Showgirls and their stories

By Bob Eveleigh, Entertainment Editor

WITH little else that is new on South African TV this weekend, SABC3’s documentary on Sunday at 9.30pm has both a showbiz and a feminine slant to it.

Narrated by Oscar-winning actress Anjelica Huston, it carries the title Showgirl Stories and will run for 105 minutes.

Seductive? Alluring? More than a little risqué? As far as theatregoers are concerned, showgirls embody the world’s obsession with feminine youth and beauty.

But what is the reality of life behind the illusion of the glitter and glamour?

The answers are both intriguing and provocative as showgirls of all ages candidly reveal their own stories of real life beneath the makeup and sequins.

As hosted by Huston, Showgirl Stories takes an eye-popping look under the covers of this high profile but little understood profession.

The history of showgirls is traced from the earliest days of burlesque to the ravishing stars of today’s high-tech pleasure palaces, arriving at the unvarnished truth about the real-life personalities behind their dazzling on-stage personas.

Viewers can take front row seats in their living rooms as these shapely beauties make their first appearances in revues like the Ziegfield Follies and Bluebell Girls.

The home audience will witness the dawn of the showgirl’s art in rare, archival film footage of early superstars and get to peek at performances of the once scandalous dance known as the Can-Can.

Not forgetting sitting in on humorous and fascinating recollections from such unforgettable characters as 99-year-old Grace Graham Moore, the oldest surviving showgirl.

In addition box-watchers can:

� Witness the development of the showgirl’s profession as America’s bawdy burlesque techniques are merged with European sophistication during the glory days of the early 1900s.

�  Accompany the girls from their on-stage routines to their dressing rooms in Parisian nightclubs with legendary names like The Lido, Moulin Rouge and Crazy Horse.

�  Join the original Ziegfield Girls at their annual reunion, hearing untold stories like the days when a dancer’s take-home pay depended on the height of her kick.

� Uncover what it takes to be an A-list showgirl in the modern world.

�  Follow the gruelling workout schedule required to keep their fabulous bodies in absolute peak condition.

�  Feel what it’s like to audition for some of the most famous showgirl troupes around the world.

�  Share the struggles of performers striving to make dreams come true on the mean streets of Las Vegas.

Forget about what you saw with Elizabeth Berkley in Paul Verhoeven’s very exploitative 1995 movie, Showgirls.

This is the real thing, and you will recall these Showgirl Stories long after the curtain goes down. . .