Showgirl Performer

The Vegas showgirl is as synonymous with this city as the all-you-can-eat buffet. Though these days Cirque du Soleil's waifish, acrobatic nymphs outnumber the statuesque runway models of the stage three-to-one on the Las Vegas Strip.

True showgirls number fewer than 50, and can be found plying their uniquely Las Vegas trade only in such classic Strip productions as the "Folies Bergere" (Tropicana) and Donn Arden's "Jubliee!" (Bally's) - both of which have been entertaining audiences here for more than 20 and 40 years, respectively.

We have 19th century Parisian nightlife to thank for the advent of the showgirl. In Vegas' beginning, the "line of dancers" simply performed around the headliners. It wasn't until later that the girls became the show, beginning with Harold Minsky's "Follies" at the Desert Inn, Jack Entratter's Copa Girls at the Sands and Arden's "Lido de Paris" at the Stardust in the late 1950s.

While the Vegas showgirl of yesteryear was seen as a symbol of Vegas' sex appeal, known mostly for her ability to sashay across the stage in sky-high stilettos balancing feathered headdresses in excess of 30 pounds atop her head, today's showgirls are agile, lithe dancers who are not only graceful and beautiful, but talented performers, too. They've been immortalized on such reality TV shows as E! Entertainment's "Vegas Showgirls: Nearly Famous." They pose for pictures with awe-struck tourists. And they travel around the world as ambassadors for the Entertainment Capital of the World.

In Arden's "Jubilee!," not only does the cast reenact the story of Samson and Delilah, they sink the Titanic twice nightly in costumes designed by Bob Mackie, no less. And in the afternoons, they still have time to guide "exclusive" backstage tours of the amazing sets, lighting booth and dressing rooms. It's worth the price of admission.