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Show Learning to Dance at Sixty Why old pcoplo as well as young should learn to dnnco is shown by a sixty year old tango export in tho Woman's Homo Companion. Ho says: "I am tolling this story for tho purposo of provltllng two things, first, that it Is not very difficult for n man or n woman of sixty who nov-er nov-er has danced to learn nil tho now Btcps In n fow weeks and to bo nblo to presont a passablo appearance on tho floor. Second, that dancing In moderation In not only not dnugor-ous dnugor-ous to tho well being of tho nverngo person of threescore but Is of renl bonont. "Whnn tho now dnnces came In a few years ngo, nnd I saw In city restaurants and othor public places old men doing tho tnngo with young women, I had but ono word of com-mont com-mont and that was 'Silly I But mark my chnngo of heart I A friend of nlno nnmod Whlto, two years oldor than niyHolf anio to our houso ono evening nhout six months ago to attend at-tend a llttlo family party. Whlto mid ho had taken up dancing nnd was ronowlng his youth. I laughed at him for a senllo old dolt who hml lost nil Idea of tho dignity that bo-longed bo-longed to his ycnni. But really I was Intorostod for ho lookod lltho nnd blltho for his ngo and his chooks wore n good fresh color while I was stiff, stupid, and mlsorably dyspep tic. "Homo prnctico Is nil very well,' said ho sagely, but tho raw beginner must bo drilled and bo drilled hard. I got most of whnt I know nt a cheap academy and then topped off with a fow lessons at a floss ono on Fifth Avcnuo, whero thoy spell dnnco with an S Instead of a C. "Wo decided to go. "Wo hnd been told that no two schools tnitght Uio same stops, but fortunately wo hnppcucd to enter tho dnnso plnco only a few dnys after af-ter a convention of lending Instructors Instruct-ors nt which It was agreed to stand-ardlzo stand-ardlzo all tho now dances. So we got along famously while wo wero there. Slnco then, howovor, thoso samo dances havo been standardized a dozon times, with tho benevolent purposo, ns It scorn's to us, of keeping keep-ing danccrB guessing, nnd going to tho schools to learn more stop nnd moro changes. "Whlto told us during our struggles: strug-gles: "Somo day all of a suddon you will turn a corner nnd find yourse'f cutting looso ns If "ii had wings, nnd tripping about ns though you wore flying. "It was qulto a while boforo that dny nrrlved but it enmo." |