The sun. [volume], November 21, 1915, FIFTH SECTION LITHOGRAVURE SUPPLEMENT, Image 57

About The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916

Image provided by: The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundation

                
81
FIFTH SECTION
EIGHT PAGES
NEW YORK, SUNDAY,
NOVEMBER 21. 1915.
ICE
41 I 'ItSfagiM P
HARRY H. SMITH AND MISS J. ANDERSON AT ST
NICHOLAS RINK.
Fashion Has Set the Seal of Approval on the
. Difficult Art and the Fox Trotters
Are Taking to the Rinks
K ATI NO promise to be NM Vork'i intent
fad. even Co the jsilnt of being a rival to
" dancing. thl winter. It growing Popu
larity was first foreshadowed at tbe theatres.
Now tbe public generally is showing increased
interest in the pastime an greater facilities for
enjoying it are planned or provided.
K.irly as it Is in the season there has leu n
marked revival In the art of skating. Possibly
Charlee B. Dillingham when he Imported Char
lotte and tbe rest of her wonderful troupe from
ttie Admiralpalast In Berlin did more than any
body else to make a sensation of tbe new
sport, For Charlotte and her associates have
dona much to keep the HlppodrOtM so crowded
hv h s But there are others. On the roof
of the Forty-fourth Street Theatre the Shu
be rti have added to the already complete "Cas
tle jii the Air" a skating troUp which goes
through beautiful evolutions. But the audience
is nol respectfully requested to Join in as it is at
suiue nf the other resorts on ice.
The Blltmore te to have its Ice rink this year,
itud will Invite members to Join Its clul. which
Mrs, William (.'hauler is concluctlrg largely for
tb benefit of the l4fayette Fund. Then tbe
W Nicholas Blnk Is opgfl with the opportunity
for skaters to enjby themselves. In order that
risltora might login to do the fox trot on Ice
Clifton Webb and Eileen Molyneux were es
K' Lilly tuken to the St. Nicholas Blnk to
loach the skaters there how they could combine
tlic ild diversion and I lie young. Tbe Waldorf
has alio arranged to establish a skating rink
it is true that there Is this year lesa Interest
in dancing than there was. This la plain
sir i i lie uumlter of darning classes is smaller
anil those such as young women In society had
"rgaulsed for the different hotels have not the
a me number of members they had a year ago.
Bill it Is scarcely to tie thought that skating
Will take the place of dancing
I' was to learn something of tbe present
styles that a Hog reporter talked with Clare
Cassel, once a tennis champion and now a
skater.
Miss Cassel said at the St. Nicholas Rink:
' There are several styles of fancy skating
Wti&Z IL' Cff I C Z LITHOGRAVURE fSS
Uln SyXtlTT SUPPLEMENT E'
SKATING
tbe Kngllsh. the American and the t 'onlinental.
and the modern school of ballet dancing on the
Ice. The latter style of skating Is exactly the
same as the ballet dancing on the Boor, and tbe
training for it is similar to the work of the bal
let dancer. It consists of tricks, and everything
is done for effect. Pantomime Is introduced,
and the arms and legs are employed regardless
Of the rules and Ideas of strict sMirt.
"A very fine example of the European ballet
on Ice Is to be seen at the Hippodrome, Char
lotte Is probably the best of her kind. But how
many amateurs would care to skate In this
manner?
"It needs training from early childhood, and
Is only useful for professional exhibitions. It
Is the same as ballet dancing and modern danc
ing the difference, for Instance, between a
toe dancer and Mrs. Vernon Castle.
"To the sNirtsman or woman, form must
naturally mean more than tricks and acrobatics.
It Is far better to execute the simplest edge in
the correct International manner than to per
forin a so-called 'stunt,' which to the experienced
skater really means nothing.
"The best teachers and first class profes
sionals In Kurope (which is the home of the
new school i skate in strict form and do not
advocate any other than the simple Continental
school. That docs not mean that spins, pirou
ettes, Jumps and fancy figures are barred; on
the contrary, hut they must lie executed in first
class form.
"Many people do not know the difference In
the school of skating, and I have not tbe
time to explain it, but before continuing I
would like to say that the American style con
sists of grapevines, twists, and their figures are
mostly executed in a tiny apace on two feet.
These figures are entirely out of date and as
old fashioned as the barn dance. The best
American skaters have adopted the Continental
method, and Irving Brokaw has done n great
deal to belp the sport and tbe International
style.
"Tbe latter method excludes all violent, ugly,
angular or stiff action and gives the skater a
chance to express his or her personality while
NEW YORK'S NEWEST
gai g g m m
1 A I bS
i
MISS EILEEN MOLYNEAUX
