The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-11-30
THE DANCING
BEAUTY.
A Sage DisQuisition On What BE.
comes of the Ballet.GirIs.
They Have Been Known to Die-Vivsc.ous Talk
ofOne Who Knows iehts and Shadows.
Glimpses Behind Stage Tinsel.

| having a maximum Of cheek and minimum
of hair that the ballet-girl never dies. never
ceases to be girl" and never quits dane
ing. They are led to this conclusion from
the close observation of years in tile from
| rows at the physical drama. But then this
| is biased judgment. Certain it is thai
| mob ody ever saw q dead ballet girl. But
| who, except those who have been in the
| army, where mules were sometimes killed.
| ever saw a dead mule? What becomes OF
| mules? Do they gradually grow old and
| wither away at a breath?
| 1t is true there is no parallel between a
| balet-dancer and mule beyond the fact
| that both are well known as eccentric kick
ers and as tough as joey b. If the induce
ment Of assured perennial youth were Eot
sufficient this fact of never ceasng to exist
in the garisb atmosphere of the footlights is
enough to attract the rising female genera
ton. 1t is the fate of womanhood in the
ordinary walks of life to marry and become
old. II they do not marry they arr soon old
anyhow. and are neglected, if not a de-
spised, lot.
SHE'S ALWAYS ADMIRED.
Not so the ballet-girl. She may be mar
ried or not-and she frequently is the mother
Of family of young kickers-she may be 10
or 90, or anywhere along between those in
teresting extremes-she always has her
share Of admirers. Ii fairly good looking
she has many Of them. Why men will sac
rifice restful nights, money. sweethearts,
wives, ut the shrine of the ballet-girls is one
of those mysterious things to be decided
after this life But it is fact that they
will, and do. ana fact quite well known to
the bailet-girl herself Who has not, for
that matter, at some period of his life lin
gered wistfully in the shadow of the stage
door?
The ballet-girl may be said to remind us
of mule in another respect-she is born
and OF made No woman born was ever
nodded over into ballet-grl She may be-
come famous aciresS-she may be made
into a lay figure for the spectacular. get a
job as chorus-girl. or have thinking
part in modern farce comedy-become a
ballet-girl, never! You might as we'll talk
of taking IA brakesman off the railroad and
turning him into contortionist
ONE BEAUTY's STORY.
My mother was a dancer before me-"
said one charming young balet-girl the
other evening. She referred 10 the fact
with sigh. She had done a matinee and
evening turn at Palmer's in the Red Hus-
sar" and was polishing off lunch of brOiled
chicken and beer Her appetite is enough
to throw sickly shade Of green over the
NOIH Uut MCli-Ol-tHc NOll WI GILL SCdICc-
ly eat single square meal day.
began dancing when l was a mere
child. My mother was dancing with the
grown-up ballet as | am now. danced in
chiidren's parts. You might say | was
born dancer for MY mother had been filling
an engagement, which she resumed as soon
as possible.
Yes, mother is living now, but not dane
Ing" she laughingly retorted in answer to
the stereotyped joke. 80 that disposes of
at least one branch Of the popular supersti-
ton. She is too stout. One Of the evils of
the many we have to contend with is the
early tendency TO stoutneSs. When you frs.
saw me was slender slip Of IL now look
at mel"
She has undeniably broadened and thick
ened during these six years, though the
change improves her personal appearance.
STOPS AT TwENTY-THREE.
"1f / keep on growing stouter shall have
to diet myself, and that will break my heart
I'm now 23-don't give it away. l wish to
remain 49, see?"
"What becomes Of the girls? Oh, some
are with the Kiralfys. Emma's with some
show in the West; Kate is married, so is
Sophy, and"
NO, no: what becomes of them finally ?"
"Why, dear me! how do i know? Die and
go to heaven? Not if there's dancing there,
l hope. 1t Is quite enough to be a ballet
gill here all your life! Nearly all of the girls
knew when child dancer are still alive
and kicking. In fact. don't actually know
If any OF Them are dead. They are about all
in the business, too"
Eyes, they have a good many offers of
get back to the stage. The girls can't stand
the yoke very well, You see. The quietude
of married life would soon kill most OF Them
We get awful tired of this, but from the ex-
periences of those who have quit the stage
to marry. should say there are worse things
m 4 a = n.ly.
be, why do they all come back? Answer me
thatV
MATRIMONIAL PHILOSOPHY.
Her black eyes fairly snapped. She had
evidently been considering the matrimonial
problem on her own account. The next OBJ
servatlon OF this philosophical maiden made
that certain.
The trouble is that the kind of a man
would have Is the kind who will probably
never ask me to marry him, and the kind
who does ask wouldn't have. That's it
up to datcl Having been born and bred to
manage to live any other way. But, dear
mel There are two sides to this matter.
Look at the kind of men we meet! What
sort OF a husband is a man Likely to make
who gets wild over the ballet? Why not
give us credit for some womnnhood: with
some tastes, good desires, feelings, ambition,
the same rs IS accorded other girls who must
work for living? These same girls. who
are spoken of cOntemptuously as only ballet
girls, are made of better stuff than most
women of good society. Now, do wish
You would say good word for u.s." plead
ingly. "TheIe is rarely anything printed
about us except slurs, insinuations and con-
temptuOus sneers about our calling. Not
that it really makes any difference, because
1t doesn't Only it would be refreshing to
read something different"
THE SALARY PART OF IT.
Q holIa hue; ..:.t. 4
sar' is easy for us" went on the ballet girl;
Il mean compared with our work with the
Kiralfys. There is no danger of growing
over stout with the Kiralfys. When the
brothers were at outs aud fighting each
other they used to bid for us to keep us
work hard, for the ballet was always the
principal feature. Good dancers in any con-
siderable number are hard to get in this
country, and two big spectacular shows like
the ballet at the Madison-sanare Garden
and Nero use up nearly all the material.
That is the reason you see in the front near
ly all Of the same girls.
I'VE have only two short dances here, and
it is considered good engagement We
get $50 a week. The chorus girls get SIS.
Any kind 81 pretty girl can be put in a
chorus. We never have anything to do with
them, on or off the stage! (rhis with some
snow of. pride.) They are probably very
nice girls, though. The managers know ali
of us, and they make engagements with us
the same as are made with actors and act
resses for the presentation of the regular
drama"
But what a life! TO those who must live
it the thing is a matter of course. To nine
teDthS of the mothers and fathers of the
great world of quiet homes the spectacle of
these young girls amid such daily and
nightly associations would carry with it the
sentiments of profound sorrow and COM
miseraiiOn. Charles L. Murray, in Pitts
burg Dispatch.
HENRY CLAWS PICTURE.