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hile experiencing glamorous dream Although at SToot-PVY Buffet had literally outgrown the ballet, she was barely tall enough to dance for Miss Blue Bell. She received a six-month contract, a plane ticket back home, and an introduction to the Las Vegas production show scene in its heyday. ?╟úI really came from a very conservative, Midwestern family,?╟Ñ Buffet said, recalling how she had refused to dance topless. ?╟úThe whole concept of Las Vegas was stepping out of the box.?╟Ñ But Las Vegas meant steady work and, despite its surreal shadings, normalcy. She danced at the ?╟úLido?╟Ñ and ?╟úFolies?╟Ñ for more than a decade. She married professional dancer Claude Buffet and had two children. ?╟úI trained all my life,?╟Ñ she1 said. ?╟úWe would train between shows every day. Some days we?╟╓d go to Robert?╟╓s School of Dance downtown or the Backstage and would take classes in the daytime.?╟Ñ With constant training, she managed to avoid most of the ankle, hip, and back injuries that sidelined other dancers. The rigors of the craft took a toll, and today many of her friends are having knees and hips replaced. At night, with her heavy ?╟úslap?╟Ñ of makeup on, she would enter the spotlight spinning and twirling with Aleco. Adagio dancing leaves no room for error, and that made working while pregnant a challenge. ?╟úYou?╟╓re in the spotlight,?╟Ñ Buffet said. ?╟úIf you mess up, you?╟╓re going to end up on the floor. There?╟╓s nothing you can fudge about it. ?╟úWhen I was pregnant, Aleco would tease Claude and say, T used to be responsible for your wife. Now I?╟╓m responsible for your whole family.?╟╓ ?╟Ñ With Aleco adjusting his lift to compensate for the shifting of the baby, Buffet managed to work until she was five months pregnant. She returned even after her second child was born, but the stage longevity of dancers is similar to the careers of other professional athletes.; ?√ß By the early 1980s, Buffet < transitioned into teaching. ; ?╟úIt would have been really' difficult to retire had I not been so into being a mother,?╟Ñ! ^ she said. ?╟úThe further I get away from it now, the more I miss it. It was great to be able to revisit all of that and feel some of that appreciation at the ?╟ Folies.?╟╓ That part of my life had sort of disappeared for a while.?╟Ñ It?╟╓s a part of Las Vegas life that?╟╓s disappearing forever. John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail ?╟? him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or calf (702) 383-0295. He also blogs at Ivrj.e0m/ blogs/smith. ?√?