Las Vegas is sexy, but that's not a news flash.

Sexy is pitched from the moment you land at the airport with images of flesh, silk and feathers to the fleet of roaming billboards where provocative pitches for sexy shows are mixed in with ads for Carrot Top and George Wallace. The restaurants are seductive, the nightclubs like JET, TAO and PURE are seas of sexiness and gentlemen's clubs like Scores need no introduction.

In fact, one of Sin City's most appreciated icons is the Las Vegas showgirl which can still be found in grins-and-bare-it topless revues like Jubilee!, Crazy Girls and MGM Grand's Crazy Horse Paris.

They don't call it the Las Vegas Strip for nothing.

It's at Crazy Horse Paris, where the International Queen of Burlesque Dita Von Teese will shine her bright spotlights on one of the sexiest artforms in the country right now, vintage burlesque. She was the first guest star in the history of the fabled revue last year in both Vegas and Paris and is returning for a string of shows (Apr. 15, 16, 18, 19, 22, 23) where she will perform the 'Le Bain' routine. Anyone with a little high school French or memories of Bain de la Soleil suntan oil commercials knows that 'le bain' is French for 'the bath,' which means Dita will be awash in bubbles in a bathtub on the Crazy Horse Paris stage at the MGM Grand.

That just may be the last bit of proof we need to confirm the existence of a higher being.

While America is fascinated with Heather Mills' leg on 'Dancing With the Stars' or 'American Idol's' Sanjaya-spawned spoofs, burlesque has been slowly gaining a fish-netted foothold in the country, thanks in a large part to Dita. Her book, worthy of any art deco coffee table, is titled 'Burlesque and the Art of the Teese' and features 272 pages of greatness and when flipped over becomes the equally mesmerizing 'Fetish and the Art of the Teese.'

Her shows, as teased in the video compilation above, will make you a believer. You can rejoice in her performances in The Moon Show, any of the Glass Shows (Absinthe, Martini, Champagne), 'Le Bain' or one of my faves, the Powder Puff Pinup Show. I just received my invite for Dita's opening show and it lines up with my birthday celebration so I'm trying to figure out what good deed I did that set off this kharmic chain of events.

Be sure to get your show tickets now if they're still available and if you need a room, get it here.

TEASE WITHOUT THE SLEAZE
Lost in all of the mainstream Vegas glitz and big-budget glamour is a vintage burlesque scene that shares the credit in the rising popularity of the art form. Modern Burly Qs like Ivan Kane's Forty Deuce, Pussycat Dolls Lounge and the X Burlesque Show at the Flamingo have the glossy ads, but it's the vintage-inspired burlesque performers and groups that are feather-fanning the flames of burlesque's sex appeal.

Groups like Babes in Sin (pictured) with tease-queen performers named Vita Vixen, Roxy Rouge and Cha Cha Velour fan dance, and through well-executed shaking and shimmying and an 'all tease and no sleaze' philosophy, bring back an era in Vegas and America that's long gone but not forgotten.

"There is something classic about what we do," says Cha Cha Velour. "Our performances are more about the art of burlesque. We try to stay true to what burlesque was back in it's heyday.

The sometimes frilly, sometimes shiny and always sexy burlesque costumes help turn back the clock and bring back the Pin-up Era, if only during the performances. Whether it's a fan dance, a snake charmer skit, a holiday-inspired routine or the classic shimmy, vintage burlesque groups like Babes in Sin are the intelligent alternative to the modern 'Girls Gone Wild.' Burlesque has more visual foreplay and as Cha Cha (pictured right) notes," It's not about sex. It's about being sexy. Teasing, without the sleaze."

"For me, it's been great. Being part of this troupe has really done a lot for me. I have an outlet to be creative though my choreography and costume design. I really have fun with my numbers. I try to add a little humor or a trick to my performances. I am also know to twirl my tassel like no other."

COLA OR POMADE, IT'S ALL ROYAL CROWN TO ME
Since they both share the same era and passions like vintage clothes and cars, tattoos and music, the burlesque crowd often overlaps with the rockabilly scene. That's not to say every burlesque fan has a Johnny Burnette album on vinyl or cried when Link Wray died in 2005, but there is a shared audience.

A burlesque competition is scheduled for the annual Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend taking over Sin City Apr. 5-8 at the Gold Coast. MySpace bulletins have been piling up in my inbox with burlesque performers from all over the country soliciting votes for online contests and reminders about the Viva competition which I enjoy, but it makes me a little concerned about the amount of bulletins that are going to be flying around the next election cycle from presidential hopefuls and their supporters.

As long as those 'vote for me' bulletins include pinups, that's alright by me.

Related Links:
- Dita Von Teese
- Babes in Sin
- Viva Las Vegas 10 Rockabilly Weekend
- Pin-Ups for Pitbulls

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