Last Sunday, an events company called Uncle & Me LLC threw a Bridgerton-themed ball at a historic Beaux-Arts building in downtown Detroit. Photos on a website promoting the event showed the venue — a pristine brick mansion with a garden framed by twinkling lights — at dusk, and organizers promised an “evening of sophistication, grace, and historical charm” filled with “music, dance, and exquisite costumes.”
Those anticipating a night of elegant quadrilles and clinking Champagne flutes, however, were sorely disappointed. According to attendees, whose accounts of the event went viral, the Bridgerton ball largely consisted of bored-looking women in sumptuous Regency-era costume sitting on the floor and charging their phones. Partygoers were allegedly charged anywhere from $150 to $1,000, only to be served raw chicken and meander around a space that appeared to be unstaffed and decorated with floral arrangements from Party City. Instead of live music, only one lone violinist was on hand, and though people came to dance, the only dancer was a woman in a thong bikini pole dancing to a prerecorded strings ensemble. Patrons of the Bridgerton ball are taking to social media to clamor for refunds, while the event organizers themselves have largely stayed silent (Uncle & Me did not respond to a request for comment).
Of all the questions people have about the Bridgerton ball, one is the most pressing: Why exactly was a pole dancer there? Meet Tink, a dancer, professional circus performer, and aerialist who specializes in aerial sling, lyra hoop, and hair suspension (otherwise known as hair hanging). According to Tink, who typically goes by “Tink the Fairy,” the Bridgerton-ball event organizers weren’t interested in her doing any of those things; when they booked her three hours prior to the event, they “specifically asked for pole dancing,” she told me when I called her up on Wednesday. We spoke about the event, what it was like to pole dance to “Moves Like Jagger” while surrounded by women in gowns, and how it felt to go viral afterward.
How were you hired for the Bridgerton ball? What were you told this event was going to be?
They reached out to me the day of the event and confirmed my booking about three hours before I was supposed to be there. I don’t typically work local; I mostly take travel gigs. But they were very professional with me on the phone. There was no drama with the hiring process. It was very straight, to the point. Through email, I sent them my full menu of acts and dimensions and my quotes, as I normally would do for an inquiry, and they decided to go with dancing pole.
How did they describe the event to you?
They just told me it was a Bridgerton ball. I’m not too big of a fan of Bridgerton. I didn’t really know what it was, but I did look it up before I went. It was, like, horses and carriages. I packed a bunch of different costumes, and they approved the one I wore when I got there.
What kind of stuff did you pack?
I packed some floral stuff, some baby-pink stuff. And then I had a few costumes that I wore for a Chicago Great Gatsby–themed event, and that’s what they went with.
Was there any part of you that was like, Why would they have a pole dancer at a Bridgerton-themed event?
I didn’t really think about it too much because of the Great Gatsby event I did; they had pole dancing there. But now, thinking about it, Great Gatsby is in the ’20s. Bridgerton is the 1800s. But I just had a role to play, and they were paying me, so I did it.
How much were you paid?
I was paid my normal rate for pole sets: $800 for three sets of five minutes in an hour. I was there and gone within an hour.
What happened when you actually showed up? Did it look like what you expected?
I wasn’t really expecting much, honestly. So I was impressed, because of the past jobs I’ve done locally, they don’t really go to that extent. I don’t do many local jobs because they’re usually in an old warehouse or an old car garage that they try to upscale to be an event place. And it’s really just not the vibe if you are trying to take your career seriously. Even though this was a big learning lesson and fail for the event company, for Detroit it was still something that I think had some kind of effort.
Did you see any of the details that have been reported — like, that there was chicken that was served raw or that plates were being reused?
No, but when I was doing character work for them, I did try going downstairs to see what was going on. The first floor was a mob of people, where you couldn’t really walk, so I just went back upstairs.
What is character work?
They basically just had me walk around and say, “Hello, I’m your Bridgerton fairy,” and just add to the ambience of the night. I don’t know. [Laughs.] It was weird.
Did they tell you to say that? What did they tell you to do?
No, I was going off-book because I didn’t know what they wanted me to do. They just said, “Do character work.” That was it. Usually when I work, I’m going to events as Tink the Fairy, so I just switched it to the Bridgerton Fairy.
Were you dressed as a fairy?
No, I was wearing what you saw in the video. But I did have a short lace robe on over it. I was trying to make the best of it.
Were the guests dressed in full costume?
The guests were dressed beautifully. When I was going around doing my character work, I was complimenting everyone, calling girls Disney Princess names, which made them smile. Everyone looked like they put a lot of time and thought toward their outfits. But the actual event, with the actual venue, they could have decorated it a lot more. I definitely understand why the guests are very upset.
How did people react to you? Did they seem pissed off?
No, people were smiling. It was cute. I did see people who looked at me funny when I walked past, and those are the ones I decided not to go up to.
Tell me about your actual performance. What song did you dance to?They played two Bridgerton classical songs for the first two stage performances, which was really fun. For the very last stage performance, they put on “Moves Like Jagger,” which was very uncomfortable. They said they were trying to switch up the vibe of the event, trying to make it more upbeat.
What was going through your head through all this?
I was just thinking, When is this going to be over? I’m getting paid, so just do your job and get it over with.
Was there anything else unusual or unexpected that you saw at this event?
The coordinator was very anxious that night and backstage. Usually producers are a little stressed during show days, but I’ve never seen a producer that stressed out during a show. I had a lot of empathy for her that night. I gave her a lot of hugs, and I was praying over her, just making sure she was okay.
What were you thinking when you left?
I didn’t know anything went wrong until the next day. I was only there for an hour, so I thought it was just a normal show. I was proud of myself for the performance, and I had a good experience with the whole staff and their team. They treated me very good.
Then people started sending me the video on Monday morning.
What was the funniest reaction you saw?
The funniest would have to be the meme that the Shade Room posted, where the lady in the video said, “I don’t remember this being in Bridgerton.” I thought that was hilarious.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.