Burlesque dancer Nicki Taylor talks career, lifestyle

In his absence, a great number of showbiz entertainers, celebrity VIPs, chefs, restaurateurs and Vegas dignitaries stepped forward to write their guest columns. Today, we welcome former UNLV Rebel girl Nicki Taylor who credits watching the Cirque adult revue “Zumanity” with her mother to launching her dance career, which now has her starring in two nightly burlesque productions” X Burlesque” at the Flamingo and “X Rocks” at the Rio.

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Behind the scenes of a Las Vegas burlesque performer

Years ago, I was watching “Zumanity,” a local Cirque du Soleil show, here in Las Vegas with my mom. There is a part in the show when a very attractive muscular male performer tosses out roses to the female audience members. Then he strips down out of his cowboy costume and is left standing there simply covered by a bouquet of roses. My mom leans in and says: “Wow, I want his job … Two minutes on stage and all he had to do was toss roses and strip.” How my mom was focused on the money rather than enjoying the view I still don’t know. I later explained to her that this was the easy part of his job. His whole life is maintaining his fitness and his looks. Being a performer is so much more than the two minutes an hour you spend on stage. It’s definitely a lifestyle.

I have been a professional dancer on the Strip for (this is going to age me) 15 years. I started dancing in competition at a local dance studio. It was called Studio One Dance. I had amazing training from Inez Mourning and Heidi Hopper. We focused mainly on ballet and jazz. My first show was actually during high school. I was hired by “Baywatch” (yep, the David Hasselhoff “Baywatch”) to do an outdoor luau show ironically enough at the Flamingo, which is where I perform now with “X Burlesque.” After high school, I went to UNLV and was a Rebel girl for one year. I quickly learned that a desk job and college were not for me. I like to joke around about this but it’s true… The best decision I’ve made was dropping out of college to become a topless dancer. Ha, ha.

After leaving college, the work seemed to flow in. There were months where I would do up to four shows a day. I loved it. I’ve been mostly in topless burlesque-style shows and magic shows. This is because I’m short for a performer at 5 feet, 4 inches. However, some of my resumes say 5 feet 6 inches. Thank goodness for sneaker wedges. Ha, ha. At the time a lot of the shows had strict height restrictions. Physical appearance, especially here in Las Vegas, is usually even more important than the talent of the performer.

This actually brings me to the story about “Zumanity.” What a lot of people do not realize is that after you have your training in whatever you may do as a performer, the hardest part is not always the performance itself, at least in my opinion. The preparation and lifestyle is a 24-hour job. Whether it’s maintaining your weight. Yes, weigh-ins were, and still is, in some places a real thing. Or, maintaining your strength, or even making sure your hair is always fresh and washed and you have an even tan. I’ve been in shows that had very strict rules when it came to tan lines!

For the past 15 years, I’ve worked shows on every holiday, Christmas, New Year’s and Easter. There’s something about doing a topless vampire show on Easter that makes you giggle. My family is here in town and they support me 200 percent. They all know that Nicki doesn’t eat on Thanksgiving because she has to go do her show. There are a lot of shifts you make in life to support the lifestyle of a performer on the Strip but it’s so worth it. I love dancing onstage and I wouldn’t trade it for anything; even a large meal containing tryptophan. Ha, ha.