The Washington times. [volume], June 20, 1920, FINAL EDITION, The American Weekly, Page 5, Image 29

About The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939

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99
]ance
\ ^
Outlawed as a Dance but Highly Valuable as
a Personal Boudoir Exercise to Beautify
Shoulders
and
Necks,
1 ?Th? First Movement of the "Up and
Down Shake."
I
By V. Persia Dewey
of thm American National Association of
Dancing Maatmrt.
T so veiy long ago that peculiar
wriggling. Jiggling dance called the
"shimmy" attained a feierlsb popu
larity. Very soon, however, the public in
general began to regard the "shimmy" with
disfavor. Pulpits used It as a text to prove
the present demoralization of manners.
Recently the American National Assoria- _
tlon of Dancing Masters outlawed It, even
going so far as to direr leir members to
expel all "shimmy" ,\i. ?rs from their
balls. f
As a public dauoe, the "shimmy" was
undoubtedly vulgar. There is something
good, nevertheless, In everything. Transfer
the motions of the "shimmy" from the
dance hall to the privacy of the boudoir,
and, presto! Instead of the nefarious shakes
there results an exercise entirely whole
some and beneficial.
The following exercises are merely the
fundamental movemen<s of the outlawed
"shimmy," made legitimate by using them
as boudoir exercises to beautify the neck
and shoulders. At first?unless you have
been a "shimmy" devotee?you will be
surprised to discover inat your shoulders
refuse to move gracefully like those of the
young women behind the footlights. In
stead of grace and smoothness you will
have only awkard jerks wh'cih will prove
to you how stiff and wonk from lack of ex
ercise your muscle* have become
Rut do not despair. They can be
strengthened ard developed by persistence
with the exercise. The hollows of the neck
will be filled out. giving a more beautiful
contour. In thr? rase of stout persons the
movements will aid In reducing. Round
shoulders will be Improved. The functions
of respiration, circulation and digestion
are assisted.
It seems a far cry front the "shimmy
dance" to the pectoralis major, the sterno
cleido, latissimus dorsi and so forth; but
these are the technical names of the
muscles actively brought into play by the
shimmy exercises.
In order to obtain the best possible
results, practice the movements every
morning just after arising, and every eve
Qing Just before retiring. A few minutes,
only ten or fifteen morning and night, will
do the trick.
Hut remember that no exercise per
formed lazily and slouchily will have any
actual value. AM rau'i be done with the
"click, snap and precision" with which the
soldier responds to commands in military
drill. And they must be performed
thoughtfully; one must know the purpose
of each exercise snd *ork with this thought
uppermost.
Practising before a mi/ror and watching
(be play of the muscles helps one con
centrate on the purpose. Pretend thfre
Is something pushing or pulling in an
effort to keep you from moving your
shoulders. Work against this imaginary
weight and yon will receive the maximum
amount of benefit.
Now then, try the shimmy exercises?
and don't forget to move very slmvly arid
smoothly.
~ Exercise One.
Thm Up and Down Shake.
Position?Assume good sianding or sit
ting position (see Figure A) with hands
on hips, abdomen in, head up, chin in and
shoulder blades flat.
Part 1?Turning the head to the left,
raise the left shoulder as high as pos
sible. (Figure Onel. Lower shoulder
and turn head forward, simultaneously, to
starting position?(Figure A). Do this
four times, counting "one" for up
movement, "and" for down movement,
continuing "two and "three and," "four
and." Re careful )hut the left shoulder
and hips remain absolutely quiet.
Part 2?Turning the head to the right
raise right shoulder (Figure Four); (urn
head forward, and lower left shoulder.
(Figure A). Do four times as part one.
counting "one and," "two and," etc.
Part 3?Face forward and raise both
shoulders as high as possible (Figure 3),
then lower. Do four times.
Part 4?Eadh time that the shoulders
are lowered, pull both down and slightly
backward. This added backward pull In
creases the value of the exercise and Is
?xcollent. for round shoulders.
2 -The
Second
Move
ment
of This
Exercise, After
Each Position Shown in Figu
Is Kofiimsd for en Instant.
Now perform Part 1 once, counting
"One and"; next Part 2. "Two and," then
Part 3, ''Three and." Repeat three times.
It is interesting to note the difference in
ability to raise the shoulders. Some young
ladles who have publicly performed the
shimmy dances are so supple that they
can raise their shoulders almost ap high
as their ears. They evidently have the
same talent as the prizefighters who raise
the shoulders 'high enough to protect the
head from blows.
