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"Little Egypt" is the stage name for the dancer in the International Dance Discovery of the December 19, 1896,
the Seeley Dinner. This incident made "Little Egypt" an infamous pre-Hollywood sex symbol. The "Little Egypt" persona was created by Western obsession for
the exotic and this fantasy has been recreated by dancers since that time. The "Little Egypt" fantasy was born in an age when showmen, in deliberate Barnum-esque
fashion, outdid each other to manipulate the press and mislead the public by fabricating
larger-than-life personalities and Little Egypt responded.
Who Was "Little Egypt"?
1. LITTLE EGYPT WAS
a. a notorious entertainer of the late nineteenth century
b. the originator of the theatrical strip tease
c. a popular night spot in Chicago
d. the star of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago
2. LITTLE EGYPT'S CLAIM TO FAME WAS
a. she saved the 1893 World's Fair from financial ruin
b. she legitimized "belly dance" in the United States
c. she became a front-page news item in 1896 after she danced at a swank bachelor party that was raided by the vice squad
d. she ruined the career and reputation of impresario Oscar Hammerstein I
3. WHEN THE SEELEY BACHELOR DINNER WAS RAIDED, WHAT DID LITTLE EGYPT DO?
a. she escaped out the back way, dressed only in her underwear
b. she remained hidden in another part of the establishment, sipping champagne
c. she dove back into the giant cake which she had just jumped out of moments before
d. she called her agent and asked if she should perform her second number
4. AFTER THE SEELEY DINNER BECAME A SCANDAL IN THE NEWSPAPERS, LITTLE EGYPT
a. sued the Seeley brothers for damaging her reputation and for nonpayment of her fee
b. was jailed and became a tragic heroine of the women's rights movement
c. fled the country and spent the remainder of her days in Paris at the Folies Bergere
d. was hired by a Broadway impresario to appear as herself in a humorous parody of the Seeley Dinner
5. ALTHOUGH THE HISTORICAL RECORD IS DIFFICULT TO FOLLOW, IT APPEARS THAT AFTER HER BROADWAY STINT CONCLUDED, LITTLE EGYPT
a. repented her ways, married a devout Mormon and moved to Utah
b. achieved wealth and a certain kind of fame as a courtesan and actress in early French cinema
c. formed a touring burlesque company
d. popularized the use of the zipper, by using it to wriggle out of her costumes more quickly
Answers to Quiz
INTERNATIONAL DANCE DISCOVERY
PO Box 893
Bloomington, IN 47402-0893