Show ON STAGE DANCING Some of the Best Points in a Book Recently Published HIDE IF POSSIBLE ALL DEFECTS Care Should be Exercised to Make the Movements Move-ments of Arms Legs and Body CombIne Com-bine a Graceful Whole The Theory of Theatrical Dancing is the name given a book recently published in London from the pen of Stewart D Head lam who says he has relied largely for his r r G aLL aL-L I i 1 1J l f t VL r I POSITIONS omasa EXERCISE material upon Carlo Blasis Code of Terpsichore Terp-sichore that was given to the world in 1828 when Blade was principal dancer at the Kings theatre Mr Headlam puts his object ob-ject in appearing as an author according to The St Louis GlobeDemocrat as the wish to enable the public to understand better than they do at present how difficult the art of dancing is so they may more fully appreciate appre-ciate dancers and their performances Under the head of general instructions to I pupils the author geS down to the opening pof the business of his book Practice is the essential for perfection and no other art demands de-mands closer attention Temperance in all things must be strictly observed and no other I exercise must be intermingled Particular attention must bs paid the carriage of tho body and arms with their motions easy and graceful and always in accordance with those of the legs Equal regard must be given both I legs in every lesson and exercise so one may I I not excel the other Care must be taken to I acquire perpendicularity and an exact equilibrium equi-librium with the performance correct and precise the steps brilliant and light every attitude natural and elegant A sort of abandon must be thrown into the positions I the countenance must be animated and expressive ex-pressive The dancer must be vigorous but not stiff rapid of movement careful to bring j all details into harmony in exact concert with the music easy in execution and satisfied satis-fied with the style of dancing the figure and physical powers are best suited to One of the chief things is to acquire a facility facil-ity of turning the legs out completely To this end relax the muscles about the hips that the upper part of the legs may move freely i and the knees turn out Practice will bring l some wonderful results in such direction The bending of the knee must be easy precise and elegant If the body is long raise the legs higher than the general rules direct and if short let them be kept a little lower Many I persons are what are called close legged and as many others bow legged Pains must betaken be-taken as far as possible to remedy these defects de-fects The first is better adapted for the serious se-rious dance and should preserve a gentle flexibility in her execution never extending the knees except at the terminations of openings open-ings steps and attitudes The bow legged it better at character and humorous dancing and should endeavor to keep the legs well together to-gether The body should be as a rule erect and upright on the legs Tho chest should be thrown out and waist held in with a gentle bend and much firmness about the loins continually con-tinually preserved during the dance There must be no affectation however as this mars everything The head shoulders and bust ihonld be supported and encircled by the Arms in every movement so that they may present all together a graceful picture the legs participating in the harmony In the steps the body must be quiet firm and unshaken un-shaken yet easy and pliant A I i rr iI t a t I V I wo l ls qpIl r t J > 11 BACCHANALIAS GROUP FOR STUDY The position opposition and carriage of the arms are perhaps the three most difficult things in dancing It is a law of nature that when putting one foot forward or back the arm on the opposite of tho body moves correspondingly cor-respondingly with it Observing this counterpoising I coun-terpoising of the body as it deviates from the central line of gravity gives the dancer a graceful appearance There are two movements for moving the I wristsupward and downward When the move is to be made down die wrist must be bent inward tho hand moving in a half circle cir-cle and returning to the first position with fare not to bend the wrist too violently as it would then appear broken The elbows move in the same direction with tho difference differ-ence that when tho elbows bend the wrists should also be bent imparting to tho move much grace Learn to hold tho arms as best accords with the physical construction It short in stature let them be higher than the general rule prescribes and if tall let them be lower A good dancer should omit nothing noth-ing that may tend to remedy or conceal her personal defects Let tun pointer junction the shoulder bono with the lower bone of the arm be level with tho palm of the hand the shoulders low and always motionless elbows round and well supported and the fingers gracefully grouped together Tho position and carriage of the arms must be soft and easy Let them make no extravagant movement nor permit the least stiffness