Mata Hari: A sensual muse of orien­tal dance

Unfor­get­table passion

There are many women who inspire and stimu­late me. Be it through their courage, their creativ­ity or their sensu­al­ity. They are all timeless muses, through whom I discover new sides of myself again and again and learn to love. 

One of these women is Mata Hari. In Malay, her stage name means Eye of the Day or Sun. A fitting name, in my opinion, because their history shines through to the present day. As a sensual dancer, ecsta­tic seduc­tress and possi­ble double spy, she leaves behind an unfor­get­table myth that I would like to bring you a little closer.

Immerse yourself with me in 19^th century Paris

It is the time of the Belle Époque belle Époque (1884–1914), the cultural bloom and indus­trial revolu­tion. After the end of the Franco-Pruss­ian War, the Parisian nightlife was shaped by the desire for exclu­sive pleasures and erotic adven­tures. Hardly any person — neither man nor woman — can resist the tingling crack­ling and sensual promises of the evening air. People are curious and open. Above all, the charm of the unknown and the exotic attracts many restaurants. 

It is the time in which Mata Hari realizes herself with her innov­a­tive, artis­tic orien­tal dances.

Born in the Nether­lands in 1876, she cast a spell over many as a child with her Indone­sian appear­ance. Fasci­nated by the orien­tal roots that she inher­ited from her mother, she later wraps herself in a myth that she revives on the Parisian stages. Hence­forth she is consid­ered the daugh­ter of an Indian ruler from Java, who teaches her ecsta­tic temple dances in honor of the gods. Since then she has been enchant­ing every­one with her dances — like a siren.

When Mata Hari takes the stage, all conver­sa­tions fall silent. Only the rustling of their color­ful silk scarves and veils artis­ti­cally embroi­dered with coins can be heard. Calm but decisive, she steps into the spotlight with swaying hips. Her dark eyes look challeng­ingly into the audience. A barely notice­able smile plays around her full lips. For a brief moment there is excru­ci­at­ing silence before a melody — like from A Thousand and One Nights — sounds. With gentle movements, Mata Hari begins to move to the beat of the music. The trans­par­ent fabrics sensu­ally caress your breasts and hips — giving you a glimpse of your bare, dark skin. Their movements get faster and faster. Her game of circling hips, swaying breasts and allur­ing, dancing arms is becom­ing more and more demanding. 

The air is filled with tension and desire. Admira­tion, aston­ish­ment and fasci­na­tion flash in the eyes of the audience. Many a person has to loosen his bow tie when Mata Hari drops more and more veils in orien­tal ecstasy. Like a hot-blooded prayer, her body squirms to the beat of the music, both invit­ingly and plead­ingly. And so long until in the end only sparkling gemstones adorn your feminine curves and play with the charm of the hidden …

The fact that behind this sex symbol of its time there is still another fate remains hidden for a long time. In real life, Mata Hari is a divorced woman and mother of two who not only has to mourn a dead child, but ultimately becomes a double spy. Until now she was consid­ered an exotic artist who enchants both French and German admir­ers with her veil dances, but at the begin­ning of the First World War she fled back to her homeland in the Nether­lands. Gone is the carefree luxury life, which is filled with numer­ous love affairs. In order to escape poverty, she is embark­ing on a danger­ous game. 

Through her affairs with high-ranking military support­ers and nobles, she is hired as a double agent. So from now on she should use her erotic charms to spy for both the French and the Germans in the other country. A danger­ous under­tak­ing that ultimately became her undoing: Unmasked as a traitor, Mata Hari was executed by firing squad in France in 1917 in a forest near Paris. But instead of having her eyes blind­folded as is custom­ary, she retains her courage and rebel­lion until the end.