The art of striptease goes back centuries to ancient Greece and the Roman Empire and an exotic dance by Salome for King Herod is mentioned in The Bible but the word striptease did not come into use until it was first recorded in In the houses of ill repute in 18th century England they had Posture Girls , these girls would strip while dancing on tables for the clientele in waiting.
In Arabic culture there is the erotically charged Dance of the Bee , a woman seductively loses her clothing while searching for the fabled bee supposedly caught up in them. So, a form of striptease has always existed through the ages and highlighted in literary works and music symphonies.
One of the most famous or notorious strip artists was Mata Hari pictured above who was shot as a German spy by the French military in WWI. She used her charms on high class gentlemen and high ranking military officers, many say she was executed unjustly to save embarrassment for the mesmerised military officers she entertained. The Pigalle district is a famous red-light area and has a reputation for music venues too. They travelled all over America due to the tightening of laws banning this form of entertainment.
In the UK two notable strip artists had their own venues and were highly successful, Laura Henderson created the Windmill Theatre in the 30s and Windmill Girls who also toured the country and Phyllis Dixey in the 40s opened the Whitehall Follies this led to the infamous or famous Soho district becoming known as a hugely popular red-light zone.
The 60s brought about the first strip clubs with private members enjoying full nudity entertainment and the Raymond Revue Bar was the first offering this elevated service. The new more raunchy acts saw the birth of Go Go Topless Dancers, pole dancers, private dancers in booths in the strip club itself.
