New York- www.nydailynews.com- Who says guys who go to strip clubs ain’t got no culture? It has been officially ruled that they’re art patrons when they observe pole dancing or get up close and personal with backroom choreography.

In the estimation of Administrative Law Judge Catherine Bennett, pictyred] such naked gyrations qualify as “art,” sort of like the New York City Ballet without so many tutus in the way.

As a result, Bennett decided that an Albany-area joint that bills itself as “New York’s Premier Adult Club in the Capital District” is exempt from paying sales tax on admissions – seeing as how “musical arts performances” are exempt from sales taxes.

Bennett’s nutso finding was the fruit of a case cast that included the management of an establishment where customers pay for “couch” sessions; a University of Maryland cultural anthropologist who has conducted “onsite research on exotic dance and adult entertainment” since 1995, and a Mormon lawyer who told the New York Law Journal he sees parallels between resistance to strip spots and opposition in some communities to Mormon temples.

Retained as an expert witness by the club, Nite Moves, anthropologist Judith Lynne Hanna testified:

“Exotic dance is erotic fantasy and communication with a display of nudity, disclosure of more skin and different movements than are seen in public, the use of high heels … and incorporation of jazzlike, improvisatory movements in routines.”

Which led Bennett to conclude: “The pole maneuvers in particular are no small feat to accomplish, and attempting such a performance without the skill and a planned routine of steps could prove dangerous.”

Which was Bennett’s way of defining art. She allowed Nite Moves Chief Financial Officer Stephen Dick to keep $129,000 the state tax department claimed as owing. There will be an appeal. But for now, New York flesh fanciers can go forth with their heads higher, knowing that they are aficionados of “live, dramatic, choreographic performances.” Bada-bing.