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VOL. 18. NO. 21 *4 A O ^^M^,^^mMMm invented dancing?" IA ML asked an enthusiastic ^M^m young society bud ve cently. "Why-er. I don't the French, didn't they?" replied her part ner. "Certainly not! Dancing is mentioned In the Bible long before France was ever thought of." "Oh, of course, I know that but I sup posed you meant the waltz and all that sort of thing." "Well, yes but did the French invent the waltz?" "Now, come to think of it, it is of Ger man origin, isn't it? Didn't the French take it from, them during the revolu- tion?" "I must confess I don't know "but my curiosity is piqued and I'm going to looki it up." Dancing was not invented. It is an evo-. lution. The love of dancing is inherent in human nature. "From the first forma tion of societies," says Rousseau, "song and dance, true children of love and leis-v ure, became the amusement, or rather thef occupation, of idle assemblies of men and women." It is allied to poetry and music The quickening of the muscles, the Invol untary tapping of the feet and the. sklp ping aftout "or clapping of Wands' by cnfl dren under the inspiration of a lovely strain, are but simple manifestations of an instinctive desire on the part of the physical being to respond to the stimula tion of the mental. While the rude caper ings of the savages are in a measure a cruder form of the same impulse, the rhythmic postures which reflect the sweet and caressing sensations of the art as we know it are part of the inheritance of civilization. Dancing in Enrly Ages. A beautifuuly illustrated book, entitled "A History of Dancing," is published by D. Appleton & Co. It is from the French Of Gaston Vullier, with a sketch of danc ing in England by Joseph Grego. Accord ing to the author, a flower of the night, dancing is said to have germinated under the skies of the Pharaohs. Tradition speaks of the rounds, symbolic of sidereal motion, circling beneath the stars on the august soil of Egypt. It manifests itself first in sacred sciences, severe and hier atic yet even then it babbled brolterily of .1oy and grief in the procession of the Apis. Later on in the course of the ages it became ineterwoven with all the manifes tations of popular strife, reflecting the passions of man and translating the most Becret movements of the soul into physical action. From the solemnity of religious rites, from the fury of warfare is passed to the gayety of pastoral sports and the dignity and grace of polished society. It took on the splendor of social festivities, the caressing languor of love and even dolefully followed the funeral train. Greeks Tench Romans. The Romans, who imitated the Greeks in all their arts, borrowed their dances just as they adored their gods, although the Romans were primitive when the Greeks were in their splendor. But the arts of Greece soon degenerated after rtheir migration to Rome. The Virginal dances of Greece, the feasts of sacred -mysteries, the flowers and balmy sunshine of returning spring became unrecogniza ble, serving as pretexts for ewery kind of license. .'Theatrical dancing, however, attained extraordinary perfection among the Ro mans, and pantomine, an art unknown to the Greeks, had its birth among their Rivals. After centuries of folly, which "brought About the downfall of the great races, the art of dancing disappeared. It re appeared, however, during the early years of the Christian era, more jn the form of a religious rite, although these in turn degenerated and served as pretexts for Impure spectacles. After the darkness of the Middle Aes It was Italy, under the impulse of the Medici, that awoke to a knowledge of the literature and the arts and sciences of anclest 'Greece and Rome and with it the art of .dancing. The sixteenth and seven teenth centuries saw it flourishing, at every point. Under the patronage of Louis XIII. of Richelieu and of Henry IV. it took on a peculiarly French char acter. It had followed the great Cath erine de Medici to France and formed a feature of all the festivities she organ-" ized with so much splendor. But the stateliness that had marked it amonar the cloaks amd heavy swords of the knights amd the long robes of the ladies gave way to a liveliness, an animation and a cer tain voluptuous character under Italian influences. This influence not only added splendor to court functions, but spread a taste for dancing throughout France. The queen moreover organized allegorical bal lets, thus laying the foundations of spera. Great Impulse to Act. We come now to that great century where all the arts burst forth with daz zling blossoms, when everything seemed to flash and quiver under a novel im pulse. Hitherto the theater had minis tered only to the amusement of the court, tt jiow opened its doors