The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-03-15
CHURCHLY CAN-CANS.
How the Good People of Boston Church
Enjoy the De lights of the Variety Stage.


Enjoy the DE lights of the Variety Stage.
Boston Letter.
Boston society is about as freaky in it's ideas
of propriety as mule is in regard to obedience.
One would hardly expect that blue FLOODED
mammaS, members of high standing in the
church, would consent to their daughters doing
the high-kicking act in sawedo skirts and
flesh colored tights. before admiring friends of
both sexes. Neither would one expect the
church to countenance such Black Crook edness.
Yet such is the fact. 1t was only thesother
day that | saw one of the finest
can acts ever seen off the stage or out
of demi-monde ballroom. at dancing
tertainment held under the auspices of a
we'll known Boston church-the Applcton-street
Chapel-the congregation of which is made up
OF some OF the toniest society people in the city
This limb-elevatng performance wasn't called
the can can, but disguised for modesty's
sake. under the title of Spanish dance, by
La Petite Gertrude" This rising young ballet
girl was ten year-old miss, rather pretty, but
with hair-pin legs, painful to look upon. She
had not yet arrived at the dignity and deception
of pads Nearly FIVE hundred fair fat andforty
mammas, baspeckled grandmas, substantial pas
| and just-blooming into womanhoods" sat or
stood around large hall awaiting the debut of the
youthful danseuse. Bang went the piano,
squeaking of the fiddle and blast on the cornet,
all together, and LA Petite Gertrude" slid down
the waxed floor on alternate big toes, and pro
ceeded to wave her 'tootsy-wootsies" at the
audience in time with the music. / could not
help thinking Of a grasshopper warm stove
when looked at her maneuvers although will
admit that she was far more graceful. She
wore pretty dress which might have been large
enough for her when much younger lace
shawl and fan. l can't undertake to describe
the steps she went through. She kicked one
leg then the other hosped, stood on her toes,
twirled ara, in fact diA Just about the same as
the ballet girls do on the stage During
her performance lived in mortal fear that she
you'd lose her footing and dissolve into frag
ments on the floor like vase. so fragile did she
seem. But she got through al right, was loudly
applauded and received bouquet. Next came
pas de quatre" by four misses somewhat
older and more material than LA Petite" Two
Wore dresses to the knees and the other two
looked bashful and awkward in pants and
cavalry boots with jingles them. They
curved and cavorted In true stage style and re-
ceived their share of applause from the appreca
tive audience. Then thirty two misses, rang
ing from six to twelve years DID, INDUCED in
lies Varieties Parisiennes," other dances of
like nature following 1t was rather novel
and interesting affair. taken all together,
but it strikes me that it cannot have
other than bad effect upon these young girls,
and that it is bringing the church in rather close
connection with the worst part of the stage.
don't know but what this would bea good chance
for the society for the prevention of cruelty to
children to slip in and interfere. although that
is not likely, however. Everybody knows that
it is no easy matter to learn ballet dancing.
Judging from WnaG Mile. MOrlaccn1 one OK Lnc
most expert premieres ever seen in this country.
and who is now living in retirement at Billerica
this State, has recently said about it, il must be
nothing more or less than physical torture. She
says:
ture never intended of them. To begin with,
you must put your heels together and then sit
on them, spreading out your knees. Then you
must raise yourself up straight This you must
do hundred, thousand times a day, until your
49, -. I'D L. ~
do dot melt. Oh, how they ache when you get
through your days practice Then you put your
feet as far apart as you can and try to touch the
floor with your body These are called splits. Tt
hurts terribly, and you imagine you are going to
split apart The further down you 90 the worse
it hurts. When you get down to within five
or six inches of the floor, the teacher
is apt to hurry matters by standing on your
thighs. If you don't yell then, it is because you
were born dumb After that comes the toe prac
tice. 1t is worse than the rack You must learn
to raise yourself up and stand on the points OF
your big toes, not the balls Of the toes, but the
ends. And you must be able to walk, run,
dance, and even to jump and alight on those
ends. have had my toenails come lose and my
shoes filled with blood over and over again doing
this exercise. Then you have to take hold
of a doorknob and kick as high as you can
for hours at time These exercises have to
be gone through with daily while you are dane
ing
If these little things have to go through this
course of training, it must be terrible. La
Petite Gertrude" Lotte Brown and others who
appeared that day, are pupils of Professor Nam
ert Bibeyrau, a professional French ballet mas
ter engaged at the Boston Theater. He has a
large number of pupils, and gives lessons in
some of the best families in this city. His hobby
is the establishment of n conservatory in Bos-
ton after the style Of the famous Conservatives
of France and Italy, where dancing is taught Us
q necessary part of an education. He sinks the
taste for good dancing and fine ballots is grow
ing in this country. | think voice the general
opinion when / say that we are satisfied to i'm
port our dancers in the future as in the past