Just before I entered the adult movie business, my boyfriend (at the time) got me a job as a taxi-dancer at a very old dancing-girl establishment in downtown Los Angeles.
A taxi dancer is, quite simply, someone you pay, on a song-by-song basis, to dance with you. According to Wiki, “The term “taxi dancer” comes from the fact that, as with a taxi-cab driver, the dancer’s pay is proportional to the time he or she spends dancing with the customer.” Remember that Tina Turner song? It’s like that.
Men would pay the other girls and I to (slow) dance. If they liked anyone especially they’d pay more to take you upstairs to a semi-private room to talk. Some guys were very polite, other guys would try to have sex with you right there on the dance floor. You quickly learned how to avoid the handsy perverts.
My very first night as a taxi-dancer, my boyfriend fell asleep and forgot to pick me up. Off to a fabulous start, to say the least. So I had to rely on the good graces of a random dance hall patron to take me home to Pasadena in his yellow corvette. He and his awesome car were, thankfully, both very polite.
A few years later I was very interested to learn that June Miller – author Henry Miller’s muse, fanatical obsession and short-lived second wife – had herself worked as a taxi dancer in depression-era New York City. Which, considering my own time as a taxi dancer, and especially what came soon after, is a very esoteric-coincidence.
To me, that is the very essence of what being an adult entertainer was all about. A long series of very strange events. Hope you enjoyed that memory and I look forward to any comments.
Update: Since writing this post, I actually found some Polaroids taken outside of the club in question! These are from before I entered “the biz” and I hope you enjoy them!
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I first learned about taxi dancers reading John Fante who wrote about life in LA as struggling writer in the 1930’s in “Ask the Dust”:
“At Sixth I turned the corner and walked down to Main. I wandered through the crowds of seedy, hungry derelicts without destination. At Second I stopped before a Filipino taxi-dancehall. The literature on the walls spoke eloquently of forty beautiful girls and the dreamy music of Lonny Killula and his melodic Hawaiians. I climbed one flight of echoing stairs to a booth and bought a ticket. Inside were forty women, lined against the opposite wall, sleek in tight evening dresses, most of them blondes. Nobody was dancing, not a soul. On the platform the five-piece orchestra banged out a tune with fury. A few customers like myself stood behind a short wicker fence, opposite the girls. They beckoned to us. I surveyed the group, found a blonde whose gown I liked, and bought a few dance tickets. Then I waved at the blonde. She fell into my arms like an old lover and we beat the oak for two dances.”
Hi, Richard! Didn’t you tell me about this on a forum somewhere and even offer to buy me the book? I think I was supposed to add it to my Amazon wishlist and forgot. If the offer still stands, I’ll go ahead and do that because it was such a kind and generous offer. I don’t want you to think I didn’t appreciate it.
Richard, I’ve added “Ask the Dust” to my wishlist if my memory is serving me and you’d previously asked me to do so. Thank you again. https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3KZJJA1BRY49O
On it’s way 🙂
Richard, I can’t believe it. My copy of “Ask the Dust” has already arrived! Thank you so much again, and I’ll be sure to take a photo just for you.
Richard: https://iamvanessachase.com/wp-content/gallery/today/vanessa-chase-ask-the-dust.jpg
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Wow. And you danced (and possibly still dance as well). I don’t ordinary simp on adult film performers. But you are just…. too much. You still look amazing. I am glad that you have been taking care of yourself. I hope you enjoy prosperity with your new OnlyFans business. You bring comfort, beauty, and joy to many a lonely heart. You always performed above and beyond. I have seen thousands of women perform, and I think you are definitely up there as one of my favorites. I dance myself. Maybe one day I will get to dance with you.