to the populace ana the populace entered with delight. Women made their first appearance on the stage. Louis XIV. founded tho Acad emy of Dancing, and, anx:ious to give a new prestige to the art, he himself took part, in the court "ballets. Novette, the famous ballet master, made an-attempt to perpetuate the most suc- ..4-^.. v mionc nf writiner. r~ although he failed to arouse much in teres* in the 'subject. The Egyptians, i is said, had already made the use of hiero glyphics to indicate dances. Under Louis XIV. the dancer Beauchamp gave a new form of notation, of which he was de clared the inventor by a parliamentary uecree. In a treatise on the art of dancing, pub lished in Paris about 1713 by Feuillet and Desaix,* there, are some fifty plates in which dancing is represented by means of engraved characters. They looli like forms of incantation, or the mysterious pages of a book of magic. Lines perpen dicular, horizontal, oblique, complicated curves, odd combinations of strokes some what akin to Arabic characters, musical notes, sprinkled apparently haphazard over the page, represented the movements of the dancing feet with the most logical precision. The dances of the eighteenth century had a charm all their own. With theii supple and rhythmic grace they surround ed man, and in a still greater degree woman, with an atmosphere of beauty. An constellation of dancers, male and fe male, gave a dainty grace hitherto mn Known to the art. DanchiK Iw Bled. But there was a fearful morrow to thost ays of supreme elegance and careless geyety, which, as we look "back upor them through the transparent gauze of a century, seem to shimmer with a thou sand tantalizing and delicate tintsday* like some sweet vision. In which coquet tish marquises, powdered and jasmtne scerited. smiled -unceasingly as the rosy pastels, nequeathed to. us by the masten of their times. The roar of the revolntlOT ^brolts in upon the dream kings, womer and pcets were dragged in tumbrllls tc the scaffold, while cannon thundered or the frontier. And yet dancing went on. but now was it was the sinister dancing of the red capped Carmagnole to the refrain of th Oa-ira. Men and women danced around the scaffold, their feet stained in blood strange frenzy seemed to have taken pos Cession of the nation. Perhaps obllvioi f/iis sought in movement, a diversion front .misery, norror ana aiarms. Twerrcy-tnfe* theaters and eighteen hundred public halls were open every evening immediately af ter the Terror. Women attended them clad in garments -of ancient Greece, with sandaled feet and bared breasts and arms I'eupsichore an A rt Reignii. The empire was hardly favorable to the development of the art. But soldiers ^daaieed-onithe^eve ofr battle,-eager to for get the dangers of the morrow, and a cer tain number of official balls took place during the consulate of Bonaparte and the rein of Napoleon. After a feverish In terval, while Napoleon's star was fading on the horizon of the world, two planets rose in the Armament of operaTaglioni and Fanny Elssler. Other stars succeeded them, but never eclipsed their radiance. The Tuileries were far from gay under Louis XVIII. and Charles X., but after some -preliminary dancing on M. de Salvandy's famous volcano, the pastime made its appearance again in the king's household in 1830. A veritable revolution took place in" dancing at this period. The middle classes developed a passion for balls, which had hitherto been confined almost exclusively to the aristocracy, save for the rustic festivals of country districts. Unable however, to enjoy the amusement in their own small rooms, dancers soon flocked to public saloons and waltzed at Rane leigh, at Beaujou, at Sceaux and at Tivoli. These balls, which became famous for their splendor and the distinction of tne society rrequentlng Tnem, were mu tated on a humbler scale by the students and the demi monde, who danced the can can and the chahut at the Chaumiere, the Prado, Mabille and the Closerie des Lilis. Terpsichorean Art Helens. Waltzing and galoping- were practiced, with furious energy. Pritchard, tall, lean, dark and taciturn Crecard, of ruddy countenance Brididi, the graceful Mazador, (Clara Fontaine, Regalbache, and above all, Pomari, became the kings and queens of Paris. Another overwhelming revolution took nlace in 1844 with the introduction of the Polka, which invaded saloons, drawing rooms, shops and even the streets. The waltz and galop were forsaken, and the Dolka mania set in. Cellarius and La barde fostered the public enthusiasm. And all Paris laughed, gleefully when Levassor and Grassat danced tins Dolka at the Palais royal. Presently 'MarkowsKi ar rived on the scene, glorified by a halo of traditions. He brought the mazurka. He treated the schottische. the sicilienne, the