The Bangkok Post is really hitting the big stories:

Good Thai girls learn to striptease

The students who come to Harvard graduate and striptease instructor Busakorn Vorameth are mostly educated, upper-middle-class career women between the ages of 20 to 50, who have found that erotic dancing helps reduce stress levels… Thai society, at least at the middle and upper strata, is deemed quite conservative, and sexually suggestive dancing is definitely frowned upon. “Thai society is extreme. One side is very conservative while another side is very open,” said Busakorn Vorameth, 36, owner and chief instructor of Rumpuree Dance Studio, located on the fifth floor of the upmarket Amarin Plaza, in central Bangkok. “I believe that conservative people want to express their emotions as well but they can’t,” said Busakorn, who graduated with a Masters Degree in design management from Harvard University in the United States… Six months ago she began offering classes in erotic dancing and striptease, which she had taken classes in for fun while working as an architect in New York. “At first I didn’t dare to open a striptease class because I was not sure if Thai people could accept it,” said Busakorn. “It could have drawn criticism.” Instead, her classes drew a lot of media attention and plenty of interested customers, mostly educated, upper-middle-class career women between the ages of 20 to 50 who have found that erotic dancing helps them reduce their stress levels. “I’m learning striptease because I love dancing,” said Kewalin Sukapiboon, 33, a nurse at a leading private hospital. “It is fun, like I am playing a role. In daily life, I never do that, so my stress is released. I feel relaxed. Besides, this kind of dancing is a good exercise because it uses a lot of muscles.” During the first half hour, Busakorn relaxes her students with soft music and dim lights in the room while teaching them to stretch their muscles. Then the music is turned up in tempo, and she starts teaching her pupils how to make sexy dance steps and enticing movements in front of the mirror. There was plenty of laughter as these career ladies watched themselves in the mirror.