Who goes to the Pageants?
What does is cost?
Does the final night of the Pageant cost more?
How long is the Pageant?
Is it the same show each night?
Are there performances on final night or just the Awards?
Why not just go on the final night?
I've never been to a strip club, what should I know?
Where's the best place to sit?
If a woman goes to a strip show will everyone think she's a hooker?
Do you have to order alcoholic drinks?
Does the audience get dragged up on stage?
Does the audience get to vote?
Can I be a Judge?
Q Who goes to the Pageants?
A The Pageant audience is different from the regular clientele who frequent "strip clubs". Depending upon the locale in Canada, we experience up to 50% couples, and a very large percentage of patrons who never set foot into a "strip club" at any other time.
We enjoy the patronage of a much more discriminating clientele, an audience that has come to enjoy the high "quality" of the stage performances of the contestants, a clientele that enjoys more the on stage "performance" of dancers. Even though this implies an older audience, age does not indicate "taste". Our audience spans the complete gap from earliest drinking age to mature customers who only go into a nightclub to enjoy a Pageant.
Q What does is cost? (Top)
A The cost of attending a Pageant is set by the local club. Some clubs choose to offer up the superior entertainment of a Pageant as a "gift" to their loyal customers, other clubs will add a "nominal" charge for entrance in order to help defray the expense of mounting a Pageant.
Q Does the final night of the Pageant cost more? (Top)
A If and when the host club chooses to put a cover charge on the door for a Pageant, it will often have a larger charge on the weekend. This is to help regulate the size of the crowds on the Friday and Saturday, for very often the line-ups on these nights can stretch for hours. So many patrons are eager to see the contestants pulling out all the stops and entertaining at 100% - 120% performance levels, that often the number of customers exceeds the capacity of the club.
Q How long is the Pageant? (Top)
A The Pageant, depending upon the time of the year and the location, will start at 8:00 pm and will run until close which is usually 2:00 am. Invariably on Friday and Saturday nights we run past the end of liquor sales and the normal closing time for the club.
Q Is it the same show each night? (Top)
A Once again, depending upon the level of competition and the number of contestants, the line-up of performers will differ from night to night. Let me illustrate one configuration:
- If we have 24 entries we pull numbers at the Dancer Meeting and the first 12 numbers drawn will compete on Monday night and Wednesday night. The remaining 12 will compete on Tuesday night and Thursday night.
- To give each Contestant a level playing field, on the second night of their respective preliminary the Contestants who performed in the early part of the evening the first night will be performing in the late part of the evening on the second night. Again they draw numbers from 1 to 6 or 7 to 12 to determine dance order.
- Once we have completed the Monday to Thursday preliminaries (each Contestant enjoying two evenings of competition) we take the top 15 contestants from the original 24 and have them compete in the Semi-Finals Friday night. They pull numbers to determine their order of performance during the night.
- On Saturday night the top 10 scores from the Semi-Finals compete for the main title in the Finals.
Q Are there performances on final night or just the Awards? (Top)
A Saturday night is the Finals and the last chance for the 10 Finalists from the previous 5 days of competition to determine their final standing. Once the 10 Finalists have completed their competition shows, we entertain the audience with either a final performance of the reigning Queen or special entertainment supplied by the club while we tabulate the votes and compile the final standings.
We then set the stage with all the trophies, crowns, sashes, flowers, prizes, and other awards and bring every Contestant (wearing her fanciest and most beautiful gown) on stage, one at a time, in alphabetical order, regardless of if she was one of the 10 Finalists. Once we have introduced each of the Contestants who originally entered the Pageant we allow the magazine photographers to do their group shots. Then we give out all the awards.
You must realize we give out more than just the "Miss Nude [Pageant Title]". We also award all the special performances, abilities, costumes, looks, etc. that 6 different panels of judges have awarded to all of the Contestants. A Contestant who was eliminated after the preliminaries can still qualify for one of the specific titles such as Most Beautiful Face, Most Original Costume, or Miss Congeniality.
Q Why not just go on the final night? (Top)
A If you only attend on Saturday night you will deprive yourself of the opportunity to view so many different Contestants and performances. Using the example given above, starting with 24 Contestants, on the Saturday night you will only see 10 competition shows.
Also, even though Saturday night is the "do or die" night for the final 10 Contestants and the level of competition is at its peak, very often the more daring, risque, experimental shows, are performed earlier in the week when the Contestants know they have two chances to "screw up" and have another opportunity to "make good". During a Preliminary, an entry-level Pageant, where many of the contestants are "learning the system" as they go you would miss many innovative and different styles that will be performed earlier in the week.
Q I've never been to a strip club, what should I know? (Top)
A Strip club entertainment styles differ as we go across this great land of ours:
In the Eastern strip clubs table dancing is the main form of exotic entertainment. This means there are "stage shows" and then there are "table dances" which are performed off the stage, one on one, with the individual customer. During Pageant week the main form of entertainment is 100% on the stage. If you choose to buy a table dance then more than likely you'll have to go into a VIP room or to the back of the club.
