Richmond times-dispatch. [volume], December 12, 1915, Image 55

About Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current

Image provided by: Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA

                
Fashionable Society Now Busy with 6 6Ice Teas99 and
((Dansants a Glace99 and Not Enough Skating
Rinks or Instructors to Meet the Demand
ICE skating, or rather dancing on
Bkates. Is the newest fashionable
amusement. There is every indica
tion that the new craze, which already
is country-wide In extent, will be taken
tup by people of all ages, and In all
walks of life, with the same <>tithuBlasm
that has converted men, women and
children into fox-trotters and tango-ex
perts during the past three or four sea
sons.
Skating on ice is considerably more
difficult for adults to learn than dancing
Dancing on the ice is a feat which only
export skaters dare to tackle. Never
theless, the difficulties of the new fad
Beem to have had little effect on Us
popularity, and the rlnkB throughout the
country are now crowded morning, noon
and night with debutantes and society
matrons who are determined to become
expert skaters and Ice-dancers In the
shortest possible time.
The dauceB which expert skaters are
able to execute on the ice Include the
old-fashioned waltz, the ten-step, another
form of waltc, the fox-trot and various
modifications of the other dances which
have become popular in recent seasons.
While these ice-dances look extremely
difficult to perform, the accomplishment
follows easily enough after the funda
mental figures of figure-skating ha\o
been acquired. A good figure-skater can
learn new figures with as much facility
as a dancer learnB new steps. The miin
thing that is necessary is to become
adept at ordinary figure-skating. Danc
ing on Ice will then follow easily r-noueh,
although, of course, it will require a good
deal of practise.
The foundation of all figure-skating is
the ability to use the four edges of the
skates?the Inside left, the outside left,
the inside ri?ht and the outside right,
and to be able to skate backward on
either of these edges Just as readily as
forward. Dally practise on these funda
mentals is essential to progress in ice
dancing.
The fact that the new amusement has
already taken a firm hold is evidenced
In many ways Four of New York's
most fashionable hotels have already
planned ice rinks ;"or the use of their
patrons. The Hill more is the first to
open Its rink to the public. The Wal
dorf is 6aid to be investing in the
neighborhood of a million dollars in
rink on the roof of its new annex. The
Hotel Astor and the McAlpin are now
arranging similar facilities. Some of the
rostaurantB and cabarets which have
hitherto made their dancing-floors their
principal attraction are preparing to sub
stitute ice for hard-wood so that those
who havt danced may hereafter skate
instead.
Most significant of all. perhap-. is the
thorough manner in which New York,
Boston and Chicago society has taken
the lead in adopting the new fad. In
New York, a club was formed several
weeks ago by enthusiasts and its mem
bership includes most of the debutantes
of the season, the girls who are to come
out next year and some young married
people. Among subscribers to the club
are Mrs. John .lacob A&tor, Mr. and Mrs.
Cornelius Vanderbilt, Mr. and Mrs. Ed
win Gould. Mr. and Mrs. Irving I3rokaw
and a host of others whose names are
Terv well known In the most exclusive
social circles.
ThiB club has engased the St. Nicholas
Skating Rink for .Monday afternoons for
the entire season, which lasts until the
end of April. Professional skaters and
Instructors have been engaeed to In
struct the members in the intricacies of
Ice-dancing.
In Boston, expert Bkaters have been
engaged by the Boston Skating Club, an
exclusive organization, to teach society
the new fad. Mr. and Mrs. A. Windsor
Wills. Miss Eleanora Soars and Miss
Edith Rotch are. perhaps, the most promi
nent of Back Bay fashionables who are
leading the movement In New England.
In Chicago, the Sherman House some
time ago anticipated the present craze
and installed a skating-rink In the Col
lege Inn, In the basement, in place of the
dancing floor. Tt was foreseen that danc
ing was losing its hold and that ic.e-skat
inz was Koing to take its place. The
change has met with great success.
That the general public Is goine: to
follow society's lead and make skating
the principal diversion this Winter Is in
dicated plainly bv the unusually large
number of people who have already
taken up the snort at the rinks.
