Alcohol and drugs at work

Drinks are part of the sales floor

In many clubs, getting a customer to buy you a drink is part of how you earn, and some clubs push drink sales hard. That puts alcohol in your workplace in a way almost no other job does. You can work sober, work drinking, or something between, but you should choose it rather than drift into it.

Things dancers do to stay in control:

• Set your number before the shift, not during it.
• Order drinks you can nurse, or a mixer that looks like a cocktail. Most bartenders will help if you ask quietly. Some clubs credit you the drink price either way; ask.
• Never leave a drink and come back to it. Take it with you or let it go.
• Watch the drink being poured. Spiking happens in clubs, to dancers as well as customers. If you suddenly feel far drunker than you should, tell security or a coworker immediately and do not go anywhere with the customer who bought it.
• Eat before a shift. A long night in heels on an empty stomach makes two drinks feel like five.

Drugs

Drugs are around in some clubs and not in others, and the culture of a club tells you quickly which one you are in. The practical points are these.

Buying from or using with customers hands them leverage over you, and it blurs the line between a dance and something else, which is the line that keeps you safe and legal. A customer who offers you something is often testing what else you will say yes to.

Anything you have on you can cost you your licence, your job and more, depending on the law where you are. Check the current rules; some cities tie dancer permits to a clean record. Supply in some places is cut with things far stronger than what is advertised, and a dressing room is a bad place to find out.

If you or a coworker is in trouble, get help first and sort out consequences later. Many places have laws that protect people who call for medical help during an overdose; ask a professional what applies where you live.

When it becomes a habit

Late nights and a job built on being up and charming for hours make it easy to use something to get there and something else to come down. Plenty of dancers have been through that and out the other side. The warning signs are the usual ones: needing it to work, spending more than you planned, hiding it from people who care about you.

If you recognise yourself, talk to someone who is not a coworker and not a customer. A doctor, a helpline, a counsellor who works with people in nightlife or sex work. You do not have to quit dancing to get help, and you do not have to tell them everything to start.