Dance of the Seven Veils
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-->In several areas of Western culture, the Dance of the Seven Veils (usually described as danced by Salomé) is one of the elaborations on the historical and biblical tale of the execution of John the Baptist.
According to ten verses of Matthew 14, John was imprisoned for criticizing the marriage between King Herod Antipas and his "brother's" ex-wife Herodias. Herod offered his (unnamed) daughter a reward of her choice for performing an (unnamed) dance on his birthday, and Herodias got her to ask for John the Baptist's head on a platter, which was granted.
(The phrases "bring someone [someone else's] head on a platter" or "have [someone's] head on a platter" remain popular metaphors in Western culture for anger and/or retribution.)
Historically, Herod and Herodias's ex-husband are known to have been half-brothers #redirect . John's execution was most likely ordered by Herod because of his criticism and other political needs.
The historian Josephus gives the stepdaughter's name, Salomé and other details enriching the story in later Christian mythology include providing a name for the dance, and the purpose of the dance being to inflame Herod with incestuous desire so that he would treat John as she wished.
In the Oscar Wilde play and Strauss opera Salome, the dance remains unnamed except in the acting notes, but Salome's sexual fascination with John seems to motivate the request -- though Herodias is still pleased. The most famous music for the "Dance of the Seven Veils" comes from near the climax of the opera. The visual content of that scene (about seven minutes in length with standard tempi) has varied greatly depending on the esthetic notions of the stage director, choreographer, and soprano, and on the choreographic skills and body shape of that singer. At one extreme, the 2004 production starring Karita Mattila at the Metropolitan Opera made her surname the accepted New York term for changing the color of pubic hair to blonde because of the visual focus of the scene.
This dance has also inspired imitation in the world of burlesque and striptease, with Sally Rand adapting it to her distinctive style.
The phrase "doing the Dance of the Seven Veils" is a metaphor for an elaborate presentation of information, especially one whose stages proceed more from area to area than through increasing degrees of detail.
Other references in modern and popular culture
- In the 1941 Disney short "A Good Time for a Dime", Donald watches a risque Daisy perform the dance in a Mutoscope at a penny arcade nickelodeon peep show.
- American author Tom Robbins includes the dance, performed by a character named Salomé, in his 1990 novel Skinny Legs and All.
- Breakcore artist Hecate appropriated the theme of Salomé's dance on the album Seven Veils of Silence (2004).
Trivia
The dance is parodied in a famous Goon Show scene (Dishonoured' 14th December 1954 - script on web) when Eccles in drag performs the 'Dance of the Seven Army Surplus Blankets', temporarily seducing the unfortunate Neddy Seagoon.
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