Life of a cabaret dancer

[Guest]

Just interviewed 8 cabaret dancers at my house (dirty job but someone's gotta do it) last week.

They make 6000 per month. This is high pay. Average is 4500 Baht/month. Average 3 shows per night Monday - Thursday, 5 shows Friday / Saturday, i.e., about 22 shows/week.

They usually do not get tips, or, insignificant if they do.

They all live together in a place supplied by the manager (at a cost of 300 baht or so / month). I imagine it is not beautiful.

They were told they could make big money in Taiwan, went, and were paid 1 month salary (out of 3 months there). They were paid about 2/3rds of what they were told for that month. The managers kept their passports until they had done what the managers wanted. They all gained 4-10kg each in Taiwan due to extreme boredom and nothing to do but eat and watch TV.

One girl has a 4 year debt on boobs. I think it will never be paid off to be honest, and thus permanent slavery.

So, the sum of it all is that these girls are in a form of slavery, and can't get out of it, as they have no skills, no schooling, are LBs, and pretty much stuck.

These are 'rich' cabaret girls.

PS. I had to donate to them for charity of course, so plan to sleep with two

[Mai-Kee]

Thanks, very interesting!! You might not want to tell here the name of the cabaret, but are those the fees they get paid at the big ones? Do the "superstars" get more?

MK

[thaimeup]

I've only heard bad things about working in Taiwan. In every case its the same thing, they don't pay what they promised, Keep the workers virtual prisoners, impose lots of extra fees and surcharges, etc...

Happens with Thai laborers also, a few months ago a bunch of them rioted, demanded back pay and the right to leave.

[Guest]

Star Vegas cabaret, playing small restaurants, bars, mostly for Thais and Arabs. These particular girls keep working because 6000 Baht is high pay. The norm is 4500.

[Guest]

My girl went to Taiwan for a contract, and got screwed out of her pay. Like Ziggy said, had her passport withheld till the time for them to leave. Nothing they can do because they are on visitor visa. They also had their money withheld till they come back next time! Sad!

Ronin

[Ladyboy_Loser!]

Even in Thailand the pay for the non-star dancers in a show do not get much better. My sweetie was a dancer in the Calypso Cabaret Show for a few months and she quit because she could earn a whole lot more going to work in the Ladyboy bars in Nana. With afternoon rehersals, two shows a night, seven nights a week and little money to show for it it's no wonder so many of them give it up.

[dummy_plug]

If cabarets are such a poor deal, why does ladyboys bother to go? Wasn't Mickey from Obsessions, quite a popular girl as I recall, on tour with a Chinese cabaret for a few months? I'm sure she does very well at her bar, so obviously she gave it up to go to the cabaret (i.e. money). Maybe not all cabaret companies are rip-offs?

[stogie bear]

4,500 Baht per month is not an 'average' salary. It's the absolute worst unskilled salary that there is in Thailand. People in construction or checkout girls etc get this kind of pay.

6,000 is also an unskilled wage and uni grads can expect to start out on between 12 & 14K a month and within a couple of years skilled office workers will be making between 20 & 50K a month.

If the caberet dancers tell you they are not getting tips then they are lying. That's pretty much all they live on. I do agree with you that the work is hard and tireless, but as DP points out - if it's that bad why do they do it!

As for going on tour - it doesn't surprise me at all that these rather simple girls are getting ripped off!

[Guest]

They don't get tips because they generally work at Thai and Arab outlets (vs farang), and I believe the schedule is generally something like do 30 minute show, run out to the van to next show. If you watch the cabaret 30 minute shows at Cascades or Obsessions, the girls literally run out the door after their dance. No chance for tips.

They do it because they have no other choices than prostitution, and not every girl is keen on prostitution. They are simple girls, not particularly beautiful, and I can easily imagine difficulty in getting a job in major department store or farang salon. That pretty much limits it to an even less lucrative job. On the up side, most like the job of being a performer.

[post-op lover]

Hey Ziggy, I think I'm missing something. Aren't you in Japan? How did you interview LOS cabaret dancers? Or are you jetting back and forth? Not bad, I guess.

[stogie bear]

They do it because they have no other choices than prostitution...

...and I can easily imagine difficulty in getting a job in major department store or farang salon

Might have been true in the past. Not so today. Ladyboys of any size, age and appearance can get 6K jobs at any mall.

Good point you make about the actual job of being a caberet dancer, Ziggy. They almost certainly enjoy being performers. I'll wager that that is the big draw for these girls.

Has anyone actually seen one of these dreadful seedy shows?

[Mai-Kee]

I try to see all of them if I get the chance. In a way - for me - the seedier the better. Have a weired preference for that and love this "sleazy show/glitter/faded beauty/trannie/backstage" atmosphere. It's actually great for shooting some rough b/w pictures if they let you! A bit Nan Goldin - I know - but still love it!
By the way Ziggy, did you also research what the girls at the big shows like Alcazar or Simons make? I once back in the late 90ies, dated a girl who worked at Alcazar and she told me (wanted me to believe?) that she's doing quite well. Actually even refused to take some money from me.... Although she didn't refuse the gifts later on, which's totally ok, western girls wouldn't be different!

MK

[Guest]

Ahhh...didn't research it, but the few girls I know who worked at Tiffany's and Simon say it is the WORST cabarets to work at because they are so cheap and the hours so long. However, the benefit is tips, where they seem to do much better.

You have to remember, there are a lot of tiny cabaret groups (like the ones I talked to), who are really not that beautiful in face or body, and just scrape by. Whether it is true or not, ALL felt they could not get jobs outside of cabarets. I have to believe their feelings are backed up by some experience.

[rob69in]

The Cabaret LB's i have managed to have an ST with, have all told me similar stories, i am always 50 / 50 about what i am told, as it can so easily be a "sob story" to richen the tip, but it also can so easily be the truth as well. Its hard to know what is actually going on.

[rxpharm]

To add a bit more insight for those lbs working in the more famous cabarets. I had a long chat with one of the stars from Calypso a couple of years ago. She told me the starting salary for new dancers was 4500 Baht/month. It increases 200 Baht/month for each year they complete with the show. She was at 20,000 Baht a month in 2004 - but she had been with Calypso since she was 16 or 17, plus she is one of the stars. I also spoke with a performer from Alcazar in Pattaya - she told me she can make 30,000 Baht a month including the phototips. Her base salary is 10,000 Baht a month after working 5 years. They only get 2 days off in a month as well, so it is a lot of work including the shows and practice. Also not all of the lbs in the Cabaret shows "date", but some do. Some has a real love for performing and anyone who has seen Calypso will understand what I mean. One was also in the the National Geographic Special Hidden Genders - but just a brief clip from the show.

I am attaching a photo of a Calypso star for your reference, and she is a non-dating lb.