to creep into their motions Beware lest they be jerked by the action and reaction of the legs this isa great fault and sufficient to spoil a dancer what perfection A soever she may possess in the exercise of her i logsThe > The head should never be held exactly per endi uhtr but ibould Jgo jine Jittle t4 1 iSt or right giving the dancer a voracious and pleasing expression Dancers should learn from chaste pictures of sculpture and painting tho real mode of displaying themselves them-selves with taste and gracefulness tI Take care to make the arms so encircling that the points of tho arms may bo imperceptible imper-ceptible Having given his readers a pretty good idea of the disposition to be made of the body in parts as a whole Mr fleadlam takes up the dance itself with its various steps and movements He thinks a truly good dancer should throw into her steps a sort of light and shade and by exactness of the performance perform-ance distinctly mark each variation Th grande temps should be wide bold and easy to be most effective with the ending firm and upright tho legs In the terre a terre steps there cannot be too much activity ac-tivity about the instep nor the feet bent too much downwards as the first gives brilliancy and the hitter grace In the enchainments variety and novelty should bo the constant aim with no elevated steps or long pauses to i cause coolness The entrechal is a light step during which the legs rapidly cross each other while in tho air as many as fourteen four-teen times in some cases It is better to avoid too much of an effort as it causes too much of a muscular effect to be pleasing to the I spectator Tho most elegant entrechals are done by opening at the third cut As to the styles of dancing tho serious is the hardest and most exacting as it require close study and can only be appreciated by connoisseurs This style is as good as lost through neglect The dancer suited for such l should be large and symmetrical The demi character dancer should bo of middle stature and fine form The style is a mixture of all but with tho grand efforts of the serious omitted The comic and pastoral dance should be left to the smaller and thick set performers and these should study the natural nat-ural habits of the country they wish to represent rep-resent Men must dance in a manner very different from women tho temps de vigour and bold majestic execution of the former would have t g 0 I F 4 I r I I < t DEMI CHARACTER AXD COMIC DANCERS a disagreeable effect in tho latter who must shine and delight by bright steps and graceful grace-ful motions and by a modest voluptuousness and abandon in all their attitudes NEIL EUHGESS Tho American theatre going public has been spoken of as being demonstrative bu not affectionate There are in truth not very many actors and actresses on the stage in this country who have really inspired i their audiences with that kind of personal regard that is said to bo so common in Eng land Among the few however it is safe to say that Neil Burgess is numbered The firs news that the accident by which he was so frightfully burned at his home in New Jersey Jer-sey not long ago would prove fatal probably caused many a person momentary pang at sorrow who had never seen him off the stage who only knew him with the glare of the footlights in his face Later when the doc tors said he might possibly live his many admirers ad-mirers fetched a sigh of relief which was intensified still later when the news that he was on the high road to recovery was sent out This last pleasure was tempered however how-ever by the statement that Burgess would never be able to go on the stage again that Josiah Allens Wife would henceforward be obliged to send her homely wit to cheer mankind through the lips of some other and probably less genial actor and that the Widow Bedott must in the future for a time at least be presented by a stranger Burgess was born in Boston fortythree years ago When he was still a youth he went on the variety va-riety stage and gradually dropped into female character charac-ter impersonation rapidly becoming known as one ham whose naturally virile humor was enhanced by the unique lino of work the quaint New England comedies he did so well 0 He worked hard and made a sue SElL BUH Ess cess His work was artistic not mere burlesque bur-lesque Mrs Barnaby Bibbs in A Quiet Family took so well that he had a play written which allowed him to guide his mirth in his own way It was Josiah Allens Wife D R Locke Petroleum VNasbyO then dramatized tor him his own Widow Bedott which was first produced according to The Clipper Annual at Providence R L March 28 18W and was seen in New York at Haverlys March 15 lSO He brought out Vim or Josiah Puffys Wife his former Josiah Allens Wife rechristened at the Bijou Opera house in New York March 20 18S3 By a curious arrangement a kind of treadmill in Vim he appeared to ride a horse at full speed In 18SO Neil Burgess married Miss Mary Stoddart a niece of J H Stoddart of tho Madison Square theatre |