Circassian Beauty in the American Sideshow

Thank you, that was exquisite.

Is the dance unique to Circassia?

Interesting!

It's worth watching with more traditional costuming, too. The effect is somewhat lost with the shorter dresses, but the way the women can glide over the dance floor can look barely human.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwoyvR6mEaQ

"Because the Circassian was thought to be the purest, most primordial exemplar of the white race, that may have led the white viewer to yet another thought: that the sexual fate and the sexual proclivities of the “Circassian Lady” (no true “lady” by Victorian standards because of these very proclivities) might just as well be those of any given “American Lady,” who must be, after all, the racial descendant of the woman on exhibit. And that, in turn, would suggest that the white American “lady” was, at bottom, in her unadorned, uncultured nature, no different from the Circassian—and so no different from the African."

http://mirrorofrace.org/circassian/

It's American circus beauties. In the era of the freak show. If you are curious what made people talk about Circassian beauty back in the day, perhaps seek other sources.

Edit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circassian_beauty

> As a sideshow attraction, Circassian beauties were women with big hair, a reference to the teased hair they wore, held in place by beer. Circassian ancestry was not required as in this example.