The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1885-12-18
BALLET BELLIES.
HOW THEY ARE TRAINED IN A pi iaY
NEW YORK SCHOOL
Girls from Eight Years to Eighteen WHIT
Practice for the Operatic Stage.
One Feature or Life In the
Metropolis.
New York Cor. Commercial Gazette

learn that this Is tho 3Conservatoire," Or
school Of the ballet founded by the society
that intends establishing American opera
In New York, an Of which Mrs Thurbsr II
the head. Ny French friend is Monsieur
Biberan, the "directeur" o; the school, and
ha cordially iavit~s- 90 n SCAT In the nali,
and. having placed me In a chair at It's up
per end, he vanishes into side room. This
gives me an opportunity to look around.
The hall /, perhaps thirty feet wide by fifty
long.
In the center Of the high ceiling Is a huge
sun burner that casts brilliant light over
the room in charming contrast with the
mist, rain and fog have just left outside.
There is a railing out three and half feet
from the foor supported by galvanized.
iron posts and running around two sides OF
the room. 1t is bar Of polished hickory
wood, it gives freely when the hand clasps
its inch and quarter of circumference.
One, two, three, four, and so up to twenty
count the pupils who are standing in a
row. all facing one way and clasping this
rail with the right hand. As they stand
there they work their feet and limbs in
various fashions. and chattering like a nest
Of young blackbriS Their costumes are
all alike as far as the style Of them goes,
but In color no two are alike above the
waist They all have on fesh-colored
stockings and white satin slippers. with the
blunt stiffene toes and heels peculiar to the
ballet, and fastened on by sandaling up the
leg. Then they all have on loose Turkish
trousers, gathered in at the knee with an
elastic, AMI over this profusion Of white
tarlatin skirts. The waists are Of satinet.
and Of almost a. many shades and colors as
there are girls There are blue and pink,
cherry and cardinal. white and yellow girls
mixed up In kaleidoscope confusion. In
age and p,rsona' appearance they are as
different rs their low-necksd, sleeveless and
laced boiices are in color.
PRECEPTRESS AND PUPILS.
At the head of the line stands fully-de-
velopei woman. Her air Is so confident
and her movements so accurate that ask
who she is.
Eat laidse ees Mam'selle Dazsy; she ees
ze assistant teachare; she lead all 70 move.
ment, and geef 70 laidees confdance You
will see"
Next to her Is a finely formed girl, larger
even than the one whom | learn Is precep-
tress She looks like Swede, with her
fair hair, blue eyes and heavy features,
but am told by the Maitre de ballet that
only Anne rican- born girls are taken as pupils
under the rules. Still there are all the types
which go to make up our cosmopolitan
population Next to my Swedish girl
stands swarthy girl with big black eyes
that are unmistakably Italian, and there
are two or three whose French blood is
equally obvious In age they range from
years old ap u 1s, but there Is scarcely q
fully developed wom&n sahong them
the youuxS-t can nr. be- over 8 yeaTs old,
and she is so Obviously incapable Of going
through the exercise that she Is allowed TO
do pretty much as she pleases The result
is that she foats about like a little fairy with
q misuonne face. making laughable at
tsmpts Ut performing the evolutions OF her
older companions M'sisur Biberan places
his fiddle under his chin. Hs has removed
his coat and exchanged bis street boots for
q pair of patsnt-leather slippers. He stamps
upon the floor, and all the girls stand up
straight and grasp the rail with one hand.
Now. LADIES'. eet you please. 70 first
movement Now, zen. all togstharer
The bow scrapss itS way across the fiddle
strings, the little Frenchman's head mods,
and his slipperei foot beats the time.
Twenty flesh h-colorei legs move out into
space until each girl in the row reminds you
of the hands on the clock when they are
pointing to q quarter to six. The fiddls
scrapes again, and the arms and legs fly out
together. Then with the precision Of au.
donations they oil face the other way, and
repeat the same movements with the right
haad and foot
A SERIES OF EXERCISES.
Filly h llf b pur il ab'orb,t by this Sc
ries of exercises, which are calculated to
make the joints and muscles flexible. Per-
haps the most ridiculous ons OF them all Is
where the girls squat down and bend their
heads as far back as possible. When they
do this whole line Of dangling pi tails OF
back hair hang down in a row. producing
an effect that Is far from lovely. Then
few moments rest is given the pupils, and
learn that the @IirecteurH had been en-
ployed as ballet master at the Boston thea
tire for two years before be came to New
York to take charge OF the school hers. The
society pay all the expenses OF the school,
the tuition being absolutely free to girls
In view Of the advantages offered, it Is
matter OF surprise to NJ Biberan, and which
Ishare. that in so large city there are not
more girls who wish to learn dancing as
fine art
M. Biberan scrapes his fiddle again. AMI
yhs pupils take their places In four rows up
and down the hall, Mile. Dazsy well in
frOnJ, Wnero tuo puPhS Seh "osNe NO., t,
the bigge t girls in the front row. the
smaller ones behind, and the little one
spoken of before we'll back alone, to her own
entire satisfaction. :
Then they do the 1entrechat" the Apointe"
the aballon," the "arabesqus" and all the
other familiar movements OF the ballet In
surprisingly accurate fashion They stand
on one leg, with the other in the air, and
nearly break their nscks in a vain effort to
zee the extended toe. They jump up I'm the
air and cross their legs three times before
they come down; in short, they do every
thing but stand on their heals Meantime
the 4directeur" keeps up running frs OF
comment
aNow, Mees Bertha, doan' talk"
swat do mattare, Mses Maudei You
sprain ye eur legi Sect down, pleess. Now,
Nabelle, attention, please. You haf 70
good soceesytay to pay eferytings, and you
will not keep se deeseeplssne"
At length 8 O'Clock Gomez The school Is
dismissed, and fifteen minutes later ths
lights are out In the hall, and the ittis
ciossly-wrapped figures are trudging up
thirteenth street in the rain and the dark
mesa dreaming Of future triumphs, OF lights
and music, and applause and flowers.