Page 26 - 20160815 Exhibition Guidebook First Printing

Showgirls

by
Rita Asfour

In 1965 I was married and spent my honeymoon at the Tropicana in Las Vegas. An enchanting
trip never to be forgotten. Since then I visited many times to see the big Las Vegas shows. I can
still hear the female audience screaming when Elvis Presley or Tom Jones jiggled on stage.

I also remember the first time I saw showgirls parading their colorful and revealing costumes. It
was dazzling. All the girls were tall and seemed to have been cast from the same mold.

In the late sixties I met a young woman in Los Angeles who left her family and came to Las Vegas
to become a showgirl. Whenever I visited Las Vegas I checked on her. She was having a great
time. But as time went by she lost her stage magic and her final years were not as glamourous as
her first. So in 2012 when I retired in Las Vegas I decided to do something for showgirls. Not all
of them are snatched by prince charming and flown to their dream mansion in the sky.

In the following pages you will see my impression and memory of the life and joy the showgirls
gave us. Their stride and poise defined the word dignity.

As this exhibition guidebook goes to print I am still painting showgirls.

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