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Show The PREMIERE DANSEUSE. It acquire Hard Work for Eight or Ten ; Year to llearh Iler Unh, i II is not the work of a year or two years, but of eight, or ten, to make a premiere danseusc. Thy agiiity tliat a first class duuwr displays upon the stage and that strength of bout; and muscle necessary to 1 enable her to go through ber evolutions, to pirouette on her toes and bond her body Into the curve of mi arch, are the ret.uk of yeara of earnest work and coustaut prac lice. "In my own ca.se," said Mile. Adele Cor-nalba Cor-nalba 10 a reporter, "I have been a student of my art from the age of seven years. I was sent, by niv parents to the celebrated j dancing academy at the La, Sowla, Milan, and have ever since applied myself assiduously assidu-ously to my studies. At this academy t here art? (our classes, graded according to tho uge and physique of the pupils. For instance, in-stance, the youngest beginners are put. Into the llrst. class and one hour a day is given to practice. Their strength will not. stand more. The second class pupils are required to work two hours a day, the third class from two to three, and the fourth class three aa regularly as the sun rises. "It is impossible for any girl to become a pood preiuiure before the age of sixteen or seventeen years. She has uot the natural st rength to stand the strain upou her system. sys-tem. The lulior Is diftlcult and severe lie-cause lie-cause it requires such constant, application. applica-tion. A dancer must not neglect her practice, prac-tice, because, if she does, she is sure to gel. heavy ami stiff. No one can become a pupil at the Italian dancing academy unless un-less she can pass a thorough medic 1 examination, ex-amination, and every year that she continues contin-ues as a pupil she must submit to this inspection. in-spection. When some physical defect manifests mani-fests itself the 'pupil is at once dropped from the list. A dancer must las the possessor pos-sessor of a sound constit ution, because her life is one of constant exercise. "Uer work may appear easy to the public after she has reached the, height of her ambition, am-bition, but, even if the people forget the trials and exertion necessary before s)ih can reach that position they cannot realize real-ize how earnestly she must, work after she has attained success. Every bone must he strong and kept strong, aud every muscle must, he trained to its best development. And this training is not con lined to any part of her body. A first class dancer is able to stand upon her toes without shoes upon, her feet. Of course all the practice is done in shoes, but by and by the bones j and muscles of the feet become so strong i and firm that wit hout any difficulty she i can stand upon her toes without any sup-j port. Hut 1 have to practice all "the time to keep myself in the proper condition. 1 1 cannot say that one particular build of woman is better adapted to the terp-sicborean terp-sicborean art than anot her, but health is required in every one. As a general rule thin women never look well on the stage. "But the slender women always make the best, dancers. It is impossible for a danseuse to lecomc stout, because her labors always keep down the accum illation of avoirdupois. Especially is this true in . the United States, where the managers re-q re-q u ire a premiere to dance every night aud at two matinees. It is also very important for a premiere to be careful about her feet. She must eat more meat than anything else to keep her muscles in the best condition, con-dition, and she must have plenty of sleep and rest. The labor is so hard that after every performance 1 feel It necessary ! to sleep at least two hours. "Where do the best dancers come from? Well, 1 do not want to seem prejudiced in behalf of my own country, hut I am forced to declare that they come from Italy. Tlie methods there are more thorough, and dancing is made more of an art than in j any other country. The American dancers I find to he very intelligent, and nearly all have good figures. Dut the Italians have the school and the constancy to master their art, ond that counts for everything in the pursuit after success." Chicago Past. |