The Louisiana cotton-boll. [volume] (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], Attakapas, La.) 1872-1883, 1873-05-14

in the oldest times was nothing but the
assembago in the public place Of the
whole population Of tl' city for the
purpose Of singing sonRs and dancing
dances Of Thanksgiving to the gods.
But as to the Greeks we owe the
origin of the drama Offspring Of the
ypantomimic da0ce, So to them was du"
probably the highest conception and
development Of the art of dnnoing In
combination with the science Of gym
nastics or the culture of the body they
appear to have raised the dance into a
system of expression capable of render
ing all the different passions The IA
nous dance of the Eumenides OF FIJI
rier, is said to have communicated such
terror to the spectators that tho effect
could scarcely have @een greater had
the Furios themselves taken possession
Of the stage.
When we learn further than the ut
titudcs of the public dancers inspired
the greatest Greek scuIptors, II no
studied them for their perfect deiinea-
tion Of passion, and when we look at
the works of Phidjas, wo begin to real
re the extent Of difference between
those dances which 4he Greeks witness
ed those ineIegant capers which we are
accustomed to applaud
The Spartaus had II law compelling
MI parents to exercise their children in
dancing from the age of five. The lit
tie creatures were led by grown men
into the public place, and there trained
for the armed dance.
The Pyrrhic dance, expressive Of over
taking and overcoming an enemy, per
formed by the young men in four parts,
must have been kind of exciting bal
let or dramatic dance.
Aristotle places dancing and poetry
il the same rank, and says i'll his Poet
les that there were dancers who, by
rhythm applied to gesture, expressed
manners, passions, and actions. The
Greeks had fine poets, and therefore we
cannot say, 50 much the worse for
poetry T. but we cannot help seeing
how the art of dancing has fallen from
its high estate, and become vulgar and
tasteless exhibition of mere muscular
dexterity, actually lower down in the
scale of art than even the wsr-dance Of
the Ojibbeways.
Greek dancing was more than mere
feat of agility. The fire that oommu-
nioated itself to the spectators came
from those who were themselves touch
cd with enthusiasm, unlike the human
marionette, the ballet-dolls-on-wires of
to-day.
But, for good or for evil, the passion
for the dance can never die /; ii isa real
instinct, irrepressible and universal.
We see in all children, and in animals,
and among the rudest tribes, the i'm
pulse to express various emotions by
rhythmic movement. Children often
dance with rage as with delight
As we grow older, and the eye be-
comes cultivated and the blood sluggish
we prefer to looking on, to dancing our
selves. And in the maturer periods Of
the world among civilized nations,
dancing as a studied art, is chiefly left
20 professional and trained dancers.
Yet how often when rhythmic tune is
played do grown people beat the foot
or nod the head in time with it ! A lit
tie more, and they would gesticulate--
q little more, and they would dance,
The singular power which rhythmic
motion has over the human mind, and
it's contagious property, may be noticed
in the curious dancing epidemics of the
middle ages (Which seemed to end in a
kind of possession and again i'll the
coarse rites of one or two modern re-
ligiOus sects.
Dancing in the East (as seen i'll the
Alme of Egypt and the Nautch girls of
India probably gives us a better idea
of what the nncients practised than any
thing which we have in our cold North ;
it is chiefly given mp to professional
dancers, who are often highly gifted
and highly educated. But with us pro
fessional dancing has become insepara-
bly, connected with the opera stage, and
with but one subject, the tender pas
sion, and this in its conception and il
lustration is so vulgar and so vague,
that it would almost be true to say that
all who do not consider the ballet indie
cent, believe it to be unmeaning-as it
often is.-SH. PGuEs Magazine.