I’ve conducted some firsthand research in this area. My findings are that most dancers perform a three song set. They usually remain clothed for the first song (clothed being a relative term as they’re pretty scantily attired) the top comes off for the second song, and they do the third song fully nude. In a topless-only club, they do the second and third songs topless.
I don’t know why this format is so established. It seems counter-productive because my experience has been that most customers won’t tip the dancer until she takes off her top so the first song is generally “wasted” as far as earning money for her. Perhaps the clubs dictate this rule to encourage customers to pay for private dances during the clothed songs. (I tip during the first song. It makes you stand out from the other customers and gets the dancer’s attention.)
As for striptease, there’s not usually a lot a tease involved in it. You don’t see the elaborate costumes in a strip club that you see in a movie. A lot of dancer will perform
in the equivalent of a bra and panties, so the stripping is not a drawn-out act. The feature performers on the other hand will do a more traditional strip tease with full costumes.
