Connecticut western news., 1895-03-07
ABOUT DANCING.

Now that the season of Lent has be- gun and there will be forty nights de- void of dancing for the majority at least, perhaps some will be interested in knowing thing or two about the slight fantastic" aside from the practi- cal knowledge of knowing how to dance.
 THE WALTZ in our grandfather's dan cling days WAS a much livelier gyration than the dreamy glide of to-day and was a succession of rapid whirls to the right and to the left and vice versa. The steps were taken sideways and a complete turn was done in two meas ures, whereas the wsltzers of the pres- ent take four measures to do their turn ing The waltz Is of German origin, and even to-day if you chance to see pair of Tentons doing the Dutch waltz with the music played allegretto. you will notice a much more vigorous dance than you would were you watching a pair of the 400" at Sberry's
 THE GALoP and the waltz were the only round dances much in vogue two generations ago. and the galop has not changed in its manner of dancing since that time though its name has been shortened, it being formerly called a galopade. Of course we are treating of these round dances ID their ungarnish ed state as there are many variations of the waltz and the others, the now pop ular two step being galop movement.
 THE MAzURKA. the Polscca and the Polonaise are national dances of Pol and. A polonaise is frequently used by leaders of grand marches with very pretty effect, though nowadays very few dancers know 1t and it is not called by its name but is designated grand march," The mazurka has its varia- tions, the yorke being one of them.
 THE POLKA was unknown prior to 1S40 when 1t was introduced to Paris and London by stage dancers. It be- came very popular and was introduced in almost every dancing room about that time. The dance is Hungarian, having its origin in Bohemia in 1881 where young peasant girl one Sunday afternoon performed a dance of her own invention humming an inprovised tune. The dance was identical with the plain polka of the present. It was initiated by Bohemian dancers and thus made
  quently to England. The polka-redowa, Berlin polka, heel and toe, etc., are some of it's noteworthy variations. The polka IS not now as popular as in former years.
 THE GERMAN or Cotillion is dance containing 104 principal figures, some of them very amusing. The leader of the German introduces such figures as he may desire and the other dancers dance these figures. Many additional figures have been added to the 104 but we cannot state how many. The Ger man Is dance always requiring lead CT, as there are too many figures for any one evening and the music has to be governed according to the figures.
 THE SCHoTTIsCHE came into favor in America shortly after the polka and was danced with hop step which of later years has been supplanted by the waltz turn. The dance has many pleasing variations.
 THE MINUEr "that grandma danced" was most popular dance in colonial times but passed from favor some years ago. A revival of the minuet took place in the "Oxford" short time since, but has now lapsed into obscurity again. The dance is of French origin.
 THE Two-STEP is just now a dance very popular aud of frecent origin in this country and is best adapted to galop movements but can be equally we'll danced to marches and polkas. There are two distinctly different ways of dan- ciug the two-step, though the dancer takes very nearly the same steps either way. The dance is not a waltz
 CONTRA DANCES are very little danced at the present and the Roger de Cover ly" of England, the same as the Virginia Reel of our common folk" is very sell dom given place on dance programs. Money Musk is the only other contra dance very we'll known among the pres. ent generation. Lady Washington. Tempest. Hull's Victory, White Cockade, Irish Wssherwomap, etc. were old time favorites.
 SQUARE DANCES and Quad. rifles, wonld be very pretty and pleas. ing if danced the way they should be and would form an acceptable variation to the round dances. could they be sus. taiped in popular favor There are many pretty figures of qnsdrilles which we do not see danced now which if used would tend to make the quadrille vel come dance. The three numbered quadrilles-all alike-served up to us by lazy orchestras and incom peteni prompters have taken the pleasure oui of the dance. Dancing is especially French in nature and derivation and some of the calls are still French, never having been translated, viz: Chassez Dos Dos, Moulinet, etc.