Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1889-01-18
DANCING AS AN ART.
A PROFESSORS VIEWS ON THE
CORRECT WAY TO DANCE.
Children and Others Benefited by Dancing
We11-The Blight and Wrong Way to
Waltz-The Gentleman Should Lead.
The Best Definition of Dancing.

Cnlldren ana OGnerS beneuIeu py DaHciHS
We1l-The Right and Wrong Way to
Waltz-The Gentleman Should Lead.
The Best Definition of Dancing.
One of our greatest poets has said of dane
ing that it is ''the sweetest and most perfect
of human enjoyments." That he spoke the
truth no one will deny, or else how can you
explain how night after night, young girls
and old girls, young men and old men, mar
ried men and married women, old maids and
bachelors, will dance almost from sunset to
sunrise without seemingly showing any sign
Of WEAKNESS? And yet how to dance prop
erly is the question you would have me an
swer. I cannot and do not attempt in this
brief article to tell everything I consider
necessary to make dancer, but only give
few of what I consider the most salient re-
quisites of one who would become perfect in
the art.
AVOID DIsAGREEABLE IMPRESSIONS.
One of the principal things to remember is
not to sway your whole body to and fro;
dance only from the hip downward. Moth
ing looks worse than to see person shaking
himself as though he had the ague Let all
your pressure rest on your knees. A gentle
man should always remember to lead his lady
through a square dance, and not to drag her.
In round dance, he should rest his hand but
lightly on the lady's waist, lest he leave a
disagreeable impression, not only on her dress
but also on her mind. Dance quietly; do not
attempt fancy steps unless you have mastered
the simple ones, but above all dance grace
fully, for if you are not graceful you are not
dancing; you are simply walking or jumping
around in manner that you think is dane
ing.
consider the following the best definition
of dancing: "Definite combinations of grace
full movements performed for the sake of the
! pleasure which the exercise affords to the
dancer" Always keep time with the music
and see that the measure of your step CORE
spends with the measure of the music This
/ is as important in dancing as it is in singing,
and the lack of harmony when a singer is
out of time with the accompaniment is no
more jarring on the nerves than in the case
of dancer similarly situated.
In dancing always try to glide through
whatever figure the dance is composed of,
like the waves of the sea, so easily, so natur-
ally, so gracefully that all must admire.
When you dance properly it should be not
only a source of pleasure to you, but also q
healthful and beneficial exercise Thisi par
ticularly so in regard to children. Another
of the good results young people learn from
dancing is self confidence. They learn to feel
at home in the company of the opposite sex,
and the shyness generally found in young
boys and girls gradually wears off. 1t also
prepares them for the drawing room, and
teaches the youth to show that Difference to
the opposite sex to which they are entitled,
and makes manly cavaliers of them.
NEED FOR CONSTANT PRACTICE.
But have wandered somewhat from the
subject started to write on. One of the best
ways to test dancer is to place him on a
crowded floor and see how skillfully he can
lead his lady around the hall. For the gen
tlenan dancer must, so to speak, have his
eyes in the direction of the thirty-two points
Of the compass, so he can deftly steer clear of
any who approach and avoid those too fire.
quent occurrences, collisions" You will find
dancers so awkward that they can hardly
take two steps before they must come to a
halt Such person should play the part of
the ''wall flower" or the ''pron2enadarn when
there are more couples on the floor than he Is
capable of plotting his way through. But
above all carry yourself naturally; don't act
as though you were 'incased In plaster Of
Paris or were made up of sticks of wood.
A lady, on the other hand, should always
remember that it is the gentleman's duty to
lead, and should not, as she often does, try to
force the gentleman into her style Of dancing.
A person learning to dance should be steady,
diligent and regular in his attendance at the
school where he is taking lessons Too many
will go today, then not again for two weeks,
and yet they wonder that they don't pre-
gress.
Dancing is like anything else-when learn
ing you must keep digging at it until you
have mastered it, when you can dance as
often Or as seldom as you like, as once learned
you never forget, But first be sure you have
learned. The above are, as I said before,
what consider the most important things to
remember, and if any of the many readers of
your paper try to follow any of the rules
have laid down I think they will find they
will get along better. Almost any one can
become fair enough dancer to do credit to
himself in society. A fair amount of practice
is all you need.-John R. Brady in New
York Mail and Express