Show & Tell: Q&A with Tracey Gittins of ‘Fantasy’

Q: How long have you been dancing?

A: Professionally, since I was 19. But my mom said that when I was a little kid I couldn't sit still, I was always on the go. So, they put me in dance classes.

Q: What was it that appealed to you about dance?

A: It's just that thing that you just know you love it, and that passion you have for it. And a lot of it has shifted. I'm 35 now, and it's more performance, being onstage and in costume and in makeup and bringing out a character.

Q: When did you come to Las Vegas?

A: It was 10 years ago (after working on a cruise ship). I never really considered Vegas. Typically, you have to be 6 feet tall and skinny, like "Jubilee" girls, and I'm 5-foot-6 and curvy, so I never thought I could dance here. Then I saw "Fantasy" wanted 5-foot-6 girls and I was, like, 'Oh, my God.' "

Q: You perform uncovered in "Fantasy." Is this the first time you've worked uncovered?

A: I did topless many years before that, in Slovenia, in a casino in Europe.

Q: Slovenia has casinos?

A: I never even heard of Slovenia, and in that show they have dressed and topless (dancers), and there was more money, so I sold my soul! And, to be honest with you, that first night, I loved it. I was not nervous. I was like, "Yeaaah!" It was fun. It was liberating, and I had no problem doing it.

Q: It probably helped that nobody in Slovenia actually knew you.

A: Right!

Q: Have friends or people you grew up with see you perform? What's their reaction?

A: I think they're always pleasantly surprised when they see the show. I didn't know what they thought it was going to be, but when they see it, they're, like, "Oh, you're so talented." So the (topless) thing is not really an issue.

Q: How about your parents? Have they seen you in the show?

A: Well, it's funny. I never told my parents I was in a topless show, so when (Mom) said they were coming out to Vegas to see me ... I'm like, "You know I'm topless, right?" And she giggled and said, "Do you wear tassels?" I'm, like, 'No, we don't." She surprised me by being cool with it and, I'll tell you, my father was grinning ear to ear. After, he had two of the girls on his arms to take a picture. He loved it.

Q: That must have been reassuring.

A: My dad had some friends come up on vacation and he's, like, "Oh, go see my daughter's show!"

Q: Any plans for after you end your dancing career?

A: Oh, to be married to a millionaire and pop out some babies! No, I don't know. At the age of 35, you start to think about, "What do I do next?" When you have an amazing career you're passionate about, and you've achieved your dream -- and most people don't get to do that -- having to say, "Oh, what do I do now?" is scary, because you want a job you love, too.