Exercise Three.
Shouldmr Circling Shake.
Position?Assume good
"landing or sitting posi
tion as In Exercise One,
except that the arms
should be extended side
ways as (fhown in Fig
ure B.
Part 1?With the right
shoulder describe a circle
by moving upward, back
ward, downward, for
ward. Be careful not to
circle the arm Instead of
the shoulder. Let the
arm remain quiet; let
the shoulder do all the
Exercise Two.
Forward and Backward Shake.
Position?Same as |n Exercise One.
This movement Is known as "lateral
trunk twisting" and consists of turning
the body from left to rijht. All the mo
tion is In the upper part of the body. The
shoulders swing forward and backward,
but the hips remain perfectly quiet. All
movement is from above the ? waistline.
Think of the breast bone as a pivot and
twist the body with this as a centre. Be
gin by swinging the right shoulder as far
forward as possible and the left back
ward. counting "One."
Reverse and swing left
shoulder forward and
right backward, count
ing "And." Continue
"Two and," "Three and,"
"Pour and."
Now vary the exer
cises by making a small
swinging movement in
stead of a large. Vary
ing the size of the awing
develops greater co-ordi
nation and ena-bles one
to make large, imall or
medium-sized movements
at will, fn the dance the
very smallest and most
rapid motion is used
work. A lack of control
will be evidenced by Jerk
ing and Inability to de
scribe a perfect circle
Make ax large a circle
with the shoulder an pos
sible. Keep the hips
quiet. Count "One and" tor one rotation.
Do four timet* in all.
Part. 2?Repeat the Name circling taiove
ment with the left shoulder four times.
Part 3?Do the name movement with
both shouldersvfour times Work with the
shoulders, not with the arms. Keep the
hips quiet.
When you have perfected this circling
with as large movements as possible grad
ually lessen the slxe of the movement. Try
performing very small circles. This Is
much more difficult. The "shimmy" artist#
make very small, rapid, but smooth circles.
In attempting to do the circles to a
faster rhytfim be careful that the circles
Figure B?
The Proper
Position
to Begin
the
Shimmy
Exercise
Three
Called the
Shoulder
Circling
Shake.
Figure A?The Proper Stand
ing Position to Begin the
Shimmy Exercises
One and Two.
do not degenerate
into simply an up
and-down movement.
The (aster you go
the harder it ift to
describe a perfect
circle Someone ha*
*a>d thai making
f?Ht ahoulder circle*
In very much like
trying to repeat
ra, tily "Peter Piper
picked ? peck of
pickled peppers"?It results in dire con
fusion.* Hence It Is brut to practice
"circling" very slowly until It can be doue
perfectly.
Exercise Four.
Combination Shah*.
POSITION: Same as In KXERCI8B
ONE.
This Ik s combination of nil the move
ments of the three exercises described
shove. The purpose of lhl? arrangement
is to d.velop a snappy, vigorous i?erform
sncs and smooth transition from one exer
< Nr (o the other. Performing rhythmic
slly and by count, avoid hesitation. Say
the commands to yourself and respond to
tC? ts^e '>"? . i' >? r? ? ? in
1
"She believed in scientific shoulder shaking," wrote Miss
Dewey upon this photograph of a friend?"and that's
how she got these shoulders. Persistent exercise
will produce others like them."
tliom Just as promptly as you would re
spond to the sharp military commands of
an army officer or gymnasium director.
Exercise Kour consists of the first, second
and third exercises performed for four
counts each.
Up and Down.
Risrht shoulder: Up! Down! (one and).
I^fcft shoulder: Up! Down! (two and>.
Both: Up! Down! Up! Down' (three
and. four and).
Forward and Backward,
Roth: Forward! Back! (one and). For
ward! Back! (two and). Repeat.
Circling.
Right shoulder: Clr-cle! (one and).
Left shouldei: Clr-cle! ((wo and). .
Both: Cir?le! (three and). Clr-cle!
(four and).
This concludes the primary movements
involved In the exercises. There are several
others, but their value Is very slight. One.
howevor. Is somewhat of a stunt, or con
tortionist's manoeuvre, and although It
appears to be very simple It is extremely
difficult. In rtie other exercises the trlcic
is to keep the hips perfectly Immovable,
but It la reversed In Mils and the hips
swing while the shoulders are immovable.
