Nyota Inyoka in performance costume, early 20th century French dancer known for sacred and stylized interpretations of Eastern dance traditions
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Nyota Inyoka: Sensational Theatrical Dance and Artistic Performance

Nyota Inyoka (1896–1971), a French-born dancer and choreographer of European and possibly Indian or North African heritage, rose to prominence during a period when stylized fantasies of the East dominated Western stages. Nyota Inyoka Rediscovered Famous Female Dancer Falls into Obscurity Although widely acclaimed during the 1910s and 1920s for her striking performances and scholarly…

Salome Painting The Apparition by Gustave Moreau
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Salome Painting: From Mother’s Helper to Dangerous Seductress

Salome painting over the centuries usually depicted her as the cold instrument of her mother’s murderous intent. The head of John the Baptist, detailed with bloody grotesqueness on a silver platter, is the usual focus. All that changed during the 19th century. Orientalism and Salome Painting During the middle years of the 1800s, a group…

Salomania - Maud Allan
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Salomania: A Sensational History of Salome in Art, Dance, Film, and Opera

Salomania was a performance phenomenon and cultural craze that swept through America and Europe during the early years of the 20th century. It sprang from a popular reinterpretation of the story of Salome, a figure alluded to in the New Testament who danced for a king and, as a reward, requested a head on a…