There’s a subset of visitors to Las Vegas that thrive on good vibrations. They seek out the type of businesses that satisfy their inclinations by offering the, uhmmm…corresponding exaltations. Call them strip clubs, topless clubs or gentlemen’s clubs; they hustle the female form best viewed on a pole or sitting on a lap.
But so does “Crazy Horse Paris,” the 90-minute revue at the MGM Grand Hotel. Yes, it offers titillation and performance for all comers at the three-hundred twenty-eight seat Crazy Horse Theatre. And yet, its more than poles and laps. There’s creative lighting and strobes, minimalist props, slow gyrations and rhythmic dancing that go beyond the scope of your smoky strip joint.
The MGM shines a light on the artistry and motion of the female form unlike go-go club where solicitors pay-at-the-door and tip-at-the hip. These girls have that certain je ne sait quoi that might more easily be found a high-profile art installation at the Louvre. At one point, dancers appear with like maquillage, coiffeure, and costume then slink into a choreographed number, with finesse and sensuality hanging in the air. There’s the number where one hears a refrain from the 80s music video “Simply Irresistible” a la Robert Palmer. And yes, their lips are bright red.
Whether bare-chested and g-stringed, feather boa-ed and top-hat-ed, these Crazy Horse girls are stunning and lithe virtuosos who find their marks on stage, not in the audience. Their skin-hugging attire accentuates the female form, a dimension to be admired and appreciated, not gawked and glared at as might be the case in those places across the tracks. But gentlemen and strippers from there could become art lovers too.