Step, kick, step, kick, twirl into history

LAS VEGAS — A place that rarely preserves its past is now trying to preserve its pasties.

Make that pasties and crystal bras, feathered headpieces, fans and thongs -- anything that documents the existence of an increasingly rare bird: the showgirl.

"We were the original Las Vegas," said Lou Anne Harrison Chessik, the former showgirl behind a new exhibit that memorializes the garb and glamour of her art. "It's important to me that we understand this history."

There are just two large-scale showgirl revues left on the Las Vegas Strip, a far cry from the 1960s, when every respectable casino housed its own flock of beauties in boas. Their bloodlines may trace back to the French cancan girls of the 19th century, but it took the one-upmanship of Las Vegas to make them icons. Now, they're fading from the stage, and Chessik and others are part of a still young movement to make sure they're not forgotten.

To that aim Chessik has created the annual Showgirl Art Competition, an exhibit in its second year, on display until August at the Nevada State Museum in Las Vegas. It is likely the only state museum to display a G-string just a spin and a twirl away from 225-million-year-old ichthyosaur fossils.

The costumes on display include glittering skivvies designed by Cher's costume designer Bob Mackie, a cherry-colored feathered flurry called "Red Heat Wave" and other high art of the genre.

But the exhibit's focus is artwork depicting the bare-chested performers themselves. It includes the work of Terry Ritter, a dancer turned artist who set up her easel backstage at the shows to create dreamy portraits.

More improbable, it includes the artwork of high school students, who were likely stunned by their luck when a still lean, leggy Chessik, 51, and a group of former dancers arrived in their classroom to regale them with the history of the showgirl.

The homework: Paint portraits of dancers. Think Edgar Degas, think Henri Toulouse-Lautrec.

Chessik knows this is a new world for most teenagers -- even teenagers in Las Vegas. The French-Canadian acrobats of Cirque du Soleil now dominate the entertainment scene of the Strip. The word "showgirl" has been adopted by far less glamorous establishments.

"A lot of strippers and different groups use the name 'showgirl' now," she said, somewhat embarrassed.

"The movie 'Showgirls' didn't help," added Tom Dyer, the museum's exhibit manager.