Bangkok- Go-go girls at Bangkok's notorious Patpong "entertainment" district will soon be receiving lessons in classical dance in an effort to prevent pole-swinging sprains and other gyration-related injuries, media reports said on Tuesday. Empower Foundation, a women's rights group, has arranged courses in ballroom and jazz dance steps, starting November 3, for Patpong go-go girls, with 30 ladies already signed up, reported the Bangkok Post newspaper.
According to Empower director Chantawipa Apisuk, instruction in proper dance steps will minimize the risks of sprains and other gyration-induced injuries that are a common complaint among the 5,000 go-go girls who keep Patpong's 80 nightclubs hopping.
Patpong, Bangkok's oldest red-light strip catering to foreigners, took off in the late 1970s when one innovative bar owner had the bright idea of getting his female employees to dance on the bar tops in scanty outfits. The rest is history.
Empower Foundation was set up more than a decade ago to help protect Patpong employees from the threat of HIV/AIDS and other job hazards.
© 2006 dpa German Press Agency