At St. Nicholas Rink, for Instance, rec
cord crowds have Ifeen in attendance at
every session since the opening of the
season on November 1. Thir. rink ac
commodates S00 people on the Ice at a
time and there are three sessions a day.
Men and women of all aees arc clamor
ing for instruction or for a chance to
practise and perfect themselves in the
new skating dances
The same situation ,prevails at the
other rinks throughout the country.
There are two large rinks on the Const,
one at Seattle and the other at Portland.
Both are dolnn a record business, and
similar enthusiasm is evident in Detroit.
Cleveland. Pittsburgh, and Chicago. *
The new amusement will not score its
greatest triumph, perhaps, until freez
ing weather arrives, when the limited
capacity of the indoor rinks will be
augments^ by the unlimited facilities
of the park lakes, BtreamH
and out-door rinks. Then.
of courBe, there will be
sufficient outlet for all the
pent-up enthusiasm which the
craze 1b hound to arouse in
the meantime.
Evidently that is what the
manufacturers of sporting
goods und apparel are relying
upon mainly, for although the
indoor skating season is now
a month or two old, the large
skate factories are still run
ning on a twenty-four hour
schedule in three shifts in an
effort to cope with the tre
mendous demand for skates
which they are confident will
materialize within the next
two or three months.
Up-to-date skating has brougnt with it
Its own special styles of wearing ap
parel. All the costume makers and
manufacturers of wearing apparel have
vied with each other in getting out at
tractive skating designs and the big re
tail stores have given considerable spate
in their advertising to the beautiful
creations which have been made avail
able for followers of the new c^aze. Thi<*
factor, in itself, it is believed, will insure
the popularity of ire-dancing. Indeed, it
has been suggested that women may be
tempted to take up skating in order to
wear the new garments rather than to
purchase the new garments for the sake
of skating.
in liiiQ with this phase of the situation,
a series of weekl> fashion shows de
voted to garments specially designed for
skating has been arranged at the St.
Nicholas Rink. Already several of the
well known women'* specialty houses
have exhibited their models at these dis
plays. and the remarkably effective cos
tumes which skating has developed are
certainly not calculated to deter women
irom lulling into hue.
The social opportunities wiiich the
new craze affords are considerable. Al
ready two elaborate Ice-Teas or "dan
sauts a glace" have been given by Mr.
and Mrs. Irving Brokaw, in which the
skating stage of the Hippodrome was
engaged.
On these occasions, the guests of the
Brokaws to the number of about 100
participated in the general ice-dancing
and were then entertained by Mr.
Brokaw. probably the most accomplished
amateur figure-skater In the world.
Lawrence Waterbury, of polo fame, and
Raymond Townsend, of New Haven, who
gave a special exhibition of fancy-skating,
their partners being the famous Hippo
drome professionals Charlotte, Katy
Schmidt and Lllen Dallerup. A largo
contingent of Boston society folk were
present, bringing with them Mr .and
Mrs. Muller. the Herman professional
skaters, who have been engaged by the
Boston Skating Club to teach Back Bay
folk the new accomplishment. The New
York guests included Mrs. O.
H. P. Belmont. Mr. and Mrs.
Oliver Harrinian. Mr. and
Mrs. Klbert H. (Jary. Mr. and
Mrs. Arthur Scot; Burden.
Mr. and Mrs. \V. K. Vander
bilt, Mrs. r.argcr-Wallach,
. . ?
w .iufi ?%%!..?? l nn^rxrooo.
Miss Leila Burden
Mr. Irving Broka
K'l I'nilorwocri A Ciulcriimal
Mrs. Cass Ledyard and Mr. J. H. Alexander
Mr. Foxhall P. Keene, and a host of
others equally prominent in social circles.
.lust how tho now era'/'1 startrd :io
one is able (l?'iinitely to explain. Per
haps the largest single factor it> arous
ing interest in skating, however, has
heen the wonderful exhibition given by
Charlotte and her associates at the
Hippodrome. The Ballet on Ice was
brought from the Admiralpalast, at lb-r
liu, by Mr. Dillingham and has been uni
versally admired. The Shuberts have
helped to foster Interest in the new
diversion by converting the "Castles in
the Air" cabaret, on top of the Forty
fourth Street Theatre, into an Ire Palace,
where every evening a skating troupe dis
plays its skill on real ice.