With a slight awing move the hlfm for
Or**! nnfmn RtsbU Rrmrvrd
?ward and backward and try to prevent a
corresponding swing of the shoulders. The
average person who attempts this will
think hard while endeavoring to make the
musbles obey, but will find that the mus
cles seem rather contrary and indisposed
to obey. This Is from lack of muscular co
ordination.
Kven though it requires a tremendous
amount of patience, every now and then
we may see dancers?of tho "shimmy"
and "hula." variety??performing this feat
with astonishing ease.
JiikI. a word about the muse of music
and her co-operation with the muse of
physical culture?If there be such a lady.
It ha i been the custom for some time In
gymnasiums to accompany physical exer
cises wltth suitable music, and now it is
gratifying to note that tho same custom
lias been adopted by many (business men
and women who religiously follow the
maxim, "Exercise at homo everjr morning
and night."
They realize that with their more or less
sedentary occupations they cannot keep
young or graceful without exercise. Kven
It they dislike exorcise they know that
they cannot get along without It. If you,
reader, chance to be in this class, why not
1?The Third Movement of tha "Up *b4
Down Shaka" Showing How tha
Shoulders Ara Lifted. ?
(rating How the Shoulder* Are Droppei
Backwards.
4?The
Termi
nating
Exercise
lllus
ind Pulled
put some joy Into the work by cranking tip
your phonograph and performing the mo*
inents to the tune of your favorite recor*
ff you aren't particularly PtWMtod
physical culture the melody v*11 tdd oo
slderable Interest and pleasure
The four exercises are counted so tb
they may be executed to fox-trot uius ,
which, of course, contains four beats to
measure. The count "one" is for the 4j
two beats, and the count "and" is for tM?
last two beats of the measure. Just tu
ou your latest fox-trot record and "you 11
be surprised" to tee how much fun y ?
can get out of th? physical culture vers^
of the "shimmy." , {
The warm glow and healthy tired feelfng
resulting from the above exercises prove
ihat the Incorrigible "shiminy-sha-wobble"
is valuable as a beau
tlfler even though im
possible as a dancc.
Although the dance
has proved Itself a
bane to society, the
exercise may prove a
boon since it promotes
health and efficiency,
two factors vital to
society. May the
troublesome dance
loss itself permanent
ly in home or gym
nasium, never again
to endanger that preo
lous sense of decorum
which thiBklng Amer
icans have always in
stilled into the minds
of their children!
Who is to blame for
the "shimmy" fad,
with its shrugs and
shakes? Not the ane
mic young miss of tin
poem who was always
so cold that she shiv
ered and learned to
do it gracefully. Nor
was it our colored
folks of New Orleans,
the hula-hula dancer,
the Spanish senorita
or the French vamp.
The music called Jazz
was responsible for it.
The "shimmy" as a
dance is to the real
dancing as the jazz is
to real music. That
is. it is 110 more ?
dance than "jazz" i
music.
v* $
But admitting then that Jazz music an
the '?shimmy" are so intimately related, 1
follows that If you want to do these exe
clues with music the jazz music la the kin
to do them with.
One son* writer frankly admits the con
noctlon between jazz and jiggles:
"There's something in the tone
of a saxaphone
That makes me do a little wiggle
All my own."
Another famous one advises us a.< f<
lows:
Shake your little shoulders.
I)o a little motion
Like the wavy ocean.
Or the shaking, shivery strains of t.
ghost melody:
There's a strain of melody that haunts
me,
Listen to that ghostly melody.
Long ago I heard It in the 'wello'f
soulful moan.
Soft and low It walled from out a
mournful saxaphone.
Other songs bear such Interesting state
ments as "Shimmy and rest your feet!"
'Listen to the trombone slidln' out a n'aw
ful moan," "The devil he walks In with a
smile, doing the jelly roll down the aisle,"
etc., etc. ?
If the outlawed dance will Just be con
tent to stay In It* proper place as an ex
ercise, women ought to be grateful to It?
Jio matter how It came about. If one
wants to vary It a little Ingenuity will
leach how to adopt the same motions to
the hiss and legs They will prove to b*
most Acellent reducers of hips and thighs.
Dut this can c?m? latei after the shoulder
movements are thoroughly mastered
Try these basic motions Jn your Ih>uto*:
before your mirror and walch the bnprov
ment In your neck and shoulders