| Show THE MODERN DANCES the one theme of conversation ol 01 the day seems to center around the tango hesitation waltz harvard ono one step and the rag the question naturally arises and I 1 have been asked many times are these aliese dances proper how strange that bogg ono one does not inquire as to whether vr or not these dances danilli are tho best flie there re is to io be gotten so far as the tango or any other dance Is concerned it Is fi neither elther good god nor bad proper nor improper as the propriety or impropriety of 0 all d dances dancea anc depends entirely upon how bow and where they are danced and by whom I 1 do not mean by this any grade ot of society but the minds and physiques phy of the dancers the vulgar person will make all dances vulgar the awkward will make them clumsy and the stout will make them grotesque while those who possess an all aesthetic mind a rhythmical soul and a light fictive active will make inake all dances proper and beautiful fill that the minds of all grades of 0 society should be focused on any one dance style or fad plainly shows a sad lack of individuality and judgment not all who try are physically or rhythmically qualified to dance all dances it if the davics could see themselves as others see them be a spectator as it were observing their own performances the majority ot ol them would be perfectly astounded to see what caricatures they illey make of themselves such labored nothings in so strange a style tho the understanding and the learned smile while dances are neither good nor bad proper nor improper yet some offer greater opportunities for rowdiness and similarity fimi larity than others from my experience as a teacher of dancing together with my observations I 1 am convinced that combination round dances or round dances danced in more than one position are i dangerous because they usually a bound in awkward cha changes ilges dances that can be danced entirely in either the waltz position the military position or with the hands joined or time prearranged pre arranged to go 90 from one position into ano another iller afford them the greatest opportunity for graceful and uninterrupted movements and the least opportunity unity for vulgar and familiar positions A ballroom dance that requires bending of the body or posing usually looks ridiculous and most dancers would show good taste as well as good judgment by avoiding them I 1 do not think the tango will ever become a universal ballroom dance because the steps are quite intricate and too numerous to be danced correctly except by experts and to simplify them as nearly all teachers are forced to do leaves nothing in the dance to be desired it is a stage and not lot a ballroom dance it is hard to find two couples who dance the tango alike or two teachers that teach it alike they do not teach tile the original tango but simplified versions vei veis lons of their own which Is the cause cause 0 the variety of so 0 called tango being danced everywhere ery where this thag Is also true ot of nearly all dances dancea before dancing will be what it should be and more than a public nuisance an educational movement must be inaugurated aber whereby eby teachers of dancing will be required aired to undergo a critical examination before being allowed to teach just as lawyers doctors school teachers and other professional people are required to do the standardizing of methods meth and dances is 18 the real point that need needia s serious attention it not municipal control I 1 L 11 I 1 christensen in deseret news |
