Watch Bubble Dance

Famous exotic dancer Sally Rand does her signature routine in this classically scored short: a graceful, toga-clad dance with a buoyant balloon bigger than she is. Finally, we get the payoff when backlighting obscures her sheer dress, revealing the voluptuous naked form beneath. Rand's act was considered so racy she was arrested numerous times for public indecency, circumstances she happily milked for maximum press attention. She continued to perform burlesque routines well into her sixties, passing away in 1979 at the age of seventy-five. - Dennis Harvey