auadrille of the hundred guards, and the Folly of Dance shook her. bells un ceasingly from dark to dawn. Dancing still flourished under the Sec ond Empire. The court balls were mag nificent functions, but the public balls were deserted one by one and gradually disappeared. The old Closerie des Lilas is transformed into Bullier. but Mahelle no longer exists. We have the Moulin Rouge still, but it has little of the frank gaiety of the original public balL' Th waltz and the cotillion still reign in our ball-rooms, but modern Greece. more faithful than ourselves to its traditions, retains the candiata eraven on the shield of Achilles, and traces of those Pyrrhic dances that led the Spartans to victory. Such, in a general way, is the sistory of dancing as It has eome down through the aees. Of its various forms, the ballet has ever been popular. It is a singular fact that the modern theatrical dancing' made its first appearanee under Sixtus IV. in the castle of St. Angelo, where, towards the end of the fifteenth century. Cardinal Riario, nephew of the holy pontiff, com posed ballets and had them performed at about the same time, though sacred dances had been long forbidden by the ohurch.^ Cardinal Ximenes reinstated the mass of Mozarabes, the author of which- was a bishop of Seville in the cathedral of Toledo. It was celebrated with dances in the nave itself. It was under Leo X., however, that ballets came into~ popular favor, car dinals net unfrequently had them pro duced, and even Protestants shared the common passion for an amusement so little In accord with their austere ideal. Brantome tells how Queen Elizabeth re SrAtf3 4J avarxA xaAmp at -Pyaw^g and ST. PAUL AND MINNEAPOLIS. MUSK. SATDRDAT.MAY 24, 1902 the Connetable de Montmorency .at a supper, followed bjy a ballet danced bv the ladies- of the court. Its subject was the gospel story of the wise and foolish virgins. The former carried their lamps burning* while the lamps of the others had gone out. The lamps of all alike were massive silver, marvelously chased. The court of Firancis I. was much given to dancing, In which art the graceful Marguerite de V&lois achieved unheard-of success. It is told how Don John of Austria rode post from Brussels and came secretly to Paris expressly to see tun- diinatL suirt went a.wav dazzled. Oath-* erlne de Medici entertained the French court with balletf, the political refine ment of which contrasted curiously with the more than doubtful morality of the gaieties that aecpmpanied them. Her maids of honor, scantily draped and with loosened hair, offered food upon dishes of silver, after the antique festal manner. Henry in as Ballet Girl. Music and dancing formed part of these festivities at which Henry III. often ap peared in female dress, while the women donned niasculine ^ttire. Henry III. was not the only king who i had a taste for masquerading. According to 'Wonaetrlialt- "nriruus talta nlaaure in donning some ridiculous disguises at times, as is the custom at the German i Wirthschafts." This custom is derived, n'o doubt, from the ancient Saturnalia, in which the slaves figured as their masters and the "masters as slaves. Greatness becomes a burden to the great in their diversions, and to make/these freer and more amusing they are glad to lay aside their rank for a few hours and to mix on terms of equality with those they are accustomed to see at their feet in all the circumstances of life. I Old Antiochus, king of Syria, was brand ed a fool and a madman because he mingled with the lowest people in their amusements, sullying the splendor and profusion of his festivals by base conduct and actions unworthy of his birth and rank, dancing with buffoons and actors, arranging his banquets himself, removing the dishes and Introducing the various course*. Once. In the midst of one of the most magnmcent entertainments ever given, ne had himself carried into the assembly rolled in sheets, emerging from which he lanced an entree, figuring a sleepy man vvith such extravagance that all sensible persons present, ^withdrew, unwilling to witness such degradation. Plancus cut a figure no less undignified when, represent ing the sea god Glaucus, he donned a fish's tall and danced upon his knees. These warnings of antiquity notwith standing, Catherine diverted the attention of her sons irom affairs of state by a whirl of midnight gayeties, cunningly de signed to mask her own dark schemes. In the midst of these festivities the crime of St. Bartholomew was hatching, mur der was plotted to the sounds of music,' the victims were marked out among the I dancers, and the executioners were chosen and prepared. Nevertheless she did much for the improvement of theatrical music, introducing Italian musicians and sup porting her ballets by the most