Behind the Scenes: Miami Go-Go Dancers

September 16, 2008 4:03 PM
by Sandra Hurtado

The go-go dancing industry is a major player in the world of nightclubs. Professional dancers help create the correct environment for a place like South Beach—which is synonymous with sex, mojitos, skimpy clothing, celebrities and exclusive nightlife. It’s no wonder why model-looking dancers are currently all the rage in South Florida. Leading the pack is Zhantra Entertainment who is setting new standards and proving that to be a go-go dancer is a serious business not meant for floozies.

After go-go dancing for over ten years, Bengy Cid, President of Zhantra Entertainment, decided to create her own company of elite dancers with model-like looks. She placed her first two tall girls at Suite Lounge two years ago and the rest was history.

“I used to do fashion shows and got really involved in choosing models to do runway…many of them were interested in dancing,” Cid said. “It started with two girls, and then after that, everybody wanted model go-go dancers.”

Before Cid’s idea of combining runway looks with go-go dancing, the industry consisted of high-energy dancers that were less than 5-foot-5. With new looks have come new rules and Zhantra has been strict with a no drinking policy and a code of professionalism that has created a new respect for the art of entertainment dancing.

“In the beginning go-go dancing was not a very respected profession and was always compared to stripping,” Cid said. “Everybody in the clubs respect the dancers more now. Before you would have even the bouncers hitting on the girls.”

Some dancers, like 21-year-old Romina Quintana, still feel they deal with some of the stigma associated with the craft.

“When someone asks me what I do for a living I say I am a model and go-go dancer. They still confuse it as being a stripper sometimes but it is a completely different thing,” Quintana said. “There are girls that lie. I don’t know why they hide it. We are not doing anything bad. We are performers and entertainers for the nightclub.”

Zhantra newbie Maia Benavente disagrees.

“You are professional and you can tell you are with a company,” she says. “I have always been treated with respect. I have never been compared to a striper.”

Cid claims that in 10 years so much has changed in part by the locals becoming accustomed to the profession. Now, Zhantra has created a name for itself and the majority of the clubs on South Beach only hire dancers exclusively from the dance company.

Reaching one of the coveted spots on stage on any given night can be harder than imagined—considering the company has a total of 25 girls on the roster and about 40 in files.

“A lot of the new girls come in and question why they don’t have that much work,” Quintana admitted. “It is a position where you have to go up little by little. When I started I didn’t get too much work but now I work more.”

It’s no secret that dues have to be paid in the dancing business.

“I have no problem with the politics,” Benavente says. “The girls that work the most have the most experience. I hope to one day be where they are. I have no problem working my way up.”

Choosing the girls is the hardest part according to Cid.

“If they have the height, the look and the moves than we move on from there but it’s not easy,” she says. “It’s hard to get girls that want to continue doing it and be professional. Its hard to get that perfect type.”

As far as the future trend of go-go dancing in South Florida goes, it’s not certain, but Cid thinks the old school look and style of dance could have a comeback. That would mean the doors opening for girls that are shorter than the current 5-foot-6 minimum.

As far as the business as a whole, Cid says she has no worries no matter how bad the economy were to get.

“I know that this is a long-term deal,” she says. “People are always going to want entertainment and dancers. It’s something that is consistent like bartending. Even if there is a depression, people want to drink. The club needs the eye candy and it would be strange to not have it.

DID YOU KNOW?

*Go-go dancers go up on stage and dance for 15 minutes at a time and rest for a half an hour adding up to a grand total of one hour of dancing the entire night.

*Most go-go dancers get paid $125-$150 a night plus any tips.

*Dancers have more problems at nightclubs with females rather than males.