Funny Holidays - Dance of the Seven Veils Day

Belly dancing is a dance technique common in the Middle East Its origin is attributed to the Jewish princess Salome During the dance, the performer, dressed in traditional Arab clothing, bedla, demonstrates mastery of her abdominal muscles The costume consists of a monisto, bodice, belt, skirt or trousers, decorated with beads, rhinestones and pearls For some types of dance, the use of a snake, saber, fan, scarves and other accessories is practiced Performing for a conservative public in the East involves using a light cape as a prop, covering naked parts of the body and hair An unusual holiday was invented in honor of the mastery of belly dancing with transparent blankets January 22 is the Day of the Dance of the Seven Veils According to legend, the skill of belly dancing was first demonstrated by the stepdaughter of King Herod Antipas, Salome Dancing for her stepfather, she gradually threw off all the capes covering her body, remaining naked Salome's skill amazed Antipas, and he asked to repeat this amazing performance The dancer agreed on the condition that the king would give her the head of John the Baptist for this This is how a character appeared in the Bible who became the prototype of the femme fatale and the harlot The first performance of oriental dancers in Paris took place in 1889 In New York, the show "Arabian Nights" was shown at the Standard Theater a little earlier - in 1886 After that, writers began to actively use the image of a temptress in their work, supplementing it with myths about the goddess Ishtar and bayaderas - Indian temple dancers Over time, an interpretation of the number of transparent capes emerged The seven veils in bellidance symbolized the four natural elements and the foundations of all things - the body, spirit and soul of man Throwing off the transparent capes signified the dancer's cleansing of earthly passions Dance of the Seven Veils owes its popularity in Europe to Mata Hari Famous courtesan of the early twentieth century was a professional belly dancer She was presented to the public as a princess who mastered oriental dance techniques At the end of it, only jewelry and a bodice embroidered with stones and pearls remained on her The dancer was not a Puritan - the ending of the performance had a logical explanation Margareta Gertrude Zelle, Mata Hari's name before she began her career, has been embarrassed since childhood because of her shape and small breast size Feeding two children only made the situation worse The idea of ​​Salome throwing off exactly seven veils belongs to the English writer and playwright Oscar Wilde In the biblical legend of King Herod Antipas, the number of veils is not mentioned Thanks to Wilde’s imagination, the number with seven veils was included in the opera by R Strauss in 1905, a novel by the writer T Robbins, and later led to “Salomania” - a fashion for oriental dances with elements of striptease The sensual “Vision of Salome” with transparent capes was performed in 1906 by Canadian Maude Allan, and 50 years later in the film Salome by actress Rita Hayworth The openly erotic Dance of the Seven Veils is extremely popular in the 21st century Therefore, a funny holiday was established in his honor Dance of the Seven Veils Day, which is celebrated on January 23, pays tribute to the oriental art of dance and the imagination of creative people, who gave belly dancing a unique flavor and charm