, 1881-08-14
STEPS TAUGHT TO ACTRESSES.

| 1A-@A AZ c4A IL 1ACIltESSES.
| Nun Crinkes Ffufleto4
| " 10 not know Of anything more cllarac-
teflstic OF a certal in class of hiStriouic as
| plfalltS than tile pertinacty with which they
| endeaFor to ferret out the small secrets Of
ones pecullarities Of manner and carriaee.'
IAc speaker was Clara Morris, and she was
describing young lady of the intellectual
school who had haunted for many nights the
precinct OF the greer-rOOil, or sat in penSive
meditation Ill the aur0ral glory of the foot
lights while Miss Morris performed ceIe-
brated role.
| ''Do you know she continued, s'tllat that
| glrl came III night after night, and gained al-
| mission behind the SCENES even pene-
trating to my dresslng-roonl. door and
gazing eagerly in, as though to sur
prise me i'll the commission of some act
of witchcraft2 One night young lady
who was with me came into my room and re-
ported all Interview that had just tuken
place outside 1t seems that she had been
Intercepted BY Miss -, the young lady,
and asked in 4 tone Of the deepest interest.
'llave You seen Miss Clara undressed:' Ny
frlend was surprised By the question, and
asked all explanation. I mean,' said the
lnterlocutor, haven't you ever been with
her WHEN she was ell diSllabile - Certain
~, very oftcn,' was the reply. Then the
seeker after knowledge lowered ller voice to
Il whisper and asked, while her eyes tlilated
and her cliin rcposcd on her c1aspetl hands,
Does she then really use the glide - AIy
TREND was very much puzzled," said Clara,
" tlTsn came to ask LIE what it meant. cX-
planned to her that the glide was a peculiar
step taught by the elocutiunists and only less
difficult to explain than it is to illustrate. /
could show you its effect, but the secret Of
the accomplishment am not sure that / |
could make plain to you"
Armed with this clew, the entire coterie, |
by d1t OF much ende;lvOr, gained access To |
the sclioot Of popular instructress to obtain |
pnintS on the ssiiste To their surprise it was |
found that before the novice is fitted for the |
stage she must BE- thoroughly verscl in hot |
only The glide, but the slope, jerk, shove.
paddle, and sweep rs we'll. For tile benefit
oil all unlnltiatau readers it may be us well
to give Il description OF each. For the gtte''
the body must he I,oised at an angle Of about
clned forward, the left leg bent ut the knee
while tile right is extended with some I
rigidity to the rear. The art Of the glide
consists in making the successive movements
right and left step, without actually tullbling
over.
The ''s1ope" is very like the glide, with
the execution that every movement is re-
stead Of forward. The jerk is only used
i'll moments Of intense passion or agony
nf mind, rs When nnripe fruit has |
been iltNulgesi III, or the spirit Of Il mur- |
ltercd ancestor appears. II is not I; progress |
i've, neither Il retrogresSive motion. but al |
ways sideways. There is the jerk to the
left. An actress who can jerk gracefully is
always admired. The shove" is going
out Of use, having been employed III obs0-
etc plays i'll which the lleroine WIS always | S
pictured us nprulsh sort Of L person, cotl-
inun1ly repeliing advances. {
OF course the 'pa,idle,;:' is a specially. +
lscd OH tho stage except III comedy parts. I
weak imitation Of it has been introduced | t
nto young ladies' seminarics, and II
nay be seen in its perfection of y
sl;ness on FIftha tavenue. TO do the =
|at.lle we'll the elbows must be thrown out,
he body inclined forward frun the waist | "
he chin raised so as to give 4 near-siShted Il
specific the face, and the hands thrown | 7
lightly about so that the palms are exposed Ii
utward.
The '.sweep'' is much more graceful, but D
all only be successfully done Ill long skirt. II
he effect Of this movement or step is 10 | III
i've tile impression 0f a loconution smooth "
lid graceful entirely without muscular Ii
tort. When well done it Is extremely a
Irctye, but in reality its ilutlus operandi Is &,
1ite another matter. II it were possible to "
Isluce Il lady to perform the "glide'' for
)u IN 4 dress OF transparent material, it ! di
uuli be readily seen that it. is accomplished vi
means of u succession of short, parox- ar
;nlal steps anu extreme rigility OF the hi
'inal column These are the principal Va 81
.tics OF known steps, and yet the Hnthilik- pf
= world will persist III believing that the rj
rl1way Of the actress is strcwn with flow $,