NEW YORK: Upstate Court Rules That Pole Dancing Is An Art Form

Via the New York Daily News:

There’s no art in the champagne room. Pole dancing is artistic expression — but lap dancing is not, an upstate administrative law judge has ruled. That means a lot of dollars in the garter belt for Albany-area strip club Nite Moves — because it doesn't have to pay sales tax on about $1 million it pocketed in entrance fees between 2005 and 2010. In a ruling made public Friday, state Division of Tax Appeals ALJ Joseph Pinto found the on-stage pole dances count legally as “a place where a performance is given.” “There is a stage for the performers illuminated by spotlights; a dressing room for the dancers, who, at times, wear an array of different costumes; (and) tables and seating that are oriented towards the stage to focus audience attention on the performances;” and featured “choreographed dances,” Pinto wrote. He cited testimony from experts the club had hired, and the “very credible and candid testimony of Alize and Taylor, two of the dancers at Nite Moves.”

It took the state auditor "ten to fifteen visits" to the private champagne room to make his decision on lap dances.