The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1882-11-14
TERPsICHORE.
How Politeness Has Decreased in
Dancing.
A Veteran Dancing Master Dis
courses Of His Art--Its His
tory in st. Louis.

"The teaching of dancing becomes
more difficult with every year"
because of intricate 6gures%
"No." replied the gentleman who
has formed st. Louis manners for near
halfa century, ''but because 50 little
attention is paid to etiquette. Without
il the most skillful dancing appears
rude and unfinished. More is now re-
quired of the dancing master, because
he must correct not Onl y the faults of
manner, SO that there may be harmony
of pose and step. but he is obliged to
suppress a certain bOis,e'ousness i'm the
pupil which is the direct result of out
side pressure so strong that to neutral
ize it with a weekly or semi-weekly les
son is quite impossible. He can only
arrest it temporarily. Parents are not
so particular to inculcate the observ-
ance of polite usages among their chill
dren and .ne latter's piavmates. ami
the rule babits thus formed bring an
entirely new element into the ball
,oorh. There is marked difference
,ci,:een the manners of what | call the
old young people and those just going
into society. The latter are in such
great haste that they are scarcely more
than civil. A young fell W who wishes
partner for qaadrille vii! stride
across, reach out as if he meant to
s.,atch her from the seat, and begin
ABRUPTLY, "Say, will you dance with
me?7 Notwithstanding he has been
t,ught for several terms Just how to-
bow and address one of the other sex
under such circumstances. And there
is equal fault to be found with the
girls, who seem to care As little for the
refinement of manners
"When did this decadence of polite
usage beginT
Since the war. When / began
teaching in St. Louis, forty-four years
ago, there were already three masters
here. Spaniard and two Englishmen,
who all had classes But TWO of them
eventually sent their children to learn
from me, probably because | taught
the French steps. The quadrille and
plain German waltz were the only
figures then employed, and many of
the members of my first class are still
living in the city, gray-haired men
and women whose manners the young
er generations would do we'll to imi-
tate. Understand me. ] don't consid
err any form of etiquette complete
without that kindness of heart which
always makes the true lady ard
gentleman, irrespective of a polished
address. l frequently meet men on
the street cars who tell me that but
for the PRINCIPLES of courtesy taught
them long ago in my practice hall,
when the wol6sh instinct of the boy
VAS soothed into that gentleness which
has since enabled them to make
, friends with the world. and get at It's
secret as to how success mi ht be won,
they would have found progress in
the professions or business much
slower work. / introduced the fancy
steps early in the fifties, after trip
abroad, and was the first man to
dance the schOttische in st. Louis
Nobody had ever before heard of polka,
mazurka or varseuvienne, and they
E became very popular. l also taught
the reverse step in waltzing, which
put stop to the whirl in one direc-
! ton, which had often made people
E dizzy or i'll. The minuet step and the
e gliding motion in waltzing were both
n enforced, and along in 1860 there was
. the best dancing done here that, in
, nv opinion, the city will ever have.
: After the war hopping steps became
D fashionable and there has been a grad
. ual decline ever since. 1 haven
|. taught the Scotch hornpipe or High
$ land Fling for twenty-five years, but
d think them Intimately preferable to tn
1 vulgar racquet figure, which shOul'
y u have no place in good society. Hop
i ping steps are only suitable for tn
d stage, and gliding steps for the ball
l. room. but it is impossible to convinc
e the present generation that hopping
not both beautiful and suitable for an
time or place. Another reason VIII
n there are fewer 60, d dancers. is be
:" cause, young men especially, are salts
Il fed to learn just enough of a step I
y. dance it tolerably. Girls aud womer
d however. learn more readily and ar
re better dancers. They used to outnun
% her the other sex in proportion of thre
= to one, but it has increased to five
3 one. Married people, and some up to 5
y years of age, are always to be found j
l. the classes"
rs "With what sort of music are the
~ taught the steps ?