Sexy and leggy? Time to cash in

Anna Medvedeva is one such go-go dancer.  She said the reason she took up the work was to pay for her studies.

“I was looking for a job that would enable me to study during the day and work at night. I've got free time in the afternoon and money I can spend on my education,” she said.

She was surprised to see how frequently people draw negative conclusions about people who work in this field.

“Just a few people at my university know where I work. People think it’s something smutty, they're sure that go-go dancers work as prostitutes. This stereotype is well rooted in our society. So when you tell somebody that you work at a night club they frown. So I prefer not to mention it,” she says.

Many girls have gone through the experience of long nights dancing and long days studying. Some say they miss it.

“For me, go-go dancing wasn’t for the money… I just liked it. For me it was art,” Lidiya Kulikova said, who danced for seven years while she was in school.

Lidiya graduated from a prestigious university and now works as a director of an IT company.

She also recalls when her friends and others made judgements about her choice of lifestyle. However, with career success a reality, the criticism has been worth it.