RUSSIA: BODY ART BECOMES LATEST TREND IN MOSCOW'S NIGHTCLUBS

Russian/Eng/Nat The latest trend in Russian avant garde art - body art - is sweeping through Moscow's nightclub scene. Critics of body art, which involves exotically painted naked dancers, have called it pornographic and want it banned. Even so, it is attracting the attention of a growing number of so-called "New Russians". Moscow's Madam Sophia nightclub is only a few months old but already it is attracting a crowd of well-heeled night birds. This supper club boasts a small dance floor, casino and cabaret. But most visitors pay the hefty entrance fee to see a show with a difference - dancers performing with nothing but paint on. The founder and leader of this dance company is Igor Poznyakov, an actor, self-taught painter, and now also a body artist. Poznyakov says body art is one of the ancient arts, a blend of painting, sculpture and choreography which has absorbed artistic traditions of five milleniums. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) "It's a combination of several parts - painting, graphics, sculpture and dancing. I do theatre directing, ballet you name it. SUPERCAPTION: Igor Poznyakov - Body Artist Poznyakov argues that his art, which would have probably landed him in jail in the Soviet era, has nothing to do with pornography or striptease. He says he makes his audience experience a spiritual rather than a physical orgasm. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) "You know it feels just like your dancing with clothes on even though I know I'm only wearing paint. But still I don't feel inhibited." SUPERCAPTION: Larissa Trufanova, body art dancer. It takes six hours to fully prepare the company for a show. Every inch of each of the dancers' bodies has to be elaborately painted. The colours are bright and gaudy, creating the impression that the dancer is actually dressed. The floor show is proving to be a big hit with the cosmopolitan audience. SOUNDBITE: (English) "For sure they were naked in a very artistical way." SUPERCAPTION: Vox pop SOUNDBITE: (Russian) "First of all I think it's unusual, it's a novelty for us. It's slightly erotic, it's so explicit , it's very nice. SUPERCAPTION: Vox pop Poznyakov shies away from displaying body art in public galleries. He says body art is still too expensive and the only way he can make money from it is to display in nightclubs. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) "Galleries are not ready for this type of show, neither morally nor financially. Here's a possibility for us to earn our daily bread." SUPERCAPTION: Igor Poznyakov - Body artist Despite his best efforts, Poznyakov knows his labours are short-lived. Every night, once the performance is over, the dancers wash off the paint - leaving no trace of his work. But the man at the centre of Moscow's latest artistic controversy claims he doesn't mind - he says this lack of permanence is a reflection of life. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/82978c3510205a8c569eed703db4af52 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork