OCR Text |
Show CONVLN I lUNAL UANCjNvj far a YOUNG CjIkL I fftl ckLJ&S&&!2 Modern Ballrooms Pay No Atten- tyr jg, VA-jp tion to Eccentric Dances, but Stick J JBPHfefe "-V to-OEFastoohcd Waltz and Boston dr, sreat improvrment can bo made in rli- direction ly following i'loely the in-Utnictiuii in-Utnictiuii for proper afthetic carriage of lh he,ad and iory. , "At whaj. nee should a sirl be sonL to daucing school V" one mother inquired nux-lously nux-lously the other day, and the teacher suggested sug-gested that liveyonr is not too early for her to begin to lay the foundation of hr ballroom accomplishments. The earlier thr training of the muscles begins the more readily ilicy xcspond to ihe-new deninnds rande upon thnni. And the girl who learns her ballroom and fancy dancing steps when "lie is still in knee length frorks has a beitjpr chance to acquire grace. If she does uot possess it naturally, than one who wails until she has graduated into ankle lenith frocks nun-ircm hair ribbons to hairpins. jV I dDEIiX mothers are far more care- I j ful about having their daughter started on tin rlpht path to lend them to future ballroom successes than heir mother were. The mother of lonlaj I has learned from experiouce that nothing . "wltiMPHH--)- .vf :-i -f pi 'ymigsmk i H '&F & IIILE eccentric dances arc bc- H w '"" 'ulrduccd from all quarters H a of l'lc ?'o1jc l'lc conservative B V V lratncr f ballroom figures pur- H sues the even tenor of his way H and guides society rcpresentn- H tivrs in what is considered the right path, H Young girls especially are held to the con-H con-H rfntionnl steps, and even their fancy B dauceo arc of a style which mixht be H classed among the strictly conventional. H There has been practically no change in H ,tbe simpler stcis since our grandmother's H time. Now and then the waltz has ap- H pea red in a new phase sometimes jIow V find gliding and again quick and with a H hopping motion but when carefully an- H al.vzd it is the "one-tuo-three" waltz H known since dancing became a fashionable H diversion. H Perhaps if a dancing class of two or H three decades ago were placed beside a H class of to-day and each went through its H series of conventional stcp3 the difference H between the two would be found ro lie not H so much in the actual dancing movements H 'of tho two classes but in their general at- H titudc and bearing. H For the modern girl learns everything H that makes for grace and the poetry of H motion when she learns to dance, if thc is H properly instructed. She begins with les- H wna in aesthetic dancing and goes on H through the different movements until she H is pronoanccd as near perfection as nature Hl and art can make her. H Mr. George T. Dodworth has not H changed his style of teaching, except In B a few minor points, in sixty-fire years, H fo he states. The dancing school now H in his charge was founded by an uncle, and since that time society girls have; gone through almost the same sets of Htep-i, one class of buds succeeding another, an-other, and all dancing alike Mr. Oscar Duryea is another adherent adher-ent of conservative steps. "Except for .slight variations, made from season to seaton more to create a new imprest in the old steps there has been almost no change in ballroom daucing for several years," Mr. Duryea said the other day. "A season or two ago one of our favorite ronnd dunces was being interpreted in a way that made it exhausting to the dancer, and we studied how to modify it so that its character was retained while tho dance was made easier for the pupil. And I think in the lone Boston, which might be called an arrested waltz, wo have obtained something artistic and interesting. The pupils like it and young girls learn to dance It with attractive grace and ease." BEGINNING with the acthctic steps young girls nre tnucht tho underlying underly-ing principles of dancing What they learn might be called poetic calisthenics., the aim of which is to show the importance impor-tance of body balance. When a girl has mastered that art she is ready to go on with fancy steps without presenting an awkward appearance. The clats in aesthetic dancing is taught arm exercises which are performed to the accompaniment accompani-ment of music. Leg. torto and head exercises ex-ercises complete the series. One teacher explained the value of aesthetic dancing by i,ayiug that the feet do the least part of the movements if the body has perfect balance. Wnl 1 1 &" JmW Wk - fill Mi ar MCQWJaauwttuXAcAA j.Sai3ta.fci-ic Tii4iiii3Li.JaLfii3 - J The Boston Y The aesthetic dancing steps include the correct position when standing and the 1 combination of movements where tho head, arms, torso and less are made to obsono a ccrtaiu rhythm and ballroom deportment. deport-ment. Phrasing is. also n feature of the Instruction, so that when the entire course has been studied the pupils arc prepared to learn the more intricate steps Each movement is taught independently i of the other, and. then a combination i. lniadj which Is the foundation of nil fnncj Idances. The lessons may bo continued at home if 'the pupil Teires. but gills prefeV taking their aesthetic slops under the direction di-rection of the teacher and in company with other