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Published: 2007-04

Total Pages: 176

ISBN-13: 9780977719372

A collection of beautiful black-and-white images by photographer and exotic dancer Charise Isis, American Stripper celebrates the often unsung beauty and strength of women in the world of exotic dance. In photographs at times reminiscent of Brassai's images of dancers in Paris in the 1920s, Isis spent two years documenting the work of her fellow dancers. In addition to photographs, the book includes intimate statements by many of the dancers revealing how they feel about their work and the varied view of the industry in American society. From the introduction by Charise Isis: "The first time I walked into a strip club, I was completely nervous. I couldn't look the women in their eyes. I didn't know how they would feel about another girl walking into their club. Would they be territorial? A little! Would they be threatened? Not really. What I did notice was the surreal quality of the place. The flashing lights, the glittering girls, the loud thudding music. A bombardment of the senses-flesh was everywhere you turned. I had walked into somewhere ancient, somewhere primal. A mystical place where men came to worship, and the ritual of women enticing men into some sort of exotic trance was unfolding . . ." Charise Isis was born in the United States and raised in New Zealand. While working in the world of exotic dance, she began studying photography, focusing initially on her colleagues as the subjects of her photographs. The Center for Photography in Woodstock, New York, recently hosted a solo exhibition of Isis' work.