Originally posted by mrsMxyzptlk:
Something I've long wondered: Is the dance of the seven veils a real thing? And why would Lois know it?
As both an avid fan of dance history and a (sometimes and mostly past) liturgical/sacred dance this one is not really the case. It's attributed to Salome (Josephus said it was her) through popular culture, even though there is no evidence to that fact. Some think the dance was the story of Ishtar's descent into the underworld (which had her taking of her royal vestments and jewels before she was allowed into the Underworld to see her husband). Some versions have her (both Ishtar and Salome) naked by the end of it. There is no evidence to that fact but in the Victorian Era they became intertwined with belly dance and hasn't been easily extricated since.
IOW, there is no known physical dance called "the Dance of the Seven Veils" but the pop culture has turned it into a relatively refined stripper dance (at least as "refined" as it can get.) There is a bit of a movement to pull it back from that and reclaim the term in Middle Eastern Dance but as far as I can tell it is still thought of in a sexy fashion.
As to whether Lois would know about it, it's actually a common one mentioned associated with belly dance. Not to mention, there is a dance of the seven veils in Richard Strauss's opera "Salome" which is meant to be a seductive dance (focused on concealing and revealing the dance in question.)
