The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-01-08
DAUGHTER OF DELSARTE,
Eldest Daughter Of Frances Apostle
Of Estheticism Appears In
New York.
Her First Work Lies Ia the Limo
OF UnteaohinE False
Notions.
Jsnness Miller and Mabel Jenness. ana
Their Work-Dlvidsd skirts and
Physical Culture.

NEW YORK. JAN. 2.--PHYSICAII
M sulturs il one Of the fads that havs
TX come to stay with M for some tims.
This became obvious Z good while
aao, but nothing gavs ths fact greater ena-
phasis than the arrival, the other day, Of
Nine Marie Grady Delsarte. {
Everybody has heard that NINE. Dslsarts
il the eldest daughter Of the famous Del
sarts; that after her father death she pre-
sided oyer the old Delsarte house n the COR
nsr Of the Boulevard Courosllss and Pare
Moncsau in Paris until after she became
successful in art; that sho and her sister
NadeIains have both exhibited in tho salem;
that Madslains il one Of the instructors in
tho Julian school, where Marie Bashkirtssf
was ! pupil. and that Marie Dslsarts Ii !
very interesting il not : very highly gifted
singer. But everybody has not had the
opportunity to know that Nms. Del
snrte IL : Of remarkably
fascinating appearance. She 10 NOT
beautiful, but she ii charming. Home-
body has said she looks like Sarah Bern
hardt. Tbs resemblance ID not readily de-
teoted. For one thing, she il very dark.
with plenty Of dark brown hair. She il
very French in appearances. OF course the
chief living exponent of Delsartism has q
finely modulated voice. OF course her
walk in q poem Of motion. OF course,
being French, she eomplAeently does not
speak English, and you have 10 chat with
her in the best French you have, and, being
American, your French ID probably very
bad, almost as bad a. If you were English.
Mme. DslEarto will be occupied for =
considerable time in telling US what Del
sartiam ID not. Undoubtedly mush that is
laid Il Delsarts's door BY modera teachers
Of physical culture and elocution il
very wide Of tho mark the dis
tinguished instructor aimed to hit.
Nine. Dslssrte has already found that
her fathers teachings are being very widely
caricatursd here; that scores # fantastic
ideas have been grated upon the original
stem of the Dslsarte theory. Shs has come
to correct our notions on thess points. She
has to toll us that her fathers theories
have more TO do with the art Of dramatic
EXPRESSION than with physical culture, but
she promises to show also how intimate il
the relationship between the two arts.
Gsnevieve StsbbiRs says that what Comte
has done for exact science, Buckle and Mill
for history, Spencer for culture, and Ruskin
for painting, Dslsarts has tried to do for
action" After having taught Rachel, Son
sag, f0sea, MOheAor0 q OtNeE stage aGar0,
Dslsarte died in 1871.
Steele Nackaye began the Delsarts furors
in this country = good many years ago.
Dslsarts's daughter has begun Z new cru
SADIE upon our aesthetic impulses. Her first
private appearances in New York have OK
Cited much curiosity. Her dresses are net
surprising; yet they possess Z d%istinctiye
is never bizarre in anything.
A fcw lines will explain Mime. Delsarte1s
SYSTEM as it applies TO physical culture and
in those respects which may be eommuni-
Gated without a teacher. The system be-
dexibility in the body. "Decomposing OK
s~rcisss'' These are called. The preliminary
''msthstic gymnastics'' are divided into
twelve departments, a. follows: Fingers,
hand, forearm, entire arm, head. torso.
foot. lower leg. entire Leg, entire body,
struoted TO "iet the fingers fall from
knuokles as if dead; in that condition
shake them. Vital foroe should stop at
knueklss." This "decomposes" the fingers.
In the same way the head ID treated. 'Drop
the head to one side dscomposed; it will
from its own weight as you have seen
persons asleep nodding.n In the second
stage of the lessons, after the person has
learned to ~"decompose,"' comes the train
ing in harmonic poiss of bearing" Then
comes the relations of the principle of
that q vital division" treating of the diff
ferent physical elements. After this Mime.
Delrarts carries her pupils into the Moral
DIVISION" in which the pupil learns, for
instance. that the torso has three division q:
the mental zons-the seat of con-
scionoe, honor, manhood and woma n
hood; moral z0ns-seat OF the
affections; vital zone-seat of the
arpetitoS. The science Of expression now
begins to unfold and take on complications.
The training Of expression in the eye alone
ia on the most scientific basis. Mmo, Del
sarts follows strictly tho teaching and ter
minology of her father in describing the
ampliication of expression in the eye. The
terms "normo-soncentrio,' ''co%ncentro-sx-
centric" "s1eentro-normal," and SO on,
are bswildering to the begiansra or the
o%nlookcrs, but Goon begin 10 mean some
thing. The nose is made eloquent by the
mere shadow of . wrinkle. Sensibility.
n9gressivonsBs, consciousness and other
phases, are illustrated by the nostrils and
wrinkles over the nose. The mouth natur-
ally affords a field for profound study. .The
grammar of pantomims'' leads the vav to
the voice, Of which Delsarte made
rs elsewhere, takes occasion TO \.
l~ustrate her fathers theory by per-
sonal effort. Her father wrote q number of
songs for her that no might in them and
through her voice illustrate his theories of
vocal expression. Thu few who have been
to Nine. Dslsarte's salon chats
since she stepped of La GnscoiRne last
week, say that to hear her sing is an sxpsr-
ionce OF a notable kind. But few people
sing. Like her father, she is extremely in
in her WAYS.