Jenny Rocha, artistic director and choreographer of the NYC-based Rocha Dance Theater, and a performer herself, combines theater, dance and percussion in The Painted Ladies. The ironic title, which alludes to the highly decorative homes of the repressed Victorian era, in this case also refers to the extremely stylized female burlesque performers. The show is divided into seven short acts that, in addition to the traditional components of an erotic yet comedic dance performance (use your imagination), will include body instruments. Intriguing, no? Perhaps this means you’ll hear the musical dazzlings of a string instrument sans sound box, or maybe a more creative interpretation of the term is in store. The Painted Ladies celebrates the erosion of inhibition by exploring social changes in the history of women, from the reserved renaissance lady to the perfect 1950s archetype. Through the can-can and burlesque, Rocha’s new project explores the equation between sexual freedom and empowerment. So if you enjoy sexually suggestive staging (and who doesn’t?), but crave a little more mystery than the average strip tease affords, check out The Painted Ladies—a show that puts the art back into tart. 

Sept. 27. Galapagos Art Space, 70 N. 6th St. (betw. Wythe & Kent Aves.), Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-782-5188; 10, $15.