Dance of the Seven Veils Day

Dance of the Seven Veils Day is observed next on Wednesday, January 22nd, 2025 (78 days from today).

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Dance

When King Herod, Salome's stepfather, asks Salome to dance for her birthday party and vows to give her anything she wants in return, Salome accepts. The dance of Salome, or the Dance of the Seven Veils, followed, with Salome slowly shedding the seven veils and ending the dance at King Herod's feet. Every year January 22nd is the anniversary of Salome's dance, the dance of the seven veils.

Salome, daughter of Queen Herodias, is mentioned in the New Testament in connection with the death of Saint John the Baptist. Christian tradition and Western art depict Salome as a symbol of extremely dangerous feminine temptation.

In the opera Salome, Salome is mesmerized by the deathly paleness of the prophet Jochanaan (i.e., Saint John the Baptist, who from the cell had cursed the incestuous marriage of Herodias and King Herod) and to overflow with longing. His uncontrollable thirst is to be touching him. The prophet rebuffed her, speaking of the Son of God who would come to save mankind.

Salome continues to beg for a kiss from Jochanaan, but the oracle leaves her cell after telling her to seek salvation from the Messiah. Salome collapsed in frustration and intense desire.

When King Herod, Salome's stepfather, asks Salome to dance for his birthday party and vows to give her anything she wants in return, Salome accepts. The dance of Salome, or the Dance of the Seven Veils, followed, with Salome slowly shedding the seven veils and ending the dance at King Herod's feet.

Salome insisted on offering Jochanaan's head on a silver plate. She ignored the other valuable substitutes that King Herod suggested such as jewels, rare birds, and sacred shawls. The terrified king finally surrendered.

After a tense wait, the executioner's arm emerged from the cellar, offering Jochanaan's head to Salome. When the clouds covered the moon, Salome passionately grabbed the reward, turned to Jochanaan as if he were still alive, and kissed him triumphantly on the lips. Exhausted by terror at Salome's sick behavior, Herod ordered his soldiers to kill her.

The one-act opera Salome by German composer Richard Strauss (1864-1949) was premiered on December 9, 1905 in Dresden. Immediately, this work sparked a wide debate.

Adventurous listeners praised Salome for seeing in its music signs of avant-garde. In 1948, Arnold Schoenberg drew many excerpts from Salome as models for extended tone.

Conservative critics have criticized Salome's decadent content, which is based on Oscar Wilde's play of the same name. Siegfried Wagner, son of Richard Wagner, ranked Salome among the "dangerous works" of R. Strauss. And the Temptation Salome's Dance is certainly one of the most scandalous scenes in this ever-stunner opera.

Richard Strauss first brought the Seven Veils to the Metropolitan Theater in the United States on January 22, 1907, a performance that inspired vaudeville performers around the world to try it out. .

Not surprisingly, the Metropolitan Opera in New York was forced to stop performing Salome shortly after opening night because of intense public outcry despite Strauss' healthy preparation for the dance, but the public disapproved that it's as erotic as a striptease. Earlier, during the first Salome performance in Dresden, Marie Wittich, the first singer to play the role of Salome, refused to perform the scandalous scene The Dance of the Seven Veils: "I will not act. I am a decent woman."

And in the years that followed, in this scene it was common for a ballerina to dance instead of the soprano to play the role of Salome.

The veiled dance begins in a frenzy, the music is propelled by nervous, tense pounding drums and tambourines. But the tempo quickly slows down and is followed by a sinister waltz.

The music is exotic, with strings and tambourines quickly joining in to convey the smoky and seductive nature. Gradually the music became more boisterous, more sensual and more decadent. All writhed in a colorful ruin, in the wonderful whirl of carnival. The music turns to frenzied frenzy again and then sags for a moment before the colorful mid-term ending.

How to observe Dance Of The Seven Veils

On Dance Of The Seven Veils, you can go with your friends and relatives to the theater to watch the seven-veil dance and feel it. Or, if you're a dance learner who knows the art, turn on R. Strauss' seven-veil opera to learn and try the Salome’s moves, feel them. Share your moment on social media with the hashtag #DanceOfTheSevenVeils

Observed

Dance of the Seven Veils Day has been observed annually on January 22nd.

Dates

Sunday, January 22nd, 2023

Monday, January 22nd, 2024

Wednesday, January 22nd, 2025

Thursday, January 22nd, 2026

Friday, January 22nd, 2027

Also on Wednesday, January 22nd, 2025

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