What started out as a gap year turned into a lucrative job for Myla.

At 17, Myla (not her real name) had just graduated from high school and decided that she wanted to take a break before going to college. 

“I wanted to save up some money first. I knew college was going to be more expensive.”

A friend of hers asked her to join their dance group to earn a few extra bucks on the side and Myla, who described herself as someone who really likes to dance, jumped at the opportunity. 

Dance group?

“I was so shocked when they brought me to a KTV bar along Quezon City. I was hesitant at first, but then decided that there was nothing wrong with it because I was just going to dance. I had to wear skimpy clothes, but I never had to strip, so okay na din.” 

The money offered for the job was also hard to say no to. 

Myla would have a guaranteed allowance of P1,200 every night she performed. If she performed five days a week, it came up to a pretty large sum – definitely more than the allowance she got from her parents. “At first I was shy and timid on stage, but we were a lot – always a group of 8 to 10 girls dancing at the same time.”

She only had to spend on her costume and transportation. 

Later, their dance group found a manager who booked performances for them in different bars, each with its own set of rules. “In one bar, we were in the viewing room. That’s the place where the customers can see us, but we can only see their eyes. I was summoned by the bar manager, and yun pala, one of the guests requested for me.”

The common word is “tina-table” where dancers also take on a guest relations officer role and sit, drink and entertain the guests. “At first, I really didn’t want to get into that. I just wanted to dance. But that night, I was summoned, I didn’t really have a choice.” 

On top of her regular allowance of P1,200, Myla ended up earning P3,000 in tips and commissions on drinks that night. “I decided then that it wasn’t so bad. I realized that I just had to sit with the guests, sing karaoke with them and chat. Some guests get touchy, but I’ve learned how to maneuver around that. My usual trick is to take his roving hand, hold it in mine and sing him a song.”

“I always drew the line at you know, going out with the guests for sex. I know some of the girls did that. I would hear rumors about private rooms in the club where you could have sex, but I never did.”

In the year that she was in dancing, Myla said that she was able to save around P200,000. It was money that she used to fix her family’s home. “That’s why it (my dancing) was okay for my parents as well. They saw I was having fun and enjoyed what I was doing.”

Stopping 

It was not without its dangers though like club raids.

“I was so scared when all of a sudden, the lights in the club went out and someone started shouting, ‘Nobody move!’ It turned out that two of the guests were cops. A lot of my friends were arrested. I hid in the cabinet and was able to get away. If I had gotten caught and they found out that I was still a minor, I would have been brought to the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development).”

In her mind, Myla always knew that she wanted to stop dancing and go back to school one day. That day came shortly after she turned 18. “I met my boyfriend at the club. He was one of my guests who kept on coming back for me. We started going out and eventually became a couple.” 

“He wanted me to stop dancing, but I told him that I would never be able to go back to school if I stopped working. So he offered to pay for my tuition and allowance so I could go back to school.” 

That was almost four years ago and now, 22-year-old Myla is about to graduate with a Tourism degree from a university in Quezon City.  

“I still sometimes miss those days (at the club) because it was really fun.  But I know that that’s not my life anymore. I don’t think I could do it again. I think what I really miss is the dancing,” said Myla. – Rappler.com

Editor’s note: The previous title of this article was “Modern-day geisha.” We changed the title due to feedback by some readers that the title was a disservice to real geisha (professional female Japanese entertainers). We apologize for this.  Though the article never associated geisha to prostitution, we also changed the title to reflect the difficult decisions young women like Myla face daily.