We talked while doing the shoot. She and her boyfriend were from Canada traveling around the East Coast together working for a week at a time in different cities as a stripper. She was pregnant at the time and just beginning to show. She didn't know how much longer she could still perform before her physical changes would force at least a temporary halt to her work. Our photo session took about twenty minutes.

Later, when she went on stage I put my camera gear down to watch from the wings. There she was, dancing and stripping in front of a small audience of motionless, faceless men. The beautiful and exotic costume she so gracefully removed, the tassels swinging from her breasts, the smoky magic of her movements and the disco music playing through scratchy speakers created a sleazy but rich experience. I felt like I had been transported back to a more innocent time when dancers gave the audience a real- strip tease show. Dee Dee's routine was in the spirit of burlesque stars long gone. She was more than a stripper; she was an entertainer.

As I looked around I noticed the Troc's rundown theatrical environment. I knew I needed to come back and do a photographic series about this place. Before I left I told the Mack that I would like to come back and do some more shooting in the theater. He told me I could come back any time. He would have his employees buzz me into the back stage area but I had to work out my own arrangements with the dancers. The project was on.

I was apprehensive the first day I shot at the Troc. It had been just a few days since my first shoot there with Dee Dee. She was still performing there when I returned. When I went back stage, I immediately sought her out. I gave her a print of one of the photos from our session. She really liked the photo and introduced me to Connie and Ginger, two of the other women who were working there that day.