Gorgeous exotic dancer Sahji was one of the top exotic dancers in the 1940s. Sahji was as sexy as a dancer could be but she added class, glamour, and real dancing ability to her performances besides just wiggling and swinging hips. She was thin but used every inch of her body in dance. Her dancing was often described as poetry in motion, she told a story with her dancing. In the musical "Jivin’ In Bebop" Sahji is one of the featured performers.
Other than the fact that she appeared in the 1947 movie Jivin’ in Bebop with Dizzy Gillespie, not much else is known about the beautiful exotic dancer known as Sahji. That film, no more than a string of musical performances, presents Sahji in all of her "exotic" otherness doing a dance that reminds me very much of what "praise dancers" now do in church. Hmm … are they the original exotic dancers.
Sahji was also known as Madeleine Jackson, and is known to have been married to musician Leroy Harris, a saxophonist with the Earl Hines Orchestra.
This collection of photos originally belonged to a Cotton Club chorus girl, reportedly a headline dancer by the name of Margot, who appeared at the club between 1933-39.
The inscription on the photo above reads "To Margot, You are tops as a dancer. And as a lady, you are even higher. Best wishes for your present & future happiness. Sincerely, Madeline Sahji Jackson." Under that it says "Sahji" Cousin Madeleine. |
love her!
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I enjoyed the story, pictures, and the video. Learned a great deal regarding this unsung artist.