September 16, 2000- Putting us on while taking it off.

What happened to Old World craftsmanship? Like, say, taking one's clothes off with panache.

If you know any retired strippers, Michelle Baldwin is looking for you. She is something of an expert in old-time burlesque, when disrobing in public was regarded as an art, not a right, and is one of the organizers of "Around the World in 80 Girls," a re-creation of the glory days of burlesque taking place
at 8 p.m. today at the Gothic Theatre, 3263 S. Broadway.

Her problem is there are few of the old-timers left to show a new wrinkle to young dancers, who must rely on old 16mm films to learn the tricks of the peel trade.

Baldwin doesn't even like the term "strippers." "I'd like to call us "striptease artists,'" Baldwin said. "It's about costumes and sets and attitude, not just dropping clothes."

A possible source: Until it closed in 1969, Denver was home to one of the nation's premier strip clubs, The Tropics, where Tempest Storm and others shared the stage with local star Evelyn
"Treasure Chest" West.

Tonight's show, which also features singers, vaudeville comedy and Eddie Spaghetti, "a ventriloquist doll who talks by himself," will be taped to air as part of an A&E special next
spring.