to become a professional - November 1, 2018
Ivan Slavinsky
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It's never easy, but wildly interesting.
Members of the FAM Factory dance team told Sport24 about the difference between a professional team and an amateur one, how much coaches earn and how long it takes to become a good dancer from scratch.
Our team is called FAM Factory and has been around for a very long time. We regularly perform at the largest dance championships throughout Russia, we work at major events. Our choreographer, Yevgeny Kevler, is one of the top choreographers in Russia, staged dances for "Dances" on TNT, "Dance" on Channel One, and has brought up more than one generation of dancers. Our team is diverse - students, office workers, teachers and coaches, but they all have one thing in common - an unimaginable love for dancing.
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you recharge and start plowing, as if not in yourself, but in reality everything is a little different.
Classes in schools last an hour and a half twice a week if you are in the same group with the same teacher. As people living this, let's be honest, two hours a week is very little. Yes, and you should not be limited to one style. To start getting real pleasure from dancing, at least a month of regular classes must pass. And at first it will definitely not be easy, especially if you didn’t do anything like that in childhood: in the first classes, it generally seems that the body, which, it would seem, has been yours all your life, has abruptly stopped obeying. And the legs cannot work with the hands at the same time. The main thing is to survive this moment, in reality it passes quite quickly. At first, technique is not so important, it comes with experience. It is worth paying attention to physical form, especially if you prefer styles that are characterized by frequent level changes or powerful energy: you may simply not have enough strength. The breather also needs to be developed: fast choreography cannot be danced to the end if the volume of the lungs is not enough.
Many dancers take up running to develop their lungs. And for the development of physical strength, functional training or crossfit are suitable - of all training, these will probably be the most useful in our business. If there is no time for this, then you need to at least minimally pump the press, do push-ups, squat. We sometimes conduct physical training classes at team training.
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and year, everything is very individual here. Many schools have their own reporting concerts and parties. As a rule, at such events, students go on stage for the first time.
If we talk about more complex numbers, then it takes a month and a half to set them up with 3-4 workouts a week for 2-3 hours.
The mode of training in a serious team changes, especially if the number is complex and many dancers participate in it. A fairly common occurrence is night workouts. As you might guess, they take place at night, and, as a rule, last 5-6 hours. It's not easy, especially at first and if you have to go to work in the morning, but it's also more efficient in terms of the speed of staging the show, and the result is definitely worth it.
Championships
In the dance world, the year can be conditionally divided into two seasons - spring and autumn. All this time, championships of various levels go one after another, the most "fruitful" in this regard are April and May, as well as November and December. As a rule, all groups put on a performance a month or two in advance, but it all depends on the level of training and available time for the dancers themselves.
In general, championships are a separate and very entertaining cuisine. Dancers are constantly preparing for some kind of competition, it rarely happens that you just come and hang out aimlessly.
Everything is almost like in the movie "Step Up": the whole season is the process of preparing for the competition, and in the off-season, everyone either rests, or pumps, or shoots a video.
At dance championships there is always a division according to the level of training and age: children are separated from adults, beginners are separated from professionals. And within these categories, there is also style: hip-hop, ladies, contemporary.
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Our favorite nomination is best dance show. The name speaks for itself: there are no style bindings here, the main thing is the idea and combination of styles. At some major competitions, the styles used in the show must be declared in advance, at some there are no restrictions, only creativity.
Now even in some championships there is a separate Show nomination, and a separate Performance nomination. In the first case, the show should have a story and plot, in the second case, it is important who dances stronger, more powerful and cooler. And there are also solos with duets, which are not limited by styles at all, only by timing. In general, there are a lot of nominations. Beginners or people unfamiliar with dancing can get confused. But as soon as you immerse yourself in this world, everything becomes clear pretty quickly.
Refereeing at championships is always represented by top dancers: sometimes Russian, sometimes foreign, but always super authoritative. The evaluation criteria, like the judges, are also different, but they look primarily at choreography, technique, synchronism and creativity. You can earn money at good status tournaments. On average, you can get about 30 thousand per team for winning such a tournament. But it is not at all necessary that there will be prize money for winning any championship: somewhere the organizers limit themselves to cups and gifts from sponsors.
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Nutrition
Nutrition is a matter of personal preference. Most dancers are ordinary people, so until their legs start to fall off, few people even think about nutrition and injury prevention. Many are killed in training, and few people know how to recover, they do not take care. If you don’t eat normally, you may not have enough strength for the whole season. Protein and BCAAs often help out, but in reality, for some reason, few people use them.
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A: Regular exercise is usually enough to stay in shape.
Although, of course, you need to take care of yourself, but adults who have survived a couple of injuries or dancers who work in commerce are already thinking about this.
Sneakers kill instantly
As for clothes, this is a separate topic of conversation, which will take more than one hour. Firstly, the style of dance and what you dance in are very closely related. No one will go dancing popping in leggings or short shorts, twerk in sweatpants, too, you know, I don’t rub, like a strip in a baseball cap. Things are, of course, very important. You can't really train in Chinese sneakers. Not even because they are uncomfortable, they just fall apart in a moment. In general, if you danced at least once in shoes, then you can say goodbye to it - it only kills if you train often and for a long time. Especially for us, jazzfunkers, because a lot of techniques are combined, the foot is actively working. And it’s good for contemporary people in general: they dance barefoot in socks, and with simpler things - they put on something very wide and similar to oversized pajamas - and you are the most fashionable in the class.
Income and expenses
As for the payment for training for teams, it is similar to amateur sports sections: in many teams, participants pay a monthly fee, which includes the rent of the hall and the work of the choreographer.
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Is it possible to make money from dancing? Of course, there is plenty of work. First, dance schools. There are now ten of them at each metro station, a novice teacher, if desired, will quickly find a job. But if you want to get into a top school as a teacher, then you need to work hard, have a name, constantly upgrade, be socially active, shoot videos and shine at the same championships. The main thing is not to be lazy.
