The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1874-09-18
HEEL AND TOE.
SoE ching About Dances, Old and
New-I'he SOcials of the Ancients,
and the Graceful Pastimes Of All
Nations.


and says:
However much people may differ re-
garding the propriety of dancing, there
can be no dispute as to its antiquity. In
fact. it is a matter of history that the
earliest people of whom we have any
record are known to have resorted to
dancing as a means of pleasure, and, in
some instances, dovoutly trippred the
fantastic as their religious worship. The
most popular dances of the present, in
many instances, had origin years ago
with some half civilized or barbarous
people. A communication in a Boston
contempory presents some interesting
historical facts about dancing and dances.
Originally, he says, dancing was hardly
more than a saItatory ofswaying motion
a sort of cadence promenade, which
was introduced into every religions rite.
AMONG THE HEBREWS.
The Levites were divided into two
bands or companies-one of singers and
the other of dancers-and, when rejoic-
ings were held in honorsaf any impor-
tant event, the priests performed solemn
dances in token of their JOY and graft
tude. Frequent allusions are made in
David's Psalms to this mode of thanks
giving.
In Egypt, the priests of the god Osiris
performed astronomical dances, symbol
ical of the motions Of the heavenly
bodies, and which were quite similar to
those instituted by the Chinese and
Hindoos in honor of their gods.
The ancient Greeks almost invariably
combined dancing with music in the
worship of their numerous divinities.
One of the most celebrated of these
dances was the Guossian, said to have
been imported from the island of Crete
by Theseus 1t was circular dance,
the most of those performed around
tie sacrifeia1 altars With the excep-
ton of the dance of Bacchus, nearly all
the sacred dances were rather simple.
The Phrygian dance or the Corybautes
was, however, somewhat ferocious and
wild IN its character, the dancers being
all armed with lances and shields, and
displaying a warrior-like spirit in the
principal figures. Gradually, and al
most imperceptibly, the nature of all
these dances was modified and became
more theatrical.
THE ROMANS
performed only sacred dances at first,
and regarded all others as degrading
Romulus is said to have invented the
first war dance, and Numa instituted the
order of the Salii, whose occupation it
was to dance around the altars of the
god Mars. A time came, however, when
the Romans departed from their primi
tive nervousness, and, running into the
extreme, they honored dancing as one Of
the most ennobling arts. They even
treated favorite public dancers in a
manner beftt1ng great men or sovereigns
only. Two mimic dancers, Pylades and
Bathyllus created so great All enthusiasm
that the people went so far as to select
them for arbiters in public matters
This temporary excitement alteration
we we're going TO say-soon died away.
The first converts to Christianity be-
ing still imbued with their Pagan Gus
toms, introduced dancing into their new
forms of worship. Large companies of
men and women were in the habit of
going out into the desert to participate
in the religious ceremonies, which main
" consisted in mild fantastic dances.
These having in time become rather too
licentious, were prohibited by the eccle-
siastical authorities, and dancing once
more fell into disrepute. The exact
date of its revival is not known, but it
seemed to have come into favor at the
time Of the marriage of Isabel of ARA
gon to Galeazzo, the Duke of Milan.
Catharine de NIedici was the first to
BRING BALLETs AND BALLS INTO FASH
ION,
and thencforth their popularity steadily
increased, and dancing became a refined
pastime. In 1861 Louis XIV. founded
an academy of dancing, the members of
which, thirteen in number, were selected
from the best dancers in the kingdom.
Until 1772 ballet dancers never appear
ed on the stage without being masked.
After leave had been given them once
or twice to appear, on special occasions,
without their masks, they were finally
allowed to discard them entirely. In
connection with this it may not be amiss
to state that women were, for long
while, excluded from the ballet, and the
first who ventured upon the stage in the
capacity of dancers were regarded with
contempt. The dances of the various
nations ofthe civilized world are general
ly typical of the predominating traits OF
character and emotional disposition OF
the natives. More particularly is this
noticeable in the southern countries.
where pantomine is SO frequently the
eloquent language of the passions. In
Spain the dances are both
| SPIRITED AND ycLUPTUoUs,
They are seldom subjected to the rules
of the art, and are more impulsive than
studied. Each provInce-we might al
so say each town-has its local and fa-
vorite dance. In Catalonia and ARA
gon it is jota; in Andalusia, lively and
sprightly dance called the Andalusian
at Cordova it is sort of Moorish dance
than which nothing can be more grace
full performed, as it is, in the midst OF
luxuriant groves of laurel and orange
trees. The national dance of Spain is
however, the fandango, which is, in a
measure, a combination of all the others
At one time consistory of the Church
of Rome had assembled with the inten-
tion of prohibiting and censuring thi,
dance, but the clerical gentlemen APP.
pointed as judges and arbitrators were
so facinated and electrified by the var.
ious figures that they unconsciously
begged commission to dance themselves
and were unable TO pronounce against