The origins of the art of exotic dancing lie in English drama and Viennese opera: Oscar Wilde's 1893 play Salome, and Richard Strauss's 1905 opera based on it, brought onto the stage a female character who captured and dominated the audience with the raw power of her naked body. Her Dance of the Seven Veils shocked and fascinated, and Salome became a pop icon on both sides of the Atlantic. Toni Bentley explores how four influential women embraced the persona of the femme fatale and transformed the misogynist image of a dangerously sexual woman into a form of personal liberation.

Explores how four influential dancers embraced the persona of the femme fatale and transformed the misogynist image of a dangerously sexual woman into a form of personal liberation

About the Author
Toni Bentley danced with George Balanchine's New York City Ballet for ten years. Her books include Winter Season: A Dancer's Journal, Holding On to the Air, Costumes by Karinska, and The Surrender: An Erotic Memoir.

Reviews
"Here is a book that will scare the pants off John Ashcroft. A highbrow survey of what generally passes as a lowbrow art. . . . The detail is as delicious, and as revealing, as a Dance of the Seven Veils."-New York Times
"Bentley studies the figure of the fin-de-siecle femme fatale, in particular four women-Colette, Maud Allan, Mata Hari, and Ida Rubinstein-who chose the way of Salome. They danced exotically to wield their power, reinvent themselves, and, paradoxically, hide their sad pasts by becoming as nude as possible."-Village Voice
"This fascinating slice of popular culture will appeal to both social and dance historians."-Booklist



Book Information
ISBN 9780803262416
Author Toni Bentley
Format Paperback
Page Count 226
Imprint Bison Books
Publisher University of Nebraska Press
Weight(grams) 318g