striptease

A striptease or exotic dance is a form of erotic entertainment, usually a dance, in which the performer, known as a 'stripper', gradually undresses to music. Stripteases are now performed mostly in strip clubs and (especially in the UK) pubs, though theatres and music halls have also been used as venues. The "teasing" part involves the slowness of undressing, while the audience is eager to see more nudity. Delay tactics include additional clothes being removed or putting clothes or hands in front of just undressed body parts. Emphasis is on the act of undressing along with sexually suggestive movement, not on the state of being undressed: in some cases the performance is finished as soon as the undressing is finished. The costume the stripper wears before disrobing can be an important part of the act. These are often fantasy themed: such as a schoolgirl uniform, maid's dress, policewoman's outfit etc.

Along with physical attractiveness and appropriate clothing, the main asset and tool used by the exotic dancer in recent years is the stripper pole.

In addition to night club entertainment, stripping can be a form of sexual play at home between partners. This can be done as an impromptu event or--perhaps for a special occasion--with elaborate planning involving fantasywear, music, special lighting, practised dance moves, and even dance moves that have been previously unpractised.

Off-stage

A variation on striptease is private dancing, which often involves lap dancing or contact dancing. Here the performers, in addition to stripping for tips, also offer "private dances" which involve more attention for individual audience members. Variations include private dances like table dancing where the performer dances on or by customer's table rather than the customer being seated in a couch. For certain events, including bachelor/bachorette parties, the stripper's job often involves holding games or contests with sexual themes.

The contact between a performer and a customer is regulated in ways that vary in response to local laws and club rules, ranging from "air dances" with minimal or no contact to "friction" lap dances at the dancer's discretion.

History

World origins

The origins of striptease as a performance art are disputed and various dates and occasions have been given from ancient Babylonia to the twentieth century. In terms of myth the first recorded striptease is related in the ancient Sumerian story of the descent of the goddess Inanna into the Underworld (or Kur). At each of the seven gates, she removed an article of clothing or a piece of jewelry. As long as she remained in hell, the earth was barren. When she returned, fecundity abounded. Some believe this myth was embodied in the dance of the seven veils of Salome, who danced for King Herod, as mentioned in the New Testament. However, although the Bible records Salome's dance, the first mention of her removing seven veils occurs in Oscar Wilde's play of 'Salome', in 1893: which some have claimed as the origin of modern striptease.. After Wilde's play and Strauss's operatic version of the same, the erotic 'dance of the seven veils', became a standard routine for dancers in opera, vaudeville, film and burlesque. A famous early practioner was Maud Allan who in 1907 gave a private performance of the dance to King Edward VII.

Other possible influences on modern striptease were the dances of the Ghawazee "discovered" and seized upon by French colonists in nineteenth century North Africa and Egypt. The erotic dance of the bee performed by a woman known as Kuchuk Hanem, was witnessed and described by the French novelist Gustave Flaubert. In this dance the performer disrobes as she searches for an imaginary bee trapped within her garments. It is likely that the women performing these dances did not do so in an indigenous context, but rather, responded to the commercial climate for this type of entertainment. Middle Eastern belly dance, also known as Oriental Dancing, was popularized in the US after its introduction on the Midway at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago by a dancer known as Little Egypt.

French origins

The People's Almanac credited the origin of striptease as we know it to an act in 1890s Paris in which a woman slowly removed her clothes in a vain search for a flea crawling on her body. At this time Parisian shows such as the Moulin Rouge and Folies Bergere pioneered semi-nude dancing and tableaux vivants. One landmark was the appearance at the Moulin Rouge in 1907 of an actress called Germaine Aymos who entered dressed only in three very small shells. In the 1930s the famous Josephine Baker danced semi-nude at the Folies and other such performances were provided at the Tabarin. These shows were notable for their sophisticated choreography and dressing the girls in glitzy sequins and feathers. By the 1960s 'fully nude' shows were provided at such places as Le Crazy Horse Saloon.

American origins

American striptease nurtured its roots in carnivals and Burlesque theatres with famous strippers such as Gypsy Rose Lee. The vaudeville trapeze artist Charmion performed a "disrobing" act onstage as early as 1896, which was captured in an Edison film, "Trapeze Disrobing Act" in 1901. Another milestone for modern American striptease is the possibly legendary show at Minsky's Burlesque in April of 1925: The Night They Raided Minsky's. The art and business enjoyed prosperity as the United States economy grew out of the depression of the 1930s through the 1950s. In the sixties and seventies, with changing cultural expressions of sexuality, it declined in profitability and status. In the eighties and technology boom of the nineties, those in the profession enjoyed better acceptance and better working conditions.

