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?╟ Folies?╟╓ let dancers lead normal lives Rith resounding applause erupting in the evening air, the fabulous ?╟úFolies Bergere?╟Ñ went dark last month at the Tropicana after a 49-year run. Nostalgic reminiscences were plentiful and heartfelt, but as Terri Buffet thumbed the pages of her photo album it became clear the ?╟úFolies?╟Ñ meant much more than that. For professional dancers, the ?╟úFolies?╟Ñ and shows like it provided an opportunity to work in one place, to earn a good living, raise a family, and enjoy things others take for granted. For a generation of dancers and musicians, that was the saving grace and secret blessing of Las Vegas. There are job openings for doctors, lawyers, and Indian chiefs, but just try landing steady work as a dancer who doesn?╟╓t use a pole. John L. Smith CQMMEMMY Buffet?╟╓s album was filled with glossies of her in the prime of her working career: There she was as a spotlighted adagio dancer being lifted by her partner, Aleco. There she was again high atop an elephant named Bashful. With so much gaud and glitz, it?╟╓s easy to underestimate the devotion it takes to perform two and three shows nightly. Contrary to the image projected by Hollywood, when not working, the real dancers of Las Vegas are far more likely to take stretch and technique classes than party all night with high rollers. Buffet took her first ballet class at age 5 in Endicott, N.Y. More courses followed, and wherever the family moved she found friends in her dance classes. She danced in ballet companies in Ohio and Wisconsin, and studied with the Royal Danish Ballet. It was there she met people who introduced her to Peter Baker, an agent for legendary Dublin-born choreographer Margaret Kelly, better known as ?╟úMiss Blue Bell.?╟Ñ Miss Blue Bell recruited only the tallest dancers from Europe for her production shows, including the ?╟úLido?╟Ñ at the Stardust. Buffet was an American dancing in Europe in 1970, and the choreographer made an exception.