Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-01-09
DANCING AS AN ART.
A PROFESSORS VIEWS ON THE CORRECT WAY TO DANCE.

Children and Others Benefited by Dancing
 Well-The Right and Wrong Way to
 Waltz-The Gentleman Should Lead.
 The Best Definition of Dancing.
 One of our greatest poets has said of danc- 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 supset to sunrise without seemingly showing any sign of weariness? 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 a few of what 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 Noth- 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 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 dlsagreeable 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 ill a manner that you think is danc- ing.
 [ foll kl>. of dancing: "Defnite 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 moro iarring on the nerves than in the case of a 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 source of pleasure to you, but also healthful and beneficial exercise This is 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 of. It also prepares them for the drawing room, and teaches the youth to show that deference 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 I started to write on. One of the best ways to test dancer is to place him on crowded floor and see how skillfully he can lead his lady around the hall. For the gen. tleman 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 ire quent occurrences, "colIisions" 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 ''promenader" when there are more couples on the floor than he is capable of piloting 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
 lady, on the other hand, should always remember that it is the gentlemans 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, dlligent 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 pro 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 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 1 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 fin society. A fair amount of practice is all you need.-John R. Brady in New York Mail and Express.
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