dance hall girl
Paid dancing partner
A dance hall girl was a woman employed in 19th-century American frontier establishments to dance with male patrons, entertain them, and encourage drink purchases.
The term often implied—sometimes accurately—that these women also provided sexual services: The mining town had a dozen dance hall girls working the saloons.
The role occupied ambiguous social territory between entertainer and prostitute.
- saloonDrinking establishment, often frontier
- swinging doorsHinged portals opening either direction
- cancanLively French kick dance
- high kicksForceful upward leg swings
- showgirlTheatrical revue dancer
honky-tonk · burlesque · petticoats · frontier · bordello · corseted · entertainer · player piano · ragtime · Wild West · painted lady · painted face · rouged · feathers · sequins · garters · whiskey · gold rush