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' After fiye years with Belasco in
"Zaza," "Du Barry" and "The Auc
tioneer," Ruth St Denis still could
not accept this emotional, biting
scratching type of drama as an" ideal.
In a drugstore one day she saw a
cigarette poster of Isis, goddess of
the Nile, and she stood transfixed.
"This," she said, "is what I want
to be the soul of a people, a great
impersonal, spiritual ideal - not a
petty, jealous human." " ,
She worked for two years, until
out of her study there came "Rahdj
da, the Mystic Dance of the Five
Senses," which represents India's
supreme woman diety in her temple
coming tx life to teach the great les
son to mankind that in the gratifica
tion oT the senses is only despair nd
that real happiness and peace are at
tained' through the spirit
The first little picture shown with
this story was her original attempt at
costuming. It is amateurish, isn t it?
And yet can you not see in that girl
ish face the power of the idea which
kept her at this dance for 12 years?'
"Rahdha" walked Broadway for six
months after she was ready for the
public before any manager would
consent to even a tryout, for, before
the advent of Ruth St. Denis, all
America knew of the Oriental dance
was the hootchee-cootchee of the
Midway Plaisance', and it was in
great disrepute.
Finally "Rahdha" appeared at a
Sunday night concert at Proctor's, a
New York vaudeville house. The
smoke-filled atmosphere and the
noisy audience seemed to augur ill
for a dance which tried to iech the
renunciation of the senses And yet
even that light-headed group of peo
ple watched with admiration and aK
most reverence this vision of spirit
and beauty. So "Rahdha" ran for
three weeks there, during, which time
many people of an unusual class for
vaudeville crept in, watched and
went away and told others. Soon
she was invited-to give a matinee at
the Hudson theater, where all the!
important people of New York gathr
ered. At that matinee the success of
"Rahdha" was -established.
But Ruth St. Denis did not rest, ,
even though the public proclaimed
"Rahdha" the most; wonderful and
beautiful dance ever created. Con
stantly she worked at the costume,
changing and altering here and
there; at the mu'sic and the move
ments to polish them and perfect
them." Three times she had com
pletely different stage settings made
for the Glance. There was not a per
formanca but what she was trying
Just some little detaiLdifferent that
.would make "Rahdha" even more
perfect as a medium of expression
of the message she wished to give to
the people who came to see.
Now, after 1,700 performances ex
tending over ten years, twelve since
the idea was born, during which time
she has danced m London, Berlin,
Vienna, Paris and four times com
pletely across the United States and
back, she still works. When "Rah
dha" is presented before the public
again it will be even a more finished
dance, but changed in derails imper
ceptible to even one familiar, for so "
keen is the artistic judgment of Ruth
St Denis that if one hair is parted
on one side of her head rather- than
on the other, it seems she knows why
and has 4pne it so for a purpose.
In this day of mushroom dancers ,
there are many girls who -think one
season of adulation from the public
should place them in the class of
Ruth St. Denis. The Bernhardts and
St Denises' are not made in a day. It
is the accumulated years of work,
the season after season of perfect
work that builds a greafrname.
: Ruth St .Denis has -won her name
in the Hall of Fame unalterably by
the power of an idea to which she -has
been and still is consecrated the
Great Message, the greatness or sour
needed to express that message and
the absolutely perfected mdium of
technique and art environment
through which the expression comes.
m