effective! During Lord Fife's connection'with tn: Kings theater in London, the ballet, be came of first importance at that capital, and the prince and highest personages ex hibited a strong personal interest in its success. It is related that when Ebers went over to Paris in 1821 to strengthen the ballet company at the King's theater the negotiations for the engagement of operatic stars were made through the British ambassador, who held conferences for this purpose with the Baron de If Ferte, intendent oi the Theater Royal in Paris. Some Brilliant Stars. The palmy days of the ballet in Eng land are reckoned to have extended to the first half of the century just gone. Between the twenties and the fifties there was a royal revenue spent in the main tenance of this thea fashionable attrac tion, and there was a host of^talent en gaged. Carlotta Grisi and Mile. Taglioni, familiar names in the annals.of the bal let, turned the heads of an entire genera tion, and Fanny Elssler, who" at Her Majesty's theatre was famous in "La Sylphide." Mile. Cerito performed the same year in a popular ballet, "Le Lac des Fees," invented by A. Guerra. Miss P. Horton was a bewitching, sylp-like person as Ariel, who became famous to later generations as Mrs. German Reed. It was about 1850 that the ballet received a new impetus. "Genius," said Sir Augustus Harris, "was alone required to revive the glories of the ballet, and the revelation of that gift in the dancing of Miss Kate Vaughn has made the nearest approach to elevating the standard of the modern art in our own day." This graceful artiste may be said to have in augurated the reign of the all-popular skirt dance, in which the voluminous gossamer draperies play a part quite as important as the actual steps. She has been succeeded by a host of clever disciples and imitators, among whom may be mentioned Sylvia Gray, Letty* Lind, Alice Lethbridge, Miss St. Cyr, Mabel Love, Topsey Linden, and better known on the American stage, Loie Ful er and Cissy Loftus. Great reputationsto say nothing of profitshave been achieved by those who aspired to lead the popular amusements, especially when the nature of the enter- talnments were oi a nvery or iriSKy or der. The name of Mme. Comely, the contriver of those dancing "Festinos," which gained an equivocal celebrity in the-eighteenth century, is an instance of the notoriety which was easily made in the walk of trading on the love of pleas ure. It was known that she was connec ted with the opera and that she had com menced a career which subsequently made a considerable noise in the fashion able world as a singer under the name of "The Pomperati," Her taste and cur vention in pleasures and decorations be came proverbial. Carlisle House in Soho square fell into her hands and was short ly transformed into a veritable bower of bliss. The place was promptly enlarged, subscription balls and assemblies were es tabished those rationally sober-minded relaxations usually associated with simi lar entertainments were surpassed by the leiigths to which amusements were carried under madame's giddy auspices. She went on building, and made her house a fairy palace, where balls and masquerades the most dazzling were the order of the nightmasquerades which drew the gilded youth and a large pro portion of the elders, too. At first the world was scandalized, but both right eous and ungodly were drawn to Carlisle House. Queens of society and stage queens alike found a congenial theatre for their graces.^ while the blooming younger generation and the reigning' beauties whose fascinations were the topic of the times, were seen to the best advantage. Garriok and Sir Joshua Rey nolds, Oliver Goldsmith and Dr. Johnson's protege, Boswell, with men of taste and fashion, were frequently seen at Mme. Cronely's'at Raneleigh and at VauxhaU gardens. Famous Dancing Hall. Of the palatial structures reared for the accomodation of the dancing world, the Pantheon in Oxford street bore off the palm. It was erectea am, aunng mc fashionable craze for balls and masquer ades, and was acknowledged to surpass anything of its kind. Its opening was fixed for Jan. 22, 1772, and was marked by an incident which survives in story and has been frequently treated pictorial ly. The high-toned exclusiVeness charac teristic of Almack's was the aim of the managers. All ladies of light reputation were to be excluded, and to a committee of lady patronesses of the highest rank in society was confided the exercise of these invidious responsibilities. The rumors of the proposed exclusive ness gave great offense, when many fair celebrities of the fashionable and theatric al world were notorious for tender flirta tations, and their connections with gal lantsjn the ranks of the nobility and gen try, whose admiration for the arts