The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1896-02-22
ACTORS OF MANY LANDS.
Attracted to the United states from All
Over the World.

Attracted to the United states from All
l.. over the World.
There are few countries of either Eu-
rope or Asia which have notcontributed
or are not contributing specially fea-
lures in the line of gymnasts, %conjurers,
singers, dancers and equilibrists to the
American stage. Africa and Australia,
on the other hand, have furnished few
performers. From Japan, more than
any other country, come the COnjHrers
and equilibrists, whose marvellous sup
p~lcHess and surprising deXterity ARE the
envy of American gymnastS every
where. From India come the nautch
dancers and a few straightforward per-
formers, though the latter have never
ranked very favOrably with the JaPa-
neSe specialists in the same line. From
Arabia come, at rare intervals, men
skilled in hOrsCmanshipO or feats of phys-
zeal strength. China, though the most
pOpulous country of Asia. and the coun-
try of Asia most largely represented in
the population of the United States, has
contributed nothing to the fund of pub
lie entertainment or of instruction
though stage or circus performances.
From England come chiefly the serio-
comic singers, almost without number,
and the "pattcr' vocalist from the music
halls-a ''pattcr" vocalist being one who
is gifted with more volubility Thar APP
probation for melody. There are gym
nasts, too, from England more distin-
guished as a rule for their physical
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inality. The SeriO-comiC singers who
come from England are mostly wOmen
The male comic singers from London
music halls are not in very much de
mand here. From France, too, come fS-
male SeriO-cOmiCs and occasionally a
male comic singer-suCh rs Paulus.
Blu male comic singers from FranCcare
not II more successful than those
from England.
The French stage sends to the Amer
lean stage many clever dancers and
some graceful ~EymnaSts, and besides
these the ''shadowgraph' men, who re-
produce familiar objects through the
medium of IA magic lantern. There are
very few French vcntriloquists who
come to this country, whereas the Eng
fish stage sends many. French per-
formers, as n rule, are better at sleight-
of-hand than their English cousins.
From the Tyrol, in Austria. we get the
perennial and inevitable Tyrolcan war
blers. From Spain come the dancers,
who perform always to the music of the
c%astanet. From Italy come the vocal
lists and occasionally a gymnast Of in
tcriOr quality. From Germany como
men of strength, like SandOw, who have
great powers Of endurance and the abil-
ity TO lift weights. From Turkey come
most of the skilled SwOrdsmcn and
knife and sword SwaIIowcrs. From Rus
STA there are II few dancrrs; from
Poland and Hungary there are many,
and these latter always appear in what
are known as the national costumes.
From Sweden vomc female musicians
trained to play in harmony in an Or
Chestra. Tn" American stage derives
nothing Of value from Greece, Holland,
Denmark, Portugal, Switzerland or Bel
GUM, and very little from Scotland and
Austria.
In respect to ~gymnaStic ability the
japanese performers probably outrank
all others who as aliens appear in the
United States. The Persian performers,
so-callcd. who have been something Of
rage as dancers since the success of the
Chicago Midway, are, all of them.
strangers to the land of the shah. The
foreign aerOnauts are either French or
EngliSh.-N. y. Sun.