In the West (Manitoba to British Columbia) there is very little "table dancing" (at least in the Eastern fashion) and the primary form of entertainment is "stage shows". The major difference between a regular week and a Pageant week will be the intensity of the performances, the back-to-back schedule of the show as opposed to the long breaks between shows during the regular year, and a very restricted opportunity to "tip on stage".
For example in Alberta, where the girls make a big percentage of their income from "loonie tosses" on stage, during the regular year the girls will spend up to half their stage time working the audience strictly for tips. During a Pageant the Contestants are not allowed to work for tips and as a result 100% of their stage time is devoted to pure performance resulting in more enjoyment for the audience.
Q Where's the best place to sit? (Top)
A Anywhere in the club that gives you a good sight line to the stage. If you are interested in in being close to the stage action many clubs have chairs that pull right up to the edge but be aware that sitting in those seats could result in you becoming involved in the shows.
Depending upon the local laws and regulations governing audience participation in dancer shows, you could be brought up on the stage to join in the performance or you could be covered in anything from water, paint, Jell-O, whipped cream, ice cream, streamers, balloons, toys, etc. that the dancer is using in her show. If you sit further back you will get to enjoy both the dancer and the crazy audience that sits right on the edge of the stage!
Q If a woman goes to a strip show will everyone think she's a hooker or something? (Top)
A Of course not! First of all allow me to make the following observation about strip clubs in general since I have been involved in the hospitality industry for almost 40 years now, having worked in every form of licensed establishment that has been around.
When I first started to manage strip clubs the one thing that amazed me the most was just how respectful the atmosphere was towards women. Unlike a regular "band bar" or "dance bar" the men are not there to pick up women. In a strip club they are there to watch professional female entertainers perform and know from experience that if they disrespect those women they will be asked to leave in a "not very friendly fashion". This results in a very safe environment for female customers.
Now as you can tell, I go back in time to the days when a woman couldn't enter a licenced premise without a male escort but times have changed and now, especially during Pageants, we enjoy the patronage of many women who come for the superior entertainment either "stag" or with a small group of other women. Very often, it is the women who end up being the "rowdiest" group in the room! Now it's common to see women customers volunteer to participate in stage shows in jurisdictions where that is legal.
Read more about Chris Lansdale and the Pageant History.
Q Do you have to order alcoholic drinks? (Top)
A Anywhere that you go in Canada the local liquor laws make it illegal for a bar to force a patron to drink alcoholic beverages. No alcoholic drink minimums are imposed. However, the bar has to make money to stay open for business so it behooves any "guest" to buy some form of beverage be it coffee, tea, pop, fruit drinks, or even bottled water.
Q Does the audience get dragged up on stage? (Top)
A If you choose to sit in "perverts row", the seats that pull right up to the edge of the stage, you could be involved in the show (if legal in the local club) automatically. Just sitting in those seats is usually understood as "volunteering". Otherwise, you only get to participate in the stage shows if you push yourself forward as a volunteer.
Q Does the audience get to vote? (Top)
A Pageant performances are voted on by a panel of judges. The judges are required to watch every single show all night long - otherwise how can he honestly judge or compare "between" the Contestants?
The judges attend a meeting prior to the start of the night's competition where the method of judging is explained and the exact rules and regulations of judging are presented to the panel. We also restrict the alcoholic intake of the judges and make sure they have the best view of the performance to ensure that nothing interferes with their ability to judge fairly and equally all night long.
Now having said all that, there is one title that the audience votes for: "Business Man's Favourite". Some clubs arrange for the Contestants to give a "lunch time" or "supper time" performance for their regular clientele who are given an individual ballot for each performance they watch. In clubs where they choose not to offer Contestants' shows "outside" of the regular Pageant performances we fold that title into the regular judges list of titles and the general audience doesn't get to vote. Once again, it is up to the individual club.
Q Can I be a Judge? (Top)
A We'd love to have you volunteer as a Judge. Every Judge receives a copy of The Judges Manual for general rules and regulations, but here's a summary of the requirements:
- You can not be in a position to "make money off the dancers" i.e. agent, club manager or owner, club d.j., costume seller, shoe seller, etc.
- We do not allow currently working dancers to judge, this is to avoid personalities and friendships, although we do allow dancers that have been retired from the business for several years to come back and judge.
- You can not be related to, or even a customer of, any of the Contestants.
- You have to be prepared to spend on entire evening through till the end of that night's performances. At 7:00 pm you will be required to attend a one-hour judges meeting.
- You may not become inebriated during the evening.
- You may not talk to club dancers, Contestants or their friends, or crews during the night of your being a judge.
- You are only allowed to judge one evening during the pageant, you may come back to judge in another club or year.
You MAY have the experience of your life the night of being a judge. Everyone who has ever been a judge wants to do it again!
Still got questions? Send us an email