Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-01-07

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MirA YG, He meant simply that
WlIf Glj dancing Ia the most
WIZ conservative thing In
the sentence with some
grains of allowance for
exaggeration. il lie true.
People waltzed almost soon there were
any people in the world, and the savage. Of
Central Africa are very likely dancing ger
man at the same time that one is being held at
the capital Of the United States. Wherever
| there are men and women there is dancing, lust
as much SO as there is laughing or CRYING and
all dancing is similar. circle Of natives sit
ting in the heart of an African forest. beating
sticks and clapping hands, while one goes into
the center, dances and then chooses a partner
| from those in the circle-there you have every
| essential Of the modern german; or a good In
dian ghost dance, with hopping and skipping
about would do for german, too, although it
would be pretty lively one.
1t lie not strange, therefore, that there have
been no new dances invented recently. On the
| contrary, the tendency is 10 return TO the Old
waltz and polka. Dancing in a barn." which
wss SO popular two years ago, and the New
| port, which had narrower popularity, and
the racket" which WAS the rage for eighteen
| months, as well numerous other dances, have
all had their day and been relocated to the
grave that receives defunct fashions and fais
But the waltz and polka remain always as the
stock dances Your grandmother INDUCED in
them and will your grandchildren, unless
peradventure, they degenerate and become too
lazy.
THE WALTZ A GENUS OF DANCING.
But the waltz must be considered as a genus
Of dances, as it were. OF which there are num-
Der of different subdivisions. Thus about If
/ teer overytoiv an
| Boston or the Boston dip" which was moth
ing in the world but the waltz with one Of the
| steps left out The rcdowa also has seen DAYS
| Of popularity, and that is merely a variety of
| hop waltz. There was an abomnation termed
| society once let loose in the shape of a kick
| ing waltz. 1t the old waltz with all the
grace left out. There seems 10 be no doubt among
dancers that the waltz is the greatest of all the
dances, and perhaps one reason why il is so is
| that it has been so fortunate in the music that
has been composedfor When good orchestra
| plays one OF Strauss great airs it would seem to
be almost impossible that any but a lame man
| could keep quiet.
! But there must be no mistake that among
modern dances it is the American waltz that is
the most beautiful. The deux-temps, which is
a whirling, dizzy, two-step waltz is danced
very well by foreigners. but the best dancing
in the world won't make il good waltz. Nor
can a quickstep waltz without reversing be
said to be beautiful, and in Europe thev never
reverse. 1t remained for this country to per-
feet the waltz in giving to the world the glide
waltz with the reverse movement, that permits
the dancers to enjoy themselves for some time
without fatigue. This dance realizes the fun
damental idea that underlies. all dancing since
it is more than any other, the art of rhy, clinical
movement.
ANTIQUITY OF THE GERMAN.
To return to the german, which was spoken
of as a mere modern adaptation OF a very old
system of dancing, there can be no doubt that
this is susceptible of very good demonstrations
In Egypt more than 1900 years ago there we're
dances with figures such as are used now. One
has come down to us, described as follows:
There was figure dance common throughout
the country i'll which two partners advanced
toward each other, stood face to face upon one
| leg. and, having performed series of move
| ments. retired in opposite directions, con-
| tinuing to hold each other by one hnnd and
| concluding by whirling each other aroud
| Here is figure which could be adapted for
| any german which may be given next week.
| While upon this subject of the ancients and
| their views of dancing it will be interesting TO
| note what one of the Roman writers thought was
| necessary to make thoroughly good dancer
| He must first be familiar with poetry. because
dancing is itself merely poetry acted to music.
| Second, he must know geometry. for he must
execute a great variety o. mathematical figures
and cannot do 1t correctly unless he knows
/ what figures are and what are not correct. He
must know music of course. He must be a
| philosopher. This is going rather far. but the
| theory Is that good dancer must make no mo-
tons without having reason for them. He
must also be a good rhetorician, for
| be has to express the passions of
| the soul in a purely classic manner. He
must know painting and sculpture. and this Is
| quite essential. he cannot produce artistic
effect unless he is himself artist. He must be
inventive. but that goes without saying. FL
n "a Ivna he raeis aAf hat
he must have a profound knowledge of
the past, present and futurel 1t would
be hard, indeed. to apply this standard of ex-
cellence to the dancers of America of the pres
ent day. II you did so you would have the
best dancers in the Senate. among the pro-
| fessors at the universities and among the SOL
emn members of the clergy, with few long
haired poets and artists thrown in Here il
what is necessary to make good dancer at the
present day in the city of Washington: First of
all he must learn the steps and practice them
so much that they come to him without effort
on his part. Second, he must have good
muscles, well trained and supple. Third,
he must have a good ear for music.
II he has not he cannot follow
the tune and will be pretty sure to go wrong
Then he must have light feet and be GRACEFUL
| and, finally, he must have merry disposition.
Given all of these charac teristics and it is not
Of much consequence that he know rhetoric
or geometry, and he need not be philosopher
THE GERMAN OF TODAY.
While the german as a general scheme is
5000 Of years old the german of today is nearly
half century old. 1t was first introduced in
New York in 1874, but before that it was
danced in Germany, and there is a description
| Of something very much like it in one Of the
| late Field Marshal Won Moltke's letters to his
| mother. He danced il as a Young man at the
palace in Berlin, 1.-THE favors'' being artificial
| flowers 1t was known in this country as the
german cotillion at first, but gradually the last
| word came to be dropped and it became SIM
ply the german. although now 1t is spoken Of
also as the cotillion. The polka and waltz are
almost the only dances danced at a german,
except the figures which are composed Of evo-
lutions more or less intricate.
The polka, like the waltz, Is a great division
which is subdivided into other dances similar to
it. There are really only two motions, leap
| and hop. 1t is jolly dance and maintains
| its popularity year after year. few years ago
| a few enthusiasts danced it with the heel and
! toe, but the motions were too difficult for any,
| body but very skillful person to make The
truth is that these passing fancies Of the dance
do not last very long. and for the simple reason
that few grown people will take the trouble to
| learn them. They are very good for the dane
ing academy or the girls boarding school, but
the ordinary ball room Is not the place for
! them