A Texas woman says working at H###### and Twin Peaks during her young adulthood set her on a path to becoming a “midnight ballerina.” Here’s what that means and why her mother warned her against it.
TikTok creator Kandace (@kandaceoholland) posted a video with her story on April 20. “I was a midnight ballerina for four years,” she says, explaining that she started at 21 years old after working at H###### and Twin Peaks for approximately three years.
“I remember when my mom said, ‘Just don’t become a midnight ballerina. You’re leading in that direction,’” Kandace says. “I said, ‘That’s not gonna happen.’ Well, that is definitely what happened.”
What Is a ‘Midnight Ballerina’? And How Did Kandace Become One?
According to WikiHow, “midnight ballerina” is a term that some on social media, in particular on TikTok, have adopted to reference exotic dancing as a profession. The internet joke started after a “Love Island” contestant demonstrated dance moves that some compared to what might happen at a gentleman’s club.
Back to Kandace. She explains, “I was new to drinking and dancing. I went with my friend during the days, and that’s when the handsy customers come out. Literally, there is a difference between the daytime crowd and the evening crowd. I went with her during the day because I was too scared to go at night.”
Quickly, however, Kandace became acclimated to the nightlife scene. “This is when bad choices come around,” she says. Those bad choices included becoming familiar with a customer whom she learned was a “boss” at another club.
“One thing led to another one night in VIP, and before I knew it, I was working at his club,” she says. “In the morning, I was hooking up with this old man in the back at his work.”
How Did Becoming a ‘Midnight Ballerina’ Change Her Life?
That led to a full-blown relationship, which Kandace describes as incredibly toxic. “He began to get jealous of me when I was dancing on other guys,” she says. “Everyone started to notice all our issues. We would be fighting.”
She continues, “He would get intoxicated at work and try to touch me. He kissed me in front of everybody, and everybody was like, ‘Whoa.’ Then I eventually quit, and we began to be together, and it’s really bad because he did have a woman at home. I was 22, and I did not make the best decisions.”
Unfortunately, she says that led to a cycle of breaking up and getting back together. “This time, we get back together, I become pregnant, I lose the baby, and I’m going through it mentally, physically, and he was there for me physically, but mentally no,” she says. “Eventually, we broke up because of that, and all that trauma led me back to dancing and drinking.”
The story does have a happy ending, though. “And then I found another man who happened to be another boss,” she says. “This time, though, it works out, and I’m still with this man for three years. There’s never been any jealousy. No issues; all is good. And I am two years sober from drinking, and I don’t dance anymore because I don’t want to.”
AllHipHop contacted Kandace via TikTok comment and direct message for comment. We will update this story if she responds.
@kandaceoholland Story time as an ex midnight ballerina #fyp #midnightballerina #storytime #soberity ♬ original sound – Kandace