ex tended to the artistes. Not only were the all-fascinating demi-mondaines, the Kitty Fishers,_Nelly O'Briens, Polly Kennedys, Nancy i-arsons and recruits of the frail sisterhood to be excluded, but it was noised abroad that these irresistible ac tresses, whose fame on the stage was out rivaled by the publicity of their amours, were to be debarred from the magic halls. It was known that two famous daughters of Thalia had secured tickets from their admirers, and despite prudish overseers intended to present themselvespretty Sophia Baddeley, then under a singing engagement at Raneleigh, and the win some Miss Abington, the accepted queen of comedy. The gilded youth haa vowed that, whoever was excluded from the Pan theon, their favorite, Sophia Baddeley, should gain admittance on-that memora ble opening night. Twenty gentlemen met at Almack's and bound themselves to es cort her and stand by her chair. When she arrived and was set down at the. por tico (which escaped the destructive fire of 1792 and is still standing in Oxford street), the escort had swelled to fifty gentlemen of the first rank. As Mrs. Bad deley attempted to enter the possee of constables provided for the emergency crossed their staves, barring the passage and civilly, but resolutely, explained that their orders were to exclude stage play ers. Instructions had been given to con vey the, prohibition in the least offensive manner, although had Mrs. Baddeley's profession been unexceptionable, her equivocal reputation would have been a' fatal stumbling block. An Archway of Swords. The gallant escort of champion knights unsheathed their glittering weapons, and -t. the sword's point sharply drove back the constaoies. Tnen mamng an arcn with their chivalrous blades, formed an avenue adown which Mrs. Baddeley passed proudly into the presence of all the high personages, to the fear and con sternation of the obstruction managers, who found their stronghold carried by a coup de main and the enemy in possession before they were aware of defeat. But the difficulty did not end here. The outraged "gentlemen" refused to sheath their swords or to allow the music to pro ceed until the managers came forward and humbly apologized to Mrs. Baddeley and her escort. When the managers had done this the duchess of Argyle and duchess of Ancaster stepped forward and expressed the pleasure it gave them to receive such an ornament to their assem bly as Mrs. Baddeley. A messenger was in readiness to inform Mrs. Abington, more timorously awaiting the denouement of this adventure, and discreetly attending without in readiness to receive the signal that Mrs, Baddeley's charge at the head of her guards had been successful. She now made her entree, and from that eventful night the difficult feat of at tempting to draw the line between "nlc gradations of frailty was practically re linquished as regarded the managemenl of the Pantheon. An advertisement by way of warning the discomfited purists appeared In th papers that "as it was not convenient foi ladies always to carry their certificates oi their marriages about them, the subscrib ers were resolved, in opposition to th managers, to protect the .ladies to whom they gave their-tickets." Even the stern moralist, Dr. Johnson, was, with his friends of the Literary club, found at tending the Pantheon. Without detracting in the least from Ranelagh or Vauchan gardens, both fa mous for the brilliant entertainment! conducted there, It is necessary to pasa on to Almack's the seventh heaven ol the fashionable world of a century ago. It presented a contrast to most assem blies from the exclusiveness of its man agement. Of all the charmed circles Al mack's continued the most difficult of ac cess and domi-mondaines were rigorously excluded throughout its career. The touchstone of high-bred fashion, it kept its traditions unsullied, while peo nlft w*rp readv to intrleue. even to fight .40 PER YEAR. for admission, the privilege of "penetration .within it, the once fabled portals being jealously guarded by an array of lady patronesses, imperium in imperio, for the entree to Almack's was considered a pass port to the highest society in the metropo lis. It was useless to contend against the fates, and although the husbands of these despotic patronesses were challenged by disappointed applicants, who resented their exclusion as a personal insult, the rigorously exclusive legislature remained unmoved. It is related that a captain in the guards to whom Lady Jersey had de clined sending a ticket, sent a challenge to Lord Jersey, requesting that he would name his second, etc. Lord Jersey re r'iecr in a very dignified manner, saying "if all persons who did not receive tick ets from his wife were to call him to account for want of courtesy on her part he should