“Fine art has always belonged to the rich, but burlesque is the revenge of the poor — a thumb to the nose, a fist to the fates, an expression of doubt that proves that hope exists. Of all the arts, burlesque may offer the truest likeness of ourselves, the real picture in Oscar Wilde’s ‘Picture of Dorian Grey’ —grotesque, libidinous, fleshy, irreverent. And immensely watchable.”

So says Lindalee Tracey, director of a documentary called “The Anatomy of Burlesque.”

Kitsap audiences will get a chance to test that theory Oct. 7 when Bainbridge Performing Art, bastion of fine art in all its forms, presents The Atomic Bombshells. That’s right, a burlesque troupe, from Seattle.

Kitten LaRue, Fanny N’Flames, Honey D’Luxe, Lilly Vanderloo, Scarlett Skye and the incomparable Miss Indigo Blue will strut their stuff on The Playhouse stage as part of BPA’s new After Dark series. You could hardly call this group of beautiful women “grotesque,” but fleshy is pretty accurate.

The Atomic Bombshells claim to hail from the “sultry swamps of New Orleans,” but they have made a name for themselves in not-so-sultry Seattle.

They have been featured in numerous publications including “GQ,” “Bust,” and “Tease.” They were originally part of the Shim Sham Revue, and learned their bumps n’ grinds from the stars of burlesque’s Golden Age.

Their shows combine vintage