Erotic performance has ancient historical and mythological roots, from the striptease of Ame-no-Uzume which lured the sun goddess from her cave in Japanese legend, to Salome’s famed dance of the seven veils. Attendees of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago were both shocked and delighted when Little Egypt introduced the sensuous “belly dance” to American audiences. For decades the burlesque or “hoochie-choochie” show was a mainstay of traveling carnivals, eventually giving way to the modern “gentleman’s club”. Although differing from most other forms of erotica by not being fixed in a tangible medium, this art form undeniably occupies a significant place in the history and culture of erotic expression.