Energy, vigor, galore, pizzazz, performance and strength in body, mind and soul are some of the qualities the judges will be looking for in the contestants. And, of course, a go-go dancer is expected to animate to any music available at their disposal.
Go-Go dancers are dancers who are employed to entertain at a club. Go-go dancing originated in the early 1960s when women at the Peppermint Lounge in New York City began to get up on tables and dance the twist. There were many 1960s-era miniskirt club goers who wore what came to be called go-go boots to night clubs; club promoters in the mid 1960s conceived the idea of hiring them to entertain the patrons.
Many Gay clubs had male go-go dancers, called go-go boys, during the period 1965-1968. After that, few gay clubs had go-go dancers until performance art dancer John Sex, and his python Delilah, made go-go dancing popular again at gay/bisexual clubs in the mid 80s. John Sex performed at many NYC legendary clubs including Andy Warhol’s Underground, organized the Go-Go Stars float for the NYC Pride Parade in 1986 and was a hit until his last performance at club Mars in 1989 when his breath was taken away by AIDS. Go-go dancing became fashionable again at gay clubs, and has remained so ever since.