Interview with the pole dancer from the Bridgerton event

Last Sunday, an event company called Uncle & Me LLC threw a Bridgerton-A themed ball at a historic Beaux Arts building in downtown Detroit. Photos posted on a website promoting the event showed the venue – an original brick mansion with a garden surrounded by twinkling lights – at dusk, and organizers promised an “evening of sophistication, grace and historic charm” filled with “music, dancing and splendor”. “Fashion.”

But those who were expecting a night filled with elegant quartets and champagne flutes were sorely disappointed. According to those present the accounts The event is gone diffusethe Bridgerton The ball largely consisted of bored women dressed in lavish Regency-era costume sitting on the floor and charging their phones. Partygoers allegedly paid anywhere from $150 to $1,000, only to be served raw chicken and walked around an apparently unstaffed space decorated with Party City floral arrangements. Instead of live music, there was only a lone violinist, and although people came to dance, the only dancer was a woman wearing a thong bikini and dancing to a pre-recorded band. Shepherds Bridgerton The ball is turning to social media to demand a refund, while the event organizers themselves have remained largely silent (Uncle & Me did not respond to a request for comment).

Of all the questions people ask about… Bridgerton Ball, one is the most pressing: why exactly was the pole dancer there? meet Tinka dancer, professional circus performer, and aerialist who specializes in the aerial bomber, lyra hoop, and hair pinning (also known as Hanging hair). According to Tink, who usually passes “Tink Fairy,” the Bridgerton-Football event organizers weren’t interested in her doing any of these things; When they booked her three hours before the event, “they specifically asked her to pole dance,” she told me when I called her on Wednesday. We talked about the event, what it was like to pole dance to “Moves Like Jagger” while surrounded by women wearing abayas, and what it was like to have it go viral afterward.

How were you hired? Bridgerton ball? What were you told this event would be?
They contacted me on the day of the event and confirmed my reservation about three hours before I was supposed to be there. I don’t usually work locally; I mostly do travel gigs. But they were very professional with me on the phone. There was no drama in the hiring process. It was pretty straight forward, to the point. Via email, I sent them a full list of works, dimensions and my quotes, as I usually do when inquiring, and they decided to go with the dance pole.

How did they describe the event to you?
They just told me it was Bridgerton ball. I’m not a very big fan of Bridgerton. I didn’t really know what it was, but I looked it up before I went. They were like horses and carriages. I packed a bunch of different outfits, and they approved the one I wore when I got there.

What kind of things did you pack?
I packed some pink stuff, and some light pink stuff. And then I had some costumes that I wore in Chicago The Great Gatsby– A special event, and this is what they went for.

Was there any part of you that was like, Why would they have a pole dancer in Bridgerton-Themed event?
I didn’t really think about it much because The Great Gatsby The event you did; They had pole dancing there. But now, thinking about it, The Great Gatsby In the twenties. Bridgerton It is the nineteenth century. But I had a role to play, and they were paying me, so I did it.

How much were you paid?
She charged me the normal rate for pole sets: $800 for three five-minute sets per hour. I was there and gone within an hour.

What happened when she actually showed up? Did it look like you expected?
I wasn’t really expecting much, honestly. I was very impressed that, given previous jobs I’ve done locally, it didn’t really go that far. I don’t do many local functions because they’re usually in an old warehouse or old parking garage that they’re trying to develop into an event space. And this really just doesn’t feel right if you’re trying to take your career seriously. Although this was a huge learning lesson and failure for the event planning company, for Detroit it was still something that I think took some kind of effort.

Did you see any of the details reported – like that there was chicken served raw or plates were reused?
No, but when I was making characters for them, I tried to go downstairs to see what was going on. The first floor was filled with such a crowd that you couldn’t really walk, so I just went back upstairs.

What is the character’s job?
They had me walk around and say, “Hey, I’m your friend Bridgerton “Fairy,” and just adds to the atmosphere of the night. I don’t know. [Laughs.] It was strange.

Did they tell you to say that? What did they tell you to do?
No, I was out of the book because I didn’t know what they wanted me to do. They just said: “Do the character.” That was it. Usually when I’m working, I go to events as Tink the Fairy, so I just turned it into Bridgerton fairy.

Were you dressed as a fairy?
No, I was wearing what I saw in the video. But I had a short lace robe over it. I was trying to make the most of it.

Were the guests in full costume?
The guests were beautifully dressed. As I walked around acting as my character, I was high-fiving everyone and calling the girls Disney princess names, which made them smile. Everyone looked like they put a lot of time and thought into their outfits. But the actual event, the actual location, they could have decorated it much more. I definitely understand why the guests were so upset.

How did people react to you? Did they look angry?
No, people were smiling. It was nice. I’ve seen people look at me funny when I walk by, and those are the people I decided not to go to.

Tell me about your actual performance. What song did you dance to?They played two Bridgerton Classic songs for the shows in the first two stages, which was really fun. In the final stage performance, they put on “Moves Like Jagger,” which was very uncomfortable. They said that they were trying to change the atmosphere of the event and make it more optimistic.

What was going through your head during all of this?
I was just thinking, When will this end? I get paid, so do your job and be done with it.

Was there anything else unusual or unexpected you saw at this event?
The coordinator was very anxious that night and behind the scenes. Producers usually get a little nervous during demo days, but I’ve never seen a producer get nervous during a demo. I had a lot of sympathy for her that night. I gave her a lot of hugs, and I was praying over her, just to make sure she was okay.

What were you thinking when you left?
I didn’t know anything was wrong until the next day. I was only there for an hour, so I thought it was just a normal show. I was proud of myself for the performance and had a good experience with all the staff and their team. They treated me very well.

Then people started sending me the video on Monday morning.

What’s the funniest reaction you’ve seen?
The funniest has to be the shadow room meme to publishThe woman said in the video: “I don’t remember this being the case Bridgerton“I thought this was hilarious.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.