Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1886-01-16
BALLET BELLIES.
foW THEY ARE TRAINED IN A DlNGY
NEW YORK SCHOOL.
sirls from Eight Years to Eighteen Who
Practice for she Operatic Stage
One Feature of Life in the
Metropolis.
New york Cor. Commercial Gazette.

,chool Of tie ballet, founded by the society
hat intends establishing American opera
n New York, and of which Mrs. Thurber is
he head. My French friend is Monsieur
3iberan, the "directeur' of the school, and
cordially invites me to a seat in the hall,
tni having placed me in chair at its up
GER end, he vanishes into a side room This
gives me an opportunity to look around.
The hall is perhaps thirty feet wide by fifty
long
In the center of the high ceiling Is huge
sun burner that casts a brilliant light over
the room in charming contrast with the
MIST rain and fog have just left outside.
There is railing out three and half feet
rom the floor, supported by galvanized
son posts and running around two sides OF
he room. It is bar of polished hickory
wood, it gives freely when the hand clasps
It's 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 AMI clasping this
rail with the right hand. As they stand
there they work their feet and limbs in
various fashions, and chattering like nest
IF young blackbirds. Their costumes are
al alike as far as the style of them goes,
but in color two are alike above the
waist. They all have on hesh-colore1
stockings and white satin slippers, with the
blunt stiffene1 toes and heels peculiar to the
ballet and fastened on by sandaling up the
eg. Then they all have on loose Turkish
trousers gathered in at the knee with
elastic, and over this profusion of white
sarlatan skirts The waists are Of satinet,
and OF almos as many shades and colors as
shere are girls. There ara blue and pink,
cherry ANA cardinal vita anu yellow girls
mixed up 10 Kaleidoscope confusion. In
aol al rs1ps hay IRA
different As their low-necksd leeveles5 and
laced bodice ars in color.
PRECEIrREsS AND PUPILS.
At tie head af th9 line stands a fulyde-
gelopei woman. Her air j. 50 confident
and her movements 50 accurate that ask
who she Is.
"Zau lailee ess Mam'selle Darcy; she ees
20 assistant teachare; she lead ali - move
nent and geef 70 laidees condlance' You
viii sae"
Next to her is fnely-formei girl, larger
sven than the one whom | learn is precep-
tress. She looks like a Swede, with her
fair hair, blue eyes and heavy features
but am told by the Maitre de ballet that
only American 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
shat are unmistakably Italian, and there
are two or three whose French blood is
equally obvious In age they range from
years oil up to IS, but there is scarcely a
fully developed woman among them.
The youngest can not be over years old,
and she is so obviously incapable of going
through the exercises that she is allowed to
10 pretty much as she pleases. The result
Is that she floats about like little fairy with
4 mignonne face, making laughable at
tempts at performing the evolutions OF her
older companions. Msieur Biberan places
bis fiddle under his chin. He has removed
bis coat and exchanged his street boots for
: pair of patent-leather slippers He stamps
apon the aoor and all the girls stand up
araight and grasp the rail with one hand.
Now, LADIES', eef you please. 70 first
movement Now, zen, all togethare!'
The bow scrapes its way across the fiddle
strings, the little Frenchmans head mods
and his slippered foot beats the time.
Twenty fesh-colored legs move out into
space until each girl in the row reminds you
Of the hands on the clock when they are
pointing to a quarter to six. The fiddle
scrapes again, and the arms and legs fly out
together Then with the precision of au-
donations they all face the other way, and
repeat the same movements with the right
hand and foot.
A SERIES OF EXERCISES.
fully aux hour is ABSORBED by this Sc
ties of exercises which are calculated TO
make the joints and muscles flexible Per-
maps the most ridiculous ons of them all is
where the girls squat down and bend their
heads as far buck as possible. When they
do this whole line of dangling pig-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 "lirecteur" had been EN-
ployed as ballet master at the Boston thea
tire for two years before he came to New
York to take charge OF the school here. The
society pay all the expenses of the school,
the tuition being absolutely free to girls.
In view of the advantages offered it is a
matter of surprise to NJ Biberan, and which
share. that in so large a city there are not
more girls who wish TO learn dancing as a
ane art.
NJ. Biberan scrapes his fiddle again, and
The pupils take their places in four rows up
and down the hall, Mile. Darcy well in
front, where the pupils can watch her,
she biggest girls in the front row, the
smaller ones behind, and the little one
spoken Of before we'll back alone. to her own
sntire satisfaction.
Then they do the "ehtrechat' the "pointe"
she %ballon," the "arabesque" and all the
other familiar movements OF the ballet in
surprisingly accurate fashion. They stand
IN one leg, with the other in the air, and
aearly break their nacks in vain effort to
see the extended toe They jump up in 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 "directeur" keeps up a running fire of
comment
"Now, Mees Bertha, doan' talk"
swat de mattare, Mees Maudel You
sprain your legs Sect down, pleese Now,
Mabelle. attention, please. You hat 70
good soceeaytay to pay eferytings and you
will not keep 70 deeseepleene."
At length O'clock comes The school is