Particularly significant is tho fact that
some of the most accomplished of the
professional dangers who have hitherto
been featured at the Hroadwuj cabarets,
sensing the drift of things, have taken
up dancing on ice and are not only giv
ing exhibitions but instruction.
Kiloen Molyneux and Clifton Webb, of
the Town Topics Company, for instance,
who made such a hit as professional
dancers, have shown equal skill at fox
trotting on skates in the rinks. Norvel
Hnprie and Isabel Mutler, at the Castles
in the Air. have similarly forsaken the
old-style hardwood dancing for the more
graceful and more diflii-uit feat of ice
dancing.
Preparations to accommodate tho thou
sands of skate-mad enthusiasts who will
bo clamoring for a chunco to display
their skill, or lack of it. as soon as the
first freezing weather sets in. have been
Kathleen Pope and George Kerner
made at the various public tennis courts
in different parts of Now York City anri
the vicinity. A two-foot embankment
has been erected all around these courts
and as soon as the temperature drops
sufticiently to justify a hope of freezing
weather, these grounds will be Hooded.
The problem of providing sufficient in
door rinlis to accommodate the enthus
iasts when the weather is not sufti^ciently
cold to freeze the lakes and out-door
rinks is not a very difficult one. The
ease with which the Hotel Hiltmore in
stalled its rink, using the regular refrig
erating plant for the purpose, will point
the way for other institutions. It is not
unlikely, too. that the imitation Ice u:a*d
by certain vaudeville performers for their
skating stunts and which consists of a
certain composition which is laid down
in blocks, may bo utilized by roller
skating rink proprietors to convert their
houses into ice-rinks. This imitation ice
is said to he almost as good as real ice
for figure-skating and dancing purposes,
although it retarfis speed to some extent.
"Don't, worry about lack of facilities
? or ice-skat inf.." declared Mr. lirokaw,
when thi.4 i h??:o uf liie present craze
was suggested to him.
"The sport has aroused such a trem
endous storm of enthusiasm 1'iat it is
not unlikely that too .many rinks will
spring up over night. Kver.vbody seems
suddenly to have gone ice-mad.
"For years I have tried to arouse en
thusiasm In this most graceful of sports
and now that the boom has ei me I'm al
most afraid the thing may be overdone.
There tore so many people who ,iro tak
ing up skating now who will never
really amount to anything.. They are
going at It in the wrong way.
"You see them at the rinks going
around and around like so many mice on
a tread-mill Instead of endeavoring to
(C) I'mlerwood
*x ru'lcnvocl.
v
Miss
Katherine
Dahlgren and Mr.
R. 5. Emmet.
I*.') I inloi'Wixiil ?& Uiulrrwood.
u
Mrs. Alice Roosevelt Longworth At
Robert Goelet's Skating Party
perfect themselves in the only feature of
ice-skating that is really worth while?
figure-skating.
"Of course. I realize that we must learn
to crawl before we can walk, but when
! ?.(?)> skaters who haVe been able to
i-kate for years and are stil! content to
roll around in tii<- ceaseless grind of
rink-skating instead o! trying fo accom
plish something in the way of llgure
skarin;, it makes ni ? a little discouraged.
"Plain ska.ing is a very important
preliminary !?> figure-skating. Unless
ih'> f'iii'ii! ? i:t *t- of good skating are ac
quired r-lit. i rom the start, graceful
li.: r ? .1 fo ever out of The nues
lien, it Is almost impossible to correct
the bad habits which faulty skating
brings ?. i ;i it. So many skaters never
get no ond the preliminaries. That is
unfortunate. Perhaps the renewed in
teres!, in this most graceful and health
ml of all sports may bring about a gen
eral improvement in this respect."
Mr. Hrokaw lias made skating his
hob'); lor years. He is the author of
t'.ie only ?luthoriiatlvc work on tlie art
of skating, and he has always been
active in every movement to further the
inteiest of the sport. He is an active
member of the new society skating club
at the St. Nicholas Rink, and he gives
frequent amateur exhibitions.
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