British origins

In England the Windmill Theatre, London, pioneered the art of striptease, from 1932 onwards (closing in 1964), though, in accordance with British law the nude girls were not allowed to move: appearing in stationary tableaux vivants. The Windmill girls also toured other London and provincial theatres, sometimes using ingenious devices such as rotating ropes to move their bodies round, though strictly speaking, staying within the letter of the law by not moving of their own volition. According to the film Mrs Henderson Presents, mice were also employed to get the nudes to move. Another way the law was bent was the fan dance, in which a naked dancer's body was concealed by her fans and those of her attendants, until the end of her act in when she posed naked for a brief interval whilst standing stock still. The Windmill girls were a major morale booster during wartime London as was the cartoon-strip stripper Jane, modelled on one of the Windmill girls, who appeared in the Daily Mirror.

By the 1950's touring striptease acts were used to attract audiences to the dying music halls. Changes in the law in the 1960's brought about a boom of strip clubs in Soho with 'fully nude' dancing and audience participation. Pubs were also used as a venue, most particularly in the East End with a concentration of such venues in the district of Shoreditch. Though often a target of local authority harassment, a remnant of these pubs survives to the present day. .

Recent history

In the 20th century, the exotic dance club grew to become thriving sector of the Canadian economy. They are referred to as "peelers" in Canada. This Canadian style lap dancing and table dancing, organised by multi-national corporations such as Spearmint Rhino, was exported to the United Kingdom, Central Europe, Russia, and Australia etc. In London, England a raft of such so-called 'lap dancing clubs' grew up in the 1990s. (Note: though dubbed 'lap-dancing' clubs by the media, according to UK law, physical contact with the dancers is forbidden, so the term is strictly a misnomer in an English context.)

In December 2006, a Norwegian court ruled that striptease is an art form and made strip clubs exempt from value added tax.

New Burlesque

In the latter 1990s, a number of performers and dance groups have emerged to create New Burlesque, a revival of the classic burlesque of the early half of the twentieth century. New Burlesque focuses on dancing, costumes and entertainment (which may include comedy and singing) and generally eschews full nudity or toplessness. Some burlesquers of the past have become instructors and mentors to New Burlesque performers such as Velvet Hammer and the Pontani Sisters. The pop group Pussycat Dolls began as a New Burlesque troupe.

Other audiences

Male strippers

Until the 1970s, strippers were almost invariably female, performing to male audiences. Since then, male strippers, performing to female audiences, have also become common. Male and female strippers also perform for gay and lesbian audiences respectively, as well as for both sexes in pansexual contexts. Before the 1970s dancers of both genders appeared largely in underground clubs or as part of a theatre experience, but the practice eventually became common enough on its own.

For gay males

Gay male strip clubs feature men who appear initially in skimpy undergarments (which are quickly removed if full nudity is allowed) and socks. Fondling the strippers is commonplace and considered fair game, even as it is often technically prohibited. In cities such as Washington, D.C. where full nudity is allowed, the male strippers at gay venues stand on the bar or stage and masturbate to maintain erection, allowing the customers to also masturbate or ejaculate them for tips.

Stripper Anthems

• The Stripper (1962) is a piece of instrumental music composed by David Rose. It evinces a jazz influence, and evokes the feel of music used to accompany striptease artists.
• "Patricia the Stripper" (1975) by Chris de Burgh.

In movies and television

• Gilda (1946), showcases one of the most famous stripteases in cinema history (to Put the Blame on Mame), though Rita Hayworth removes just a single glove.
• Viva Maria! (1965) stars Brigitte Bardot and Jeanne Moreau as two girls both named Maria who meet, become revolutionaries and inter alia, introduce striptease to South America.
• The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968), gives a possibly legendary account of the birth of striptease at Minsky's Burlesque theatre in New York.
• Exotica (1994), directed by Atom Egoyan, set in a Canadian lap-dance club, portrays a man's obsession with a schoolgirl stripper.
• Showgirls (1995), directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Elizabeth Berkley.
• Striptease (1996), adaptation of the novel starring Demi Moore.
• Los Debutantes (2003), a Chilean film, set in a strip-club in Santiago.
• Mrs Henderson Presents (2005), gives a portrayal of the early years of the Windmill Theatre.

See also

• burlesque
• cabaret
• Dances
  • dance of the seven veils
  • erotic dance
  • fan dance
• Exotic World Burlesque Museum
• fantasywear
• DreamStripper
• list of strippers

References

• Shteir, Rachel, 2004. Striptease: The Untold History of the Girlie Show. Oxford University Press.
• McMahon, Tiberius, 2006, "Uniting Exotic And Erotic Dancers Worldwide."

External links

• The Naked Truth (support and information website by and about exotic dancers in Canada)

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