What goes through your mind when you think of go-go dancers?
Glitz, glamour and fame?
However, do you really understand what go-go dancers actually do?
Step into the shoes of Ingelica Lee, 24 years old – a full time go-go dancer, multitalented performer and a business owner.
She smashes the stereotypes of the sleazy misconceptions it often brings, and shows that there’s a lot more that goes on behind the scenes.
I spoke to her to get an insight on what gogo dancers in Singapore actually do, and find out how she rocks her more about her experiences
Not All Glitz & Glamour
Go-go dancing might seem like an easy job with all the fame and attention. What’s so difficult about looking hot and dancing in front of a crowd?
First things first – you obviously need a smokin’ hot bod.
During our interview, I ask Ingelica how she manages to keep her body in such great shape.
“I absolutely hate dieting but to make up for it, I have to exercise and hit the gym a lot to keep up my stamina and maintain my body. I also go to the gym and attend Muay Thai classes twice a week (for both).
“On top of that I have my regular pole practices and dance gigs at different clubs.”
Discipline is a key factor for her as she is a freelance dancer. Other than being disciplined enough to work out, her erratic schedule also means that nothing is fixed as it is based on her client’s schedule.
“It could be a week of hell and the next week I’m absolutely free.”
A full week of rest may sound good but Ingelica has to sacrifice all of her weekends and public holidays as this is usually the peak season for performers.
Multitalented Performer
Ingelica started dancing at a the tender age of 7. She first started off with Chinese Dance as part of her school’s CCA and only pursued it as a performer when she was studying at Temasek Polytechnic at 18 years old.
From there, Ingelica branched out and is constantly improving her repertoire of skills. From freestyle dancing to choreographed dance sets to performances with LED props, her talents know no boundary. In fact, she’s even done fire performances.
From Getting Fan Mails To Buying Her As A ‘Pet’
With a following of 49.7k on Instagram, Ingelica has her fair share of people sliding into her DMs.
She receives encouraging messages from her fans all the time, including those who live overseas. Some of them go the extra mile to fly in to wherever she is just to pass her gifts or to take pictures with her.
She says that it is always heartwarming to know that she has the extra support and encouragement instead of haters trying to get her down.
However, fail mail also includes receiving weird messages. When I ask how she deals with this, Ingelica takes it easy and laughs it off.
“I get weird messages all the time, they can vary from feet fetish to buying me as their ‘pet’, but usually I just laugh it off.
“It gets pretty entertaining sometimes to see what goes on in people’s head.”
Go-Go Dancing Is Not A Profession
Ingelica feels that there are many who are not well informed about this industry. People often don’t understand how one can make a living from being a full time dancer.
“The general public perceives go-go dancing as sleazy, and for the uneducated or those with a bleak future.”
These stereotypes have blinded them from the artistic side of the profession, the hard work and perseverance one has to dedicate in order to achieve success.
“When I perform in clubs, the older generation usually associates it with strippers. The younger ones however, do actually understand my job scope more, maybe because they have seen it for themselves.”
She says that at the end of the day, such stereotypes is something that she can’t prevent – “nobody is perfect but I just keep on doing what I do best at!”
Ingelica believes in educating people on what she does. From there, people are usually understanding and are actually more amazed at the fact that this is actually a full time job.
Lee.Inge Entertainment
Despite her hectic and erratic schedule, Ingelica’s passion for dancing gave life to her first business venture, Lee.Inge Entertainment in 2017.
“Lee.Inge Entertainment came about when I decided that I would very much love to this is for the rest of my life because it drives me to work harder everyday and I am proud of what I do.”
She shares how she would dread waking up for work in the past when she was working for people, but not when it came to performing.
“It is something that I have done pretty much 3/4 of my life and I would say that this is something that I live to do. Of course not forgetting that being your own boss gives you the most freedom.”
Lee.Inge Entertainment is a one stop service talent agency where they cater performances for all sort of events such as family day, mass workouts etc. Performing is their niche but they also hold classes to teach and assist companies in delivery staff performances.
Apart from that, their comprehensive event packages includes producing of short films for advertorial purposes or in house usage of videos and many more. Talk about a one stop service indeed!
