Contrary to my standard view of the world, whereby stripping is always appropriate, there are apparently times when it isn't:
Some of Australia's leading scientists were still reeling from shock and disgust yesterday after a Federal Government-sponsored conference featured a sexy show by a group of burlesque dancers, ending in a mass walk-out.
Experts and academics attending Wednesday night's dinner at Old Parliament House in Canberra were flabbergasted when the evening's entertainment - a group of eight scantily clad women - wandered out.
Lead dancer and founder of Miss Kitka's House of Burlesque, Rebecca Gale, emerged clothed in red balloons, which she then encouraged male members of the audience to pop.
The dinner was supposed to be the highlight of the three-day Australia New Zealand Climate Forum, held at the Australian National University.
Instead event organisers were left red-faced when the few female scientists in the audience walked out. A disappointed, but not entirely surprised, group of dancers stopped their 45-minute routine after about 10 minutes.
Burlesque is a cabaret style of striptease, which combines crude humour and theatrical costumes with sexually suggestive poses and routines.
..."The intent was lighthearted entertainment," forum organisers Professor Michael Hutchinson and Dr Jenny Kesteven said in a statement.
"In retrospect the choice of entertainment was inappropriate for the occasion. We understand if the sponsors wish to withdraw. We trust that this will not reflect on the very productive contributions made by the Australia New Zealand Climate Forum."
Gale, who teaches women across Canberra the art of burlesque dancing, said she was disappointed her group was being referred to as "cheap strippers". "We're not that," she said.
Lisa Pavlinovic, one of Gale's students, said she was "not surprised" people had walked out on the show. "I was sceptical when we were asked to do the performance," she said. "But (the organisers) were armed with all the information on us. We definitely tailored the act to make sure we weren't too over the top. We chose carefully, but at the end of the day we were asked to do a job and we did what we do best."
Pavlinovic said the burlesque group was focused on raising women's self-esteem and confidence. "We never intended to go along and offend anybody," she said.
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