snake dancing
There was a totally gimmicky feel to snake dancing for me. I was in an American - Mid West - Oklahoma upscale night club for one. So I mostly had the run of the mill rich wasted college kids and pervy business guys to perform for. But the gig paid 150 a night, and gigs were few and far between here, so I did it. I also did a snake number in a stage show for the dance company I was in at the time. It felt kinda like, 'you're not that great at soloing, so you'd better have a gimmick' at the time. But people loved it, and I think I did an ok job for my first real stage solo bit.
After reading Maria'a article on Gilded, I am almost tempted to do it again. The photos are so lovely, and she has a great relationship with her pet. I'm sure she wouldn't do anything to harm him. But she make a good couple of points that warn me away from it. One, don't bring a snake unless you're asked - now how often is that going to happen? And two, the joy of snake up keep and handling (not so joyous for me - I have lots of animals already to keep me busy).
So yes and no on the gimmick feel, I think back then I was not very experienced in performing and felt like the snake was a distraction from my inexperience. Now I am more confident and would probably feel differently.
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