THE HESITATION AT
skating almost any figure. It is not trick skat-
lng one sees on the American vaudeville stage
or done on two feet like the roller skating
AND CLIFTON WEBB DANCING
ST. NICHOLAS RINK.
style; It is pure art and very dltllcult to master
If not properly taught at the beginning. The
Correct form, as in tennis and golf, means every
MISS BETTY LA FELL SKATING AT ST. NICHOLAS RINK.
While All the Ambitious Ones Cannot Be
"Charlottes" Expert Avers There Is
Hope for the Amateur
thing; therefore I advise the best teacher
as soon as straight skating is mastered, A good
atlthorlt) on skating will he glad to recommend
the iieM. it i it l I be teacher's advice should be fal
lowed blindly no matter how discouraging the
milting may Is?, To imitate a good skater is
a very practical way to learn.
"I cannot think of a better model th in Paul
Wilson, who is the Swedish amateur champion
HUd How a visitor In this country. He has won
several European chaiuploushlps and his form in
fancy skating is absolutely perfect, He often
trims it st Nicholas Kink, and no one should
miss the opportunity of watching such a tine
example of the International style.
"A matter of the tirst importance Is the equip
nieuti ami l nut quite sure thai three-quarters
of the ('omplall)tH about weak ankles, sore heels
and pains in the shins, Ac., really come from
bud skates and wrong shoes. The tine-t is none
too good, and an expensive outfit is cheapest in
the end.
"The novice should remember Ibni hockey
hoots with low fiat hts'ls and short tops, straps
or ankle supports of tough leather should be
taboo. So should the long Hat hockey skates or
rockers. The latest Continental model is the
only one to skate correctly on; all others
useless. The question Of dress should also lie
carefully considered loose, light garments 'arc
advisable, Heavy clothes Incapacitate the
skater and are it handicap, 111 these days of
full skirts the question nf selecting a suitable
costume should be simple, Black velvet is very
pretty, lined with a bright silk.
"Everybody wants to learn tbe waltz, and I
hear mall)' ladles say they would give ten years
of their life to be able to skate correctly. Well,
that Is not at all necessary; If they would give
one hour's concentration and work a day for
two seasons such a sacrifice would not he called
for.
"They wonder how it's done, and really it is
one of the most simple and still one of the most
beautiful movements in the whole skating art.
The poetry Of motion, only It must be corns tly
taught from the beginning, and the poaltloil of
tbe body and the edges must be mastered alone.
FAD
I'fiilvruooil fnUer w
"The waltz step can be learned after the for
ward edge, the three and backward slge prac
tised Indefatlgnbly, and these must l skated
perfectly, alone, and tbe rest is child's play.
The music helps to keep the rhythm, and. as in
donclug, the bend, shoulders, auklea and unem
ployed foot should all work in unison.
"The ten st,.p, another form of waltz, is
even easier ami looks very effective, and after
a pair of Continental skaters Unve worked to
gether the figures are endless, and always in
teresting in watch, if well executed i but Jt is
w rong to ever depend on any one else for sup
port. The sis ret of the waltz and all double
dances is the strength of each Individual
skater's edges, and the four edges are the
foundation of all figure skating and shoiiUI he
practised daily and Indefatlgnbly."
There are those who attribute tbe revival In
skll I lug to the beilUty of the new skating cos
t times, Mrs, Brown, they argue, doea nol buy
II leather suit nr heavy striinsl skirl of iiphol
sterer's velvet because she wishes to skate; she
skates because she could not resist the suit, to
say nothing of the high pnJUtetl hoots or gay
worsted clip and muffler
Skating for New York, nccordiug t" this view
of the matter, has been predestined since last
August, when Russian anlta began to arrive
velvets, velours, glazed kid. bright with Oriental
embroidery and handed with fur, For two sen
sous London and Paris bail lost their heads to
i heir feet, for many sea sous the Uermau
Crown Prince mid Princess bad hired the ice
palace mi Motstrasse one till) in the week for
their exclusive use, w hile on the other six thou
sands of ros Itei'llliers Sklltetl and drank their
beer ami stayed iliciuselves with "butterbrods."
And now the fashion has travelled across the
ocean
True, tbe New York climate and topograph)
are not favorable to skating. The fickleness of
I be weather, the cnyueaa of pouds are not cou
duclve to a universal devotion to this sport. Hut
New York is never deterred by obstacle when
delightful skating costumes cmue all the way
from Kurope tbe least New York ran do U in
provide skates and skaters- -and these licccssi
late skaung places.
3