Chippendales

They might be a woman\'s fantasy -- men with smooth skin, sculpted pecs and buffed bods, but minus the football obsession, bed crumbs and smelly socks.Enter the Chippendales dancers, men who\'ve put new meaning into the words "girls\' night out" -- transforming male eroticism into cabaret-style art.In the 20 years since the troupe was formed, it\'s evolved from a small Los Angeles night club act into an extravagant Vegas-style review that tours the United States and Europe.Bloomington will be the next stop on the U.S. tour when the exotic dancers perform at Legends Bar and Grill Monday at 9 p.m. The 2 1/2-hour show features five men performing some 17 different acts including audience favorites like the "frisking cop routine" and "an officer and a gentleman.""The element of our show is sexual energy," said 31-year-old Jonathan Bentley, who worked for a communications company in Toledo, Ohio, before joining the Chippendales nine years ago. "The type of the show we put out provides a release of energy. It\'s the chance for women to go out without having a bunch of guys pawing at them."And apparently, women do come out en mass. Audiences are often composed of 1,500 women, mainly between the ages of 30 and 50, but they are likely to be older women, as well, Bentley said."I\'ve seen a granddaughter, mother and grandmother all out together," Bentley said. "They want to get out of the house and have a night out."It\'s a business of visual fantasy the dancers say, and it\'s harmless for the most part. Over the years, the troupe has established a reputation for intriguing shows that combine larger-than-life fantasies with boy-next-door type dancers.But keeping that fantasy going requires endless work.The routines are all choreographed, which can be difficult considering that most of the Chippendales weren\'t dancers in their previous careers. Bentley was hired especially for his dance skills, he said.Then there\'s the requirement of being in tip-top physical shape. It takes a lot to gyrate those pectorals and flex those forearms.The average age for dancers is 25 although some of those in the European troupe have started at 19, Bentley said. Then there are the few exceptions like 44-year-old Michael Rapp, who was one of the original dancers of the New York troupe.But all that hard work pays off in salaries that range from $1,000 to $3,000 a week including tips. Despite the money, the average dancer stays for two to three years before moving on to other things.John Stepansky, who goes by the name John Roberts on stage, said he would probably dance for another year, tops."I\'d like to do something else in the entertainment business," he said. "It seems like everyone I\'ve met wants to get into acting. It\'s an exciting business and you meet interesting people."Stepansky was a construction worker before becoming a Chippendales dancer. The native of Adrian, Mich., has been dancing for less than a year and said that it took him a while to get used to all of those cheering women."The energy — the rush from hearing people scream for you is exciting but sometimes scary. I\'m pretty comfortable with it now," he said. "We\'ll do casinos and dance halls and there will be tons of women screaming at us. We were in this really big bar in Texas and we had to stop the show a couple of time because they were rushing the stage and knocking the lights out."During road appearances the group drops the expensive light shows and performs with only an airbrushed backdrop and minimal lighting. But the routine is the same.Is it great having women that constantly want them; do the propositions ever go over the line?"There\'s a few in every crowd," Bentley said. "Those that feel they possess that womanly thing where they can get any man. They say things like \'You want to get married?\' and \'Can I cook you breakfast in the morning,\' but I have to believe that most of them are just teasing."And according to Bentley, a group of excited women can be dangerous."In the United States, there\'s so much contact going on that you have to be aware," he said. You have to have one eye on the hand with the money and the other on the one with the cigarette. It\'s a total obstacle course. Every now and then a girl might run her nails up and down your back, and you don\'t want to get scars."Still, Bentley said most of it is good-natured humor."Once I had an older women, about 60 or 65, just completely steal the show," she said. "This guy was trying to dance and mime at the same time, and every time he got close to her, she would pinch his butt. The crowd went wild. She was there to have a good time."And lest the faint of heart wonder about the show — yes they do strip down to scant g-strings; though they don\'t show it all, they show quite a bit."We\'re there to make sure the girls have a good time," Bentley said. "We\'re not there to be sleazy and gross but to be a gentleman."It\'s the element and the energy the women provide that makes our show great. Women can imagine and have this preconceived notion about us, but they won\'t really know until they come. I guarantee it\'s a good laugh. It\'s not disgusting. It\'s comical and classy and fun."Ticket prices for Monday\'s performance are $20 for general seating and $25 for "VIP" tickets, which include up-front seating and autograph-signing. The troupe performed twice in Indianapolis before coming to Bloomington.Reporter Michelle Henderson can be reached by phone at 331-4371, or by e-mail at mhenderson@heraldt.com.