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?√ßCHORUS LINE - Showgirls live on in Bally?╟╓s ?╟ Jubilee!?╟╓, but they [dance now. Producers say the days of the mannequin are gone. [into a show business career by auditioning for the ?╟úLido?╟Ñ in Paris. ?╟ I was a bit upset at first, having [done all this ballet and then going into show business. It was kind of | weird,?╟Ñ she said. Most choreographers and producers say the days of the ?╟úclothes horse?╟Ñ or ?╟úmannequin?╟Ñ chorus dancer are gone. And many argue that the quality of dancing is gradually improving in production shows, given the limitations of the costumes and number of times each performance must be repeated. Michael Darrin is a choreographer with a reputation for demand-. ing rigorous dancing in his efforts. I Though his most recent involve-, ment, ?╟úMagic, Magic?╟Ñ at the Land-[ mark Hotel, failed, he blames other factors ?╟÷ such as the scrapping of several planned illusions ?╟÷ rather 1 than audience resistance to quality dancing. ?╟úI?╟╓m not even an ounce sorry I -did what I did,?╟Ñ Darrin said this ?╟úIt was one of the few jobs where dancers were afforded a chance to show their art ... each night you knew you had just finished some hot, good stuff.?╟Ñ Still, Caven said that in the majority of production shows, ?╟úthe biggest problem is boredom.?╟Ñ Many dancers are injured because they fail to warm up properly for a show, he said. Whatever its artistic drawbacks, Las Vegas continues to offer something to dancers that no other city . does: a steady job. ?╟úVegas provides an income-earning capacity,?╟Ñ Madden said. She came to the city in 1979 at age 26 after struggling in New York, sometimes for as little as $87.50 per week. ?╟úYou starve for your art, then after awhile (starving) becomes not as chic as you get older,?╟Ñ she said. Basic chorus dancers in the major showroom productions earn from $425 to $500 per week. Lead dancers, or those who work topless in shows such as the Riviera?╟╓s ?╟úCrazy Girls?╟Ñ can earn more. Cast members of some smaller-scale shows earn less. Still, those who have tried it in Los Angeles and New York say the pay is better in the long run because the work is more steady. ?╟úLas Vegas is one of very few places in the world where you can have a dance career and still have a car, a house and a family,?╟Ñ said Fluff LeCoque, company manager for ?╟úJubilee!?╟Ñ But she says the company is going through a lull in audition requests. ?╟úThese kids are a lot smarter than they used to be ... I don?╟╓t know if their dream is strong enough to pursue a career as a dancer.?╟Ñ Norbert Aleman, producer of ?╟úCrazy Girls?╟Ñ and ?╟úHot Lips,?╟Ñ said he has had to turn down offers to open second companies of his shows in other resort towns because he can?╟╓t cast them. ?╟úThe youpg girls want to go to Hollywood,?╟Ñ he said. He idenies that it is the low pay, saying his ?╟úCrazy Girls?╟Ñ are paid $600 per week, more than the big showroom chorus dancers. ?╟ ?╟ Ten years ago everyone wanted to be in Las Vegas,?╟Ñ he said. ?╟úNow they want to stay one year and get out of town.?╟Ñ ?╟úNo production makes you a star,?╟Ñ LeCoque says, but suggests the current ebb of dancers might just be ?╟úa cycle we?╟╓re going through ... who knows what next year willj bring??╟Ñ