have to "make up his mind to become a target for young offi cers, and he therefore declined the honor of the proposed meeting." Origin of the Waltz. The origin of some of the more popu lar forms of dancing are not always easy to trace. The waltz itself, despite the claims of various countries for the honor of its birth, is more or less shroud ed in obscurity, although in the form of the popular dance of the present day it is little more than a hundred years old. Prof. Desrat says of the waltz: "Incorrectly called the valse a deux temps (two beats), instead of a deux pas (two steps), it is of Russian origin. It should be called the two-step waltz, be pause it consists of two steps danced to a bar of three beats the time proper to all waltzes." Continuing, Desrat says* "I can speak with authority of the intro duction of the valse a deux oas into France, for it was first taught by my father under the following circum stances: In 18S9 the Baron de Menken, an attache at the Russian legation, waa taking dancing lessons from my father. One evening the baron was going to a. grand ball given by the Comte de Male, then foreign minister, and expected to dance with some charming Russian la dies. He accordingly asked the teacher to practice the steps with him. Great was my father's wrath at hearing him talk of a waltz with two steps, for this seemed to him a manifest contradiction of the three beats of the accepted waltz measure. But he was soon appeased when he saw that his pupil made, his chasse by taking the first step to the first two beats and the second step to tho third beat. My father at once understood that the chasse was composed of one long slow step and one short quick one. Mas ter and pupil waltzed together amicably arid M. de Menken's success was so com piete that from that night the aristoc racy In a body forsook the valse a trois? tc-mpp for that' a deaux pas." Though in high request from the court to the cabaret in every capital, of Europe, there was a prudish opposition to the In troduction of the waltz into England. At' Almack's the "mazy waltz" was imported- there under the highest auspices, but it was reserved for an imperial guest to con vince select society that the waltz was fit for decent company, although its oppo lents persisted in assertions to the con rary. The bolder spirits, at Almack's fol .ollowed in the steps of the magnificent mtocrat of all the Russias, the wives of the foreign ambassadors at the Court of St. James being the most accomplished of the then exponents. The Countess de Lieven and Princess Esterhazy were rec ognized as the foremost waltzers of the day, and true to the traditions of foreign policy, Lord Palmertson was no less ex pert. There was a running fire kept up by satirists and aggressive moralists against the "insidious waltz," and the suggestive caricatures launched against "this imp of Germany, brought up in France," as its detractors averred, pictured the senti ment of the ultra-purist section of the community, who had persuaded them selves that the introduction of the waltz into England was a conclusive step on the national downward path. In spite of de traction, the waltz has surely become the dance par excellence. Performed with due grace and inspired by the emotions drawn from thosejfceautiful melodies of .vr.:',-:i tne waltz enjoys tne nv-tmwicr.c monopoly, this dance is likely to retain the foremost place. The lancers and quadrilles, besides other "square sets," all have interesting his tories, as well as rich jigs, Caledonian reels and various pfeasant national' dances. Among the latter, however, the Catalan ball and the Neapolitan dances are, perhaps, the most Interesting for both parties. The man is required to be some what muscular, as during the perform nce it is necessary for him to swing his fair partner high in the air or to let her ride seated on his hand held level with hia shoulder. The couples change partners many times, first the cavalier and then the lady, the latter, after her trip in the air, saluting her partner with a kiss. Spontaneous Applause. A political orator addressed in English a club of Italian voters. To his sur prise and satisfaction, his listeners paid strict attention and applauded at the proper places, shouting "Viva!" anfl "Bravo!" repeatedly. At the conclusion of his speech, says the New York Times, the orator took his seat beside the chair man. He whispered that he was delighted!' with his reception, and had never spoken1 to a more intelligent audience. "Ha-ah!" replied the chairman. "Me- fix all-a dat. Me hoi' up one-a finga. evera man saya 'Hurroh!' Me hoi' up two-a finga, evra man say-a 'Viva!' Me hoi' 'up _t'ree-a finga, evera man saya- 'Bravo!' Me hoi' up whole-a hand, evera man say-a 'Hi-yi!' like one great yell. Me fix all-a dat."