The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-01-09
THE DANCE REFORM.
What Strauss, the Vienna Music
King, is Doing
TO AID THE LOVERS OF THE Waltz
First and Only Grand Opera Soon
to be Produced

Especial to THE Observation-Disclosures Dispatch
VIENNA, Jan. Shy cable to the New
York Herald. II interviewed Johann
Strauss at his handsome home in the arts
toratic quarter of Wieden. His study is
spacious and the magnificent rooms are
filled with artistic and musical souvenirs
requiring volumes to describe. He was
standing on a raised dais, with an Ameri-
can piano on his right and in front of him
was that masterpiece of coloring, 'Terp-
sichore in Repose,"b Hans Manart. The
valse king received me warmly. His black
eyes flashed with pleasure when 1 told him
that Americans were interested in his
dance reform ideas.
II am glad to see you," he said. "For
more than year l have observed less
waltzing than formerly, and this holds
good for France, America and England, as
well as for Australia. if am well informed
notice that the quadrille becomes more
popular because the waltz is fatiguing and
heating and the quadrllle is neither, and
people OF d certain age can participate in
IT, 10 waltz one needs great space. Where
eight couples Can Waltz comfortably, forty
eau dance the quadrille.
Il hope the young people who waltz to
my music will not be angry with me for
my proposed innovations and reforms. 1t
is for their convenience and pleasure that
| make these changes. The young folks
care, of course, less for the dance than for
the chance to converse, which it gives them
when mamma is far ont of hearing. With
the present waltz these cauSeries, owing to
the velocity OF the movement and the ne
cessity of avoiding collisions, are often far
from satisfactory. How many young men
have remained lonely bachelors their whole
life long, because just as the physchologi-
cal moment presented itself they missed it
Tor the want of breath. Horrible TO think
of it,' said the waltz king with smile
You will be surprised to learn that though
the Strauss family for three generations
have written waltz music they have never
danced pas l myself, if brought on the
tanzboden would cut shocking figure.
And now for waltz music of the future
''To begin with, pray re-assure the pub
lie, which has already accused me of wish
ing to plagariZe their socalled valtZ-min-
uet, re-assure them that among the many
things English which [ admire is not to be
found their idea of dance music.
[ have not settled fully myself upon new
dance, suche noch INNER. | have never
thought for moment to completely aban-
don the waltz. l wish to attempt trans
formation and will divide my next work
into two distinct measures. The first
measure will remain one of trois-quatre
but of adantino movement. With this one
can fiirt, coquettiren, as we say in Vienna,
at will and with satisfaction. The second
measure will have the habitual movement
of the waltz. My next waltz is not on pa
per. It is en- Pair. 1t is simply an expert
ment l wish to make without noise or fra
cas- / do not wish to play the reformer.
Then we will return to our first love, the
hustling, breathless waltz of yore. 1t all
resolves itself into a question of length of
breath.
"And when do you propose launching the
new step 2"
81 might as well say am in clandestiue
correspondence with maitre de ballet.
From this collaboration result VIII fol-
low, and [ snail iuterpolate my new dance
II my new and only grand opera, upon
which have been working for nearly two
years. Tue opera will be called The
Cavalier Pasomann.' The scene is laid in
Hungary. 1t will be produced next autumn
at tne grand opera house. And now you
know more than my intimate friends