St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-10-19
FAIRIES OF THE STAGE.
hdttet Girls Not So BadiU off after All
Good for Nothing but theatrical York.
TCincinnati Times Star

| ~>'tfct UtrtS NOT SO f5nQfU vi -dIreT 6U-
food for Nothing bmt theatrical York.
cincinnati Times-star.
The admiration of bald-headed men for
ballet girls is so old that it has lost its SAVIOR,
and is only fit to be cast out and trodden un-
der the feet of men, but it is, nevertheless,
certain that large and gorgeously dressed
ballet is one of the most beautiful sights seen
on modern stages. This is particularly the
case when the ballet ''girls'' sometimes
they are old enough to be grandmother
are good looking and well formed. Their
sole purpose is to please the eye by glitter
ing costumes and curiously arranged marches
and poses, exemplifying the adage that
women should be seen, not heard. Ballet
girls are never heard, only seen.
A reporter had a conversation last week
with gentleman well versed in the business
OF the ballet. He argued that the life of a
ballet girl is not so disagreeable as is gener-
ally supposed.
THEY get from Sc to IS week, "he said, and
out OF that only have to pay their personal
expenses. which is Il good deal better than
a great many women are doing who hire
themselves out as saleswomen, clerks, copy
lists, etc, for from 50 to Sc a week They
have to work much harder for their wages,
too, than do the ballet girls, and their life
Is nothing but a monotonous drudgery,
While to my notion ballet girls live Il life
OF pleasure and diversion. l am speaking
OF girls that travel with some good reliable
spectacle. After they learn their business
there is little for them to do except to go
10 the theater at night, put on their cos
tunes and prance around the stage at in
terva of about three hours. There being
a good many of them, they have nice,
I sociable time, and being on the go all the
while they get a chance to see the coun-
try"
But are they not frequently subjected
| To insult on account of their yocation!'
mot at all. They may be insulted, and
so may any lady that walks along on your
streets, but ballet girls are as respectable
as any other class of women. 1t is very
wrong idea that most men have that because
ballet girl puts on tights and goes on the
stage she has lost her native modesty. 1t is
a matter of business which may seem
unpleasant to a woman at first, but she
soon becomes accustomed to it. People gen
| orally have poor opinion of ballet girls, but
it is because they don't know any more of
them than what they see on the stage. Some
times men are charmed by pretty girl and
endeavor to make her acquaintance without
the usual formalities, and | know of lots OF
Instances where they got badly left. The
company | was with last season had several
! pretty girls in it, and they attracted the
Washers wherever they went. In Philadel-
faIl LOT ,ad 70
| quainted with one of the girls, and finding
where she was boarding he called on her.
She was very angry at his impertinence, and
ordered him to leave when he used vile Ian
guage toward her. In her righteous indig
nation she pulled out little 22-caliber re-
volver and shot him in the arm. The wound
was slight, and as the young scalawag was
the scion Of a wealthy and aristocratic family
the affair was hushed up.
''Such cases, however, are rare. It is
nothing uncommon for men in the front
rows to endeavor to catch a girls eye, and
set up quiet filtration, and, if successful,
call at the stage door when the performance
is over; but if ballet girl wants to keep off
| admirers it is as easy for her to do so as for
any lady in private lie"
''Do all the combinations include a full
ballet?'
Certainly not. Some do, but good
many do not. They carry one or two, who
are used to lead the green ones obtained in
the place where the company plays. AS
rule, the manager Of com bination makes
stipulation in his contract that the manager
of the theater where he is to play shall fur
nish a certain number of ballet girls. These
are called for rehearsal on the day the com
bination reaches the city where it is toplav.
and then the ballet girls of the company teach
the new ones what is required of them. Girls
are quick to learn anything connected with
the stage, and you can teach ten or twenty
girls to go through a march or even a com
plicated drill in a very short time. They
learn much quicker than the male supers,
who. as rule, take the palm for stupidity
Very few managers can afford to carry
large numb Der of girls who do nothing but
walk on and off the stage. The one or two
whom he does carry with him make them
| selves useful in various ways, generally as
| sisting in the wardrobe room and in dressing
the new Amazons, peasants, fairies, or what
ever for the time being they represent
els it not difficult to get girls when travel
ingl"
GAS a general rule it is not. In large
cities they are plentiful, but in the smaller
towns, where everyone knows everyone else,
not numerous or desirable. / have
seen some fearful looking goddesses and very
dropsical fairies in the smaller towns, but
the girls never seemed to be conscious of
the fact that they looked like frights. 1t is a
rather singular thing that women on the
stage never seem to know when they possess
! bad figures. Concerning the beauties OF de
/ fects of their faces they are excellent judges,
| but when they attempt to judge of the merits
of their figures they are honestly incapable of
reaching any correct conclusion"
'From what class in society do these girls
come.'
| From the workingclass. They generally
! have some friend in the theater, stage hand,
| for instance, who secures them a chance
! when some sudden emergency creates de-
mand for them. Then when girl is once
on she generally manages to get her chum
on the list also. And when once they set
| foot before the footlights they are ruined for
any kind of labor. They become infatuated
with the stage, and if they are only called
upon three or four times a year they will,
! nevertheless, hang about the stage door, day
after day. on the lookout for chance to go
on again.
''Do ballet-girls ever rise in the profess
! sion!''
$50 seldom that do not now recall an in
! stance. They are not recognized as appren-
| tees, and consequently are given no en-
enlargement or assistance. They are only
female supers hired to walk around the stage
| for the time being"
Moral Philosophy.
''Come heah, Gawge Washfn'ton. What
fur yo' gwine steal dem chickens :''screamed