The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-12-15
TAUGHTTHE 400 TO DANCE
WHO TRAINED THREE GENERA
TONS OF GOTHAM'S ELITE.

] Dances The Hight of a Society
Leaders Ambit!on-Young Mr.. One-
tiv.a, Berry Wallis Successor, the In
ventor of LA Reve"-New York,
Boston and Philadelphia Dancing
Compared.
(Copgrigh0
New YORK. Dec. 14.-Next in honor to
the man who writes the songs Of q nation
is ne who teachers its msn and maidens
to dance. Such at least seems to bs the
dictum of fashionable society in New York,
where the composer Of a new Waite
or the inventor Of a new dance is at
once set up on pinnacle of fame and wOr-
shipped and courted for an hour. It is one
of the highest ambitions of a society
leader to invent a new measure TO add
to the graces of the divine waltz, ,
or the stately quadrille. And so they
have gone On ever since the days of old Jean
! Charrand, New York'5 first dancing
master, adding to the novelties of the bali
room; yet Allen DOdworth, who has taught
the Four Hundred and their children dane
| ing and department, declares that the waltz
! of six motions practiced to-day is the same
thst he taught fifty years ago.
| when | first began teaching said he,
| yesterday, there was no waltz-nO round
| dance of any kind. | taught the cotillion-
now called the quadrille The pupils in
| those days danced 10 the music of the
| violin; the piano had not been invented
When the waltz was imported it at once
| became the fashionable dance and has so
remained ever since. 1t was nearly the
same step or motion as the present waltz,
| only that the music was little slower. AT
! first there were very few dancers. The
| church Numbered against it, and moralists
wrote essays conforming it, but the Ger
mans began giving balls; the Americans
followed ard thus the waltz was popular
| lied. Tho composers began writing the
most beautiful music for it and this, with
the grace and art Cf movement has made
1t the most favored dance of cultured So
cieSv
'As a rule, society is conservative and
cares not so much for a variety of dances
as for finish and grace. and not so much for
the dance as for the dancer. In their mo
tons cultured people endeavor to express
their refinement. Everything is in the
manner of moving. People may condemn
the waltz when they see some people dance
~, but admire it when they see it danced
by people OF grace, refinement aud culture.
A waltzer springs 252 times each minute,
and each motion must be made in O certain
way.
htFc OduRuI JuTee PeuGTUClOnS OF NEW
0rk society to dance, and frequently in
my salon are seen the mother and grand
mother of the little child that am teach
ing. l receive children at the age of So
years ana teach them generally until they
grow up and ara married, and then another
generation. | have taught the children of
Vice President Morton, Secretary Whitney,
the Astors Vanderbilts, Goelets. Rhine
landerS, Roosevelts, Scheiffelins, Sloams and
Fishes"
Speaking of the passion FOR inventing
new dances, w. Alexander McGreg5r said:
" La Reye' the latest dance, has been
claimed by several people, but it is really
the creation of Luis N. Onatiyia, the most
fashionable young m IN in New York So
ciety just now, and f. Berry Wallis reco,-
nlzed successor as the captain of the ien-
nesse doree. 1t is q combination of the
mazourka, 'Esmerelda polka and waltz.
This is how the new dances are
created, or OWNED. You get a new
pair of trousers with stripes down TIE
side, tOat is a new fashion, but the pat
tern is the same. In society, young men
VINO invent these dances are regarded as
greater than the astronomer who discovers
comet, or the chef who i1vents a new
dish for the royal tables. And, then, these
fashionable young men are ambitious TO do
something that no one else has done. For
instance the "Yorkn is composed partly Of
the polka and mazourka and the esmeralda
polka-three in one. Harry Plummer, a
New York society man, went over to Bos-
ton and danced this combination figure.
and the Bostonians christened it THE
York" in his honor. Mr.. Plummer and his
sister, Miss rlummer, practiced the steps to-
gether for weeks ahead
mo; the ladies are not ambitious in
creating new Dances though they as ist the
gentlemen in the practice Of the dance, and
in suggestions. They care not who invents
the DANCES OF society, so long as they dance
them. Now, there is another new fad The
hunt Dance. 1t was given over on Staten
Island last week. II is nothing but the old
fashioned quadrille, and differs only ia the
dress of the da cers-the gentlemen wear
red jackets red coats and riding trousers.
1t is named from the dress At the close of
the hunting season in England a ball
is givel, and the hunting costume is
worn.
The craze for new dances has spread so
that it has reached the country towns. A
dancing teacher came in from Pittsour
the other day, and introduced himself to
me- He had some new dauceS-the Rim
ple,' the Telephone etc. They were in
vented by society people of the Smoky
City, implored him to take his dances
BACK and not try to spring them on us
here.
"Vhen a society man, in a moment of
inspiration, invents a new dance, he comes
TO us aud unbosoms himself If the move
ment be really new and not ungraceful, it
is taught to the clubs to which the inventor
and his friends belong.
But the dancing of to-day-new and old
alike-is becoming too athletic. Formerly
the steps OF the waltz were short and the
music slow, and consequently it was more
graceful and easy in movement. Now the
steps are long, and of course the movement
Is more rapid, in ord r that the step NAV be
made in the given time; and dancing seems
to be drifting more toward a matter of
strength than grace and agility.
Among my patrons are about It's of
what is styled the -Four Hundred The
young society people have their clubs and
dance on stated evenings. and the children
of the aristocratic families are formed into
classes and are instructed on stated after
Moons Each club has from four to eight
patroHesSeS who attend as chaperones. or
rather mentors, and pass up) the applica-
tons of tho 20 who wish to become members
of these clubs Two or four patronesses
attend these club dances, extend invitations
to their friends and without their approval
no one is admitted as a member or as a
guest" j. M SCANLAND
measurements of the Great Lakes
The greatest length of Lake Superior is
335 miles; its greatest breadth is 100 miles.