I think I already told you about the air around the derby was similar to last year – the girls competing with each other, being caddy, jealous, bitter, desperate. Â Many of them were telling me they look forward to this all year to make major money and count on it. Â I got the feeling Jesse and STu were annoyed at the lack of action around there… Â Club 2 though was very talkative, open, happy to see us and we didn’t feel in the way there – so we spend a lot of time over there. Â I got to see Hannah again so we were excited to catch up. Â We were both saddened when she told me she had an abortion last month. Â She couldn’t talk about it much, and she said she would never ever let herself get in that situation again. Â SHe said the timing wasn’t right and it was for the best, but her eyes kept filling up with tears. Â She seems clean and is very sweet. Â H told me she works in the club b/c life is short, and she is used to it, it’s fun, and while she’s young she wants to get the most fun out of life. Â I was able to encourage her and listen to her, and sympathize as much as I could. Â SHe said she would call me if she needs to talk about it – but she said she’d rather not bring it up b/c it makes her upset. Â I reassured her how much we care about her. Â Other than that, I just had some upbeat fun light conversations with the rest of the girls and tried to ease some Derby disappointment.Mandy:I met dancer K who was working for her first night at Club 1. Â She had worked at another club for 15 weeks, she said, but she still wasn’t “used to it.” Â When she told me it was her first night, I asked her what got her into this business. Â She said “I’m a single mom (as of recently) of 5 kids, and I need to support them and myself somehow…” So we kept talking and she shared that she was with her boyfriend for several years, the father of 4 of her children, and she had been single for the past 15 weeks, which was why she got into dancing. Â She still can’t believe how some of the other girls can get up there and do what they do, because she admitted it affects her emotionally, physically, mentally, etc. Â She said she was just having a really hard time, and we talked quite a bit about her family and even her view on the church. Â (I didn’t bring it up at first, she mentioned her family being Catholic, so I asked questions…) She struggles with finding a church of people that aren’t hypocritical, and I explained to her that all churches are just messed up, broken people who admit that Jesus is the only one who can help us! Â She couldn’t stop saying how proud she was of us for doing what we do, and I told her we do it because we love them and care about them. Â She insisted that we’re “better people than she is,” but I reassured her that we’re all messed up people too! Â When we left I just kept telling her I’ll be praying for her throughout the week, and she said “I’ll be doing the same.” Â She was really broken about being a single mom, and I know she doesn’t want to be dancing. Â She’s starting school to be a pharmacy tech soon, and she may even get a job at a pharmacy while she’s in school. Â Hopefully this will happen soon so she doesn’t have to feel so vulnerable for so long. Â She’s a strong woman, and I really enjoyed talking to her. Â She needs some encouraging people in her life right now.Julie:lots of dancers.. not as many clients. Difficult to see girls who just started a month ago SH and LY become so acclimated to the club life… their personalities have changed – they have become part of that world. It was also more difficult to talk to them as they would only converse for a few minutes and they seemed to be on stage a lot.Talked to a few dancers outside the club on their smoke break… we talked about things like childhood and favorite foods. Girls continually ask ‘what church are we from’ – i think it is awesome that they know something is different. One girl even apologized for saying a curse word in front of us.
Club 1:
The air around the derby was similar to last year – the girls competing with each other, being caddy, jealous, bitter, desperate. Many of them were telling me they look forward to this all year to make major money and count on it. Â I got the feeling J and S were annoyed at the lack of action around there… Â The bar side of the club though was very talkative, open, happy to see us and we didn’t feel in the way there – so we spend a lot of time over there. Â I got to see H again so we were excited to catch up. Â We were both saddened when she told me she had an abortion last month. Â She couldn’t talk about it much, and she said she would never ever let herself get in that situation again. Â SHe said the timing wasn’t right and it was for the best, but her eyes kept filling up with tears. Â She seems clean and is very sweet. Â H told me she works in the club b/c life is short, and she is used to it, it’s fun, and while she’s young she wants to get the most fun out of life. Â I was able to encourage her and listen to her, and sympathize as much as I could. Â She said she would call me if she needs to talk about it – but she said she’d rather not bring it up b/c it makes her upset. Â I reassured her how much we care about her. Â Other than that, I just had some upbeat fun light conversations with the rest of the girls and tried to ease some Derby disappointment. Â – Kamille B.
I met dancer K who was working for her first night at Club 1. Â She had worked at another club for 15 weeks, she said, but she still wasn’t “used to it.” Â When she told me it was her first night, I asked her what got her into this business. Â She said “I’m a single mom (as of recently) of 5 kids, and I need to support them and myself somehow…” So we kept talking and she shared that she was with her boyfriend for several years, the father of 4 of her children, and she had been single for the past 15 weeks, which was why she got into dancing. Â She still can’t believe how some of the other girls can get up there and do what they do, because she admitted it affects her emotionally, physically, mentally, etc. Â She said she was just having a really hard time, and we talked quite a bit about her family and even her view on the church. Â (I didn’t bring it up at first, she mentioned her family being Catholic, so I asked questions…) She struggles with finding a church of people that aren’t hypocritical, and I explained to her that all churches are just messed up, broken people who admit that Jesus is the only one who can help us! Â She couldn’t stop saying how proud she was of us for doing what we do, and I told her we do it because we love them and care about them. Â She insisted that we’re “better people than she is,” but I reassured her that we’re all messed up people too! Â When we left I just kept telling her I’ll be praying for her throughout the week, and she said “I’ll be doing the same.” Â She was really broken about being a single mom, and I know she doesn’t want to be dancing. Â She’s starting school to be a pharmacy tech soon, and she may even get a job at a pharmacy while she’s in school. Â Hopefully this will happen soon so she doesn’t have to feel so vulnerable for so long. Â She’s a strong woman, and I really enjoyed talking to her. Â She needs some encouraging people in her life right now. Â – Mandy L.
It was difficult to see girls who just started a month ago SH and LY become so acclimated to the club life… their personalities have changed – they have become part of that world. It was also more difficult to talk to them as they would only converse for a few minutes and they seemed to be on stage a lot.
Talked to a few dancers outside the club on their smoke break… we talked about things like childhood and favorite foods. Girls continually ask ‘what church are we from’ – i think it is awesome that they know something is different. One girl even apologized for saying a curse word in front of us. Â – Julie W.