pupils. As correct breathing depends largely upon the position of the chest and shoul- 18 more important for the debutante's bo-ciiil bo-ciiil success thnn a thorough familiarity wiili dancing tep The girl who understands under-stands music and rhythm and correct phrasing can adapt new dances as they appear and for her own pleasure can vary her dancing enough to relieve it of any monotouy. As any dancer knows, no two persons take the sftincisieps In exactly the same fashion, anil partners who do the choosing are not so caserto select a girl with whom jt is difficult to kep step as one who seems to iinder-fand instinctively the little differences dif-ferences iu her partner's movements. While square dances have gone quite out of fashion for ballroom figure young girls arc taught the quadrille anil lancers to give them a better understanding ofj t' tune and accurate movement than thej earn from dancing round dances. It is infinitely more eonfuxiug to keep t,tep with several other couples and bring each figure of a square dance 10 a pencct Olim.iT thnn it is to keep time to i waltz or Boston. For this very reason tho old time bquaro dances arc introduced intro-duced iu the young girl'b dancing les.sons and even minuets arc studied for tho s.iko of tlicir graceful attitude and the case of movement required to make them effective. Among the conservative dancers the two step, which was once a grc.i; favorite, fa-vorite, has gone out of style Tr h seldom seen danced aL a fablrioiiable party, but in its place has come another phase of the waltz called the Boston. Curiously enough, the Bostonwcnt through several ehauges before .settling down into a slow and dijnjfied step which N particularly r,isclnating to the youug girl dancer and . , gP Waltz t f has caused' the loss of the two 'step to pass unmoiirned and unregretted. The Boston had its, inception in rather nn interesting fact. Young girl who went from America to Europe, and attended at-tended dances thre found that they could not dance with foreign parties on account of the difference in their steps. "While- the American girl glided gracefully grace-fully in .1 waltz her European partner hopped about in a queer fashion. Being Be-ing a European fashion and one evidently evident-ly long established, the American girl soon abandoned hope of reorg.iuiziug her partner's steps and instead proceeded to change her own. When she returned homo and resumed her dancing lessons it was discovered that she had fallen into a hopping style of waltzing which proved to bo both tiring and unattractive. THE new hop waltz, which was called the Boston, was somewhat like the pivot waltz of forty years ago, Mr Duryea said. It was extremely fatiguing to the dancer and the teacher. This dance was introduced here about five years ago and was danced everywhere until a modification was designed, which : : j. - ' ' ' ' ' Kttl AFiancy Bos too 1HH m-Wf - W dllv I is now one of the most popular ballroom numbers that we have. By eliminating the hop and substituting a long, gliding movement the Long Bostdn began to find favor and has gone on increasing alcadilj its number of converts, until now it is 1 one of the recognized dances lit classes I and clubs. Perhaps it goes under other , j names in other arts of the countiTt but 1 the dance is the same everywhere. The Boston as it is now being taught is danced to waltz music, and thp figures , turn nnd swing as in the conventional j waltz step. But instead of taking that quick step on the "two-three'1 count the foot is posed above the floor for a moment, mo-ment, then follows on to receive the weight of the dancer's body as the next ' "tcp in the figure is taken. The Long j Boston is not ditllcult to learn, bnt it requires re-quires grace and balance to accomplish it with good effect. '""I JIERE arc variations of this round I dance in which fancy steps are intro- : duccd, giving it something of the appearance ap-pearance of the favorite barn dance In some of its interpretations. Young girls find these variations interesting and a , pleasant exercise. After mastering these social figures the fashionable young girl is next given an opportunity to show whether she can sue- , cessfully interpret some of the best known , fancy dances, such as the Spanish dance. 1 the Russian national dance and others that are pleasing to see and dNplny the I grace and rhythmic movements of the 1 dancer. While a girl may dance these 1 figures little or perhaps not at all after she 1 has entered on her social career, they are 1 valuable aet8, as they help her when 1 leirning new and intricate steps, and they 1 also (each her to appreciate die highest flH art of stage dancing. j $ Dancing school costumes may or may twH not be uniform. Usually the class in nes- r9 tlietic "Jteps dress alike. Each girl wears v9 au accordion plaited skirt reaching to the V knees, loose blouse, which permits of the dw greatest freedom of movement of the k '3 arms, nnd toe dancing slippers. These "TfrJB have no heels, but support tho ankles by I sH their lacings. Such a costume is pictur- $M csque and graceful and docs not interfere jflfl with the bending, stretching and swaying 1 n9 movements which nro a part of the H dancing groundwork. JgM |