The girls at the Orange pay a fee when they start their shift. I'm not sure if they have to pay any fee after that, but always after doing their dances they have to go over to the manager or cashier (maybe just to bank their money and to assure the club that they were paid so much for so many dances).
The VIP girls don't have to do the stage. Some do. But my friend doesn't, because she doesn't see the point in giving a free show. And she knows she'll be more impressive if the guy doesn't know what he's getting until the curtains are closed and then wow look out baby that is some show!
Some of the regular stage dancers also do VIP dances (but it seems most don't), but if you go with one she's going to charge $60 and not give you much of a show, so it's better to hold onto your money and watch her show, then go with an actual VIP dancer.
Consider that there are very few strip clubs left in Vancouver, and most don't provide real VIP dances. Even the Orange isn't supposed to provide actual lap dances. The girls are supposed to refrain from contact. And management does checks to see there's no funny business. The Orange itself is up against it, I guess, because they're in danger of losing their license if they let things get out of hand (whereas at one time they allowed dances in private rooms where almost anything could happen).
The girls are stuck between a rock and a hard place (so to speak), since they aren't supposed to give full contact (and can get booted out if they're caught giving it) yet they have to charge the mandatory 50 (and make enough to pay their fee to management) and for that much a guy is going to expect something. So for a few dances, a guy can expect some contact. But the girl will also hope that he tips her well.
If you have a girl sit with you, but you don't want to go upstairs, you are expected to pay her twenty dollars and maybe also pay for her drink, if she asks. But you're getting a lot of quality time for all that. And even with the VIP dance you have to consider not only are you getting maybe a five or six minute dance for your 50, but you're also getting the ten or twenty minutes she spends with you before and/or after the dance.
And the more time she spends with you, then the more you should be paying and tipping.
But nobody's forcing you to do that. There are some zombies that come in there, order their one drink, sit at the state and stare at the dancers and that's all they do.
Then you have lots of guys coming in there who are executives or in some other high paying occupation, and all they want to do is spread their cash around to impress everybody. They can easily afford multiple dances with multiple girls and pay large tips.
If you're a working class schmo, you have to realize you're competing on the same playing field as those guys--and you just don't have the cash to measure up.