Lap dancing is a form of sensual dancing that has been a massive hit in recent years, particularly in bars and clubs in the United States and Europe – a popularity no doubt fanned by films such as Exotica by the Canadian director Atom Egoyan and the box-office hit Showgirls, by Paul Verhoeven.
Lap dancing takes its name from the fact that thedancer moves sensually to the music right in the spectator’s lap. It first originated in the whorehouses of Las Vegas, where is still very much in vogue: a relatively recent study revealed that over 15,000 dancers were entertaining nearly one million spectators a year. Lap dancing is closely related to striptease, with the girls removing items of clothing as they dance in the spectators’ lap – often ending up completely naked. It is also bedfellows with pole dancing, in which dancers move sensually around a metal pole.
