Veil dance

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Veil dances are pure fantasy dances with no special historical background. Although there have been veils for a very long time , there are hardly any historical sources that provide information about veil dances.

Dancer with veil, terracotta figurine from Myrina , approx. 150-100 BC Chr.

The origin of today's veil dance is in Europe and the USA around the end of the 19th century. The music used is still freely selectable and is subject to the dancer's individual dance expression. Rectangular or semicircular veils are usually used for veils, sometimes two veils per dancer.

history

The veil as a dance accessory was introduced into oriental dance by western dancers and, after decades of use, is now regarded as a “traditional” accessory. The first famous veil dancer and inventor of the serpentine dance was the American Loïe Fuller , who performed with great success in the USA and Europe with an oversized veil on which light effects were projected. The dancers Maud Allan and Mata Hari also danced with veils, shaped the first veil dances with their performances and made this dance suitable for the stage in the USA and Europe by giving it a superficial authenticity through a story (Salomé).

In Cairo , the veil was introduced by a Russian dance teacher, among others. Anna Ivanova taught the Egyptian dancer Samia Gamal to dance with the veil to improve her posture and arm control. In Egypt nowadays the veil is mainly used for the entré and is rarely used artfully. The Lebanese dancers dance a little longer with it, often the veil is initially placed around the neck and held up with the hands to the side like two wings.

The veil dance was made an art form mainly by western, especially American oriental dancers. Unlike in the Orient, the veil is not only presented as a small part of a dance, but sometimes as the main attraction, with different twists and turns. Another western specialty is the dance with two semicircular veils (double veils), for beautiful visual effects, especially with many turns, even with more than two women, i.e. in group dances or duets, the veil or double veil is used.

Dance with seven veils

Gustave Moreau - Salome (1878)

The dance with the seven veils is also called "Dance of Salome".

The music and the costumes are freely selectable. At the beginning of her dance, the dancer wraps herself in seven veils, which she gradually takes off as the dance progresses.

This dance too has no historical models. Early “veil dancers” were inspired by Oscar Wilde's play Salome for the figure of Salome , the daughter of Herodias, and the veil dance or early dances supposedly of oriental origin. It is widely believed that Salome danced with seven veils in front of Herod , but this is not stated in the Bible ( Mt 14.6-7  EU ): “But when Herod's birthday was celebrated, Herodias' daughter danced in front of the guests. And Herod liked her so much that he swore to give her everything she wanted. "

The dance with seven veils is also often derived from the goddesses Ishtar or Isis . It is also believed that the dance of the seven veils was a significant part of the sacred drama that depicts the replacement king's death, his descent into the underworld, and his salvation by the goddess; the goddess takes off one of her seven robes at each of the seven gates of the underworld. The priestess called Salome or “peace” ( shalom ) embodied the descending goddess. The number seven plays a huge role in all of mythology . One should pass through seven gates until one is in the underworld, the goddess Isis wore seven robes, there are seven spheres which, according to ancient beliefs, enclosed the earth and seven deadly sins. The most famous dancer who used Salomé's role model was Maud Allan .

literature