Photo by Camirand

Zumanity Where: New York-New York When: 7:30 & 10:30 p.m. Tues.- Wed. & Thurs.-Sun. (dark Feb. 7 & 9) Cost: $69 and up Info: (866) 80-SHOWS

Zumanity carries the tagline "The Sensual Side of Cirque du Soleil," but the production at New York-New York is much more than that. It's the fi rst Vegas Cirque show to break with Cirque conventions, with a cabaret/music hall providing a decidedly nonabstract theme, song lyrics in English, bawdy humor alternating with gracefully erotic routines and an overall R-rated atmosphere. This is a fast-paced adult circus, eye-opening and arousing, libertine and liberating, one of the Strip's most surefire date nights.

The cabaret theme itself makes it unique. Acts can evolve or be switched out, new performers can inject fresh energy into the show, segues refined. Returning visitors might feel as if they're seeing a whole new show, especially with relatively recent cast additions Edie, the Mistress of Seduction, and Felix Cane, whose dedication to elevating pole dancing to an art form raises the theater temperature a few degrees.

"At first it was challenging to adapt my act to fit in with the role that my character plays in Zumanity," said Cane, a worldrenowned pole dancer whose act – a siren trying to distract her lover and his macho friends from television sports – was featured on The Tonight Show in June. "I was given a lot of freedom to create my act, so I developed the character and the act to suit pole dancing and myself. I hadn't seen Zumanity before arriving in Las Vegas and I was blown away when I saw it the first time."

Audiences have much the same reaction. Goddesses ride on the wind in Zumanity, an African dancer spins in impossibly fast circles, water nymphs intertwine in a giant glass bowl, an Adonis strips down to the bare essentials, a naughty schoolgirl has an uncanny talent for hula hoops, an aerialist twists and writhes in leather straps while moaning with pleasure and pain, two men grapple over a woman only until they succumb to their hidden erotic impulses, and male and female audience members are lured onto the stage for a mock orgy.

Cane, who has extensive training in ballet, found the cast and crew highly supportive and quickly felt part of the family, as did the new Mistress of Seduction.

"It was very intimidating to step into the role that Joey Arias created," said Edie (aka Christopher Kenney). "He's an amazing performer. We talked to each other often during the process and he offered so much advice and answered every crazy question I had. The beauty of Cirque du Soleil is that when they hire someone they truly want you. They want your personality and soul. That made it much easier for me and I was able to change the dialogue that worked better for my character."

Edie's statuesque elegance contrasts with Arias' more visceral persona, but she has a seductive edge that enables great audience interplay. "I have always believed that the audience is a big part of a show," said Edie, whose interaction does much to set the tone. "So we at Zumanity scoop up the audience – 1,300 people twice a night – and we all go on a fun, sensual, sexual journey together. The more the merrier!"