Any lady that’s been in the business for more than a few weeks can tell you that there’s a lot more to exotic dancing than just getting up on stage and shaking your booty. Sensual stripping-the only kind that will make you a lot of money-takes coordination, grace, and confidence. If you don’t feel that these traits come naturally to you, don’t fret. Thankfully, each of these is easy to develop if you can take an honest appraisal of yourself and apply some basic mental and physical fitness training.
Developing Coordination and Grace
Exotic dancing is a labor-intensive profession-there’s no doubt about that! And, as with any other physically strenuous activity, practice makes perfect. If you’ve never worn high heels or dance wear, it’s imperative that you take time at home to practice walking and sensual stripping. Not only are stripper heels notoriously difficult to wear if you’re not used to them, but it’s also easy to catch your clothes on them when you’re stripping or doing floor work with your outfit on. Practicing your moves-all of them-will help you develop the coordination you need to project sensuality when you dance.
Physical fitness will go a long way to building your confidence, coordination and grace. You don’t need to be a fitness junkie to look good and move well, but you do need proper nutrition and muscular endurance to survive a full shift of dancing. Interval training will tone your muscles, build strength, get the blood pumping and keep you limber, all of which will help your performance on stage. Feeling good about how your body moves will have a big impact on how comfortable you feel during a performance.
Developing your Sensual Self
The key to sensual stripping is confidence: confidence in yourself as a sensual being, in your ability to project your persona to the audience, and in your ability to make a lot of money doing it! I know that there are a lot of women who don’t feel that great about themselves, but I’m a firm believer in “fake it ’til you make it.”
That’s where your persona comes in. If you’re naturally a shy or “mousy” girl, developing a stage persona that exudes confidence will give you a chance to explore parts of yourself that you didn’t know existed, and in a short time that confidence will extend to your life off-stage as well.
Take time during your practice sessions at home to become comfortable touching your own body. You don’t need to get “down and dirty” with it, but learn how to touch your body in ways that exude just how good it feels to have a body! Run your hands down your thighs; stroke the curves of your body. Treat your body with a sense of wonder, because it really is the most wonderful and powerful tool you have.
If you can project to your audience how wonderful it feels to be you, the money will come!