The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1897-03-18
WHEELING AND DANCING

More than one girl who last summer de-
eOted great attention to wheeling has made
the disaereeable discovery that her indul-
gence in bicycle exercise must be curbedlf
she would retain the graceful ease OF mo-
ton necessary 10 a good dancer. Society
girls not few lave been puzzled TO lind
that the graceful movements of former sea
sons were almost if not quite impossible
during the winter Just closed. One Of the
most enthusiastic bicycle girls in town
found that dancing tired her terribly and
feared that something serious was the mat
ter, she sensibly consulted the family ply
stefan. The medical man fortunately had
made careful study of bicycling, and the
young woman was at once assured 10y him
that she was in no danger whatever.
MY dear Miss Blank" said he, while
taking your daily spin on wheel last sum-
mer YOU were laying the foundation OF the
trouble regarding which you now consult
me- You remember that after a twenty
mile ride YOU found walking irksome?
Your muscles seemed to have slipped
cog. Well. the same dissemination to
dance would have manifested itself had
YOU attempted to indulge in that amuse-
ment You will remember that warned
/ am afraid you did not heed the warning
You sec, big, muscular development does
not accompany grace.
We do not look for grace in a black
smith. While the moderate use OF the
wheel would, in my opinion, prove detri-
mental in no way to the dancer, yet, as 1
think is often the case, when INDUCED in
20 great excess, it would certainly detract
from the dancers grace and ease or motion
hy overC;eveloping allthe muscles fthe legs
and some ofthose of the back andabdomen.
The muscles of the arms and the rest or the
body are. but little used. In dancing all
the muscles or the body are brought into
plav and event developed A woman hav-
ing all her muscles evenly developed Will
be more graceful than the one who has
overdevleoped the muscles of the leg, back
and abdomen Il is also probable that
many women, who have became infatuated
wuhthe wheel indul geinthe sport to excess,
neglecting dancing altogether
The Young women VITO dance at the the
aters ruefully admit that their affection for
the wheels has caused them no end OF
trouble. Said one young woman. whose
merry eyes have gained for her an interna-
tional reputation: Il took up the wheel for
exercise and likedit ever so much. but what
was my surprise after had been ridingfor
a while TO find that for some reasonor other
At was very much harder for me to dance
than il had been before. Finally went 10
see Iny doctor and asked him if there WAS
anything wrong with my muscles. He
looked me all over carefully and then said
the only thing that was wrong was the
wheel He said that riding the wheel dead
enCd the muscles that 1 used in dancing,
ana that every night, when | had been rid
ing insthe day. I would find that the mus
cles for dancing wouldn't act as if I had
not been riding.
walking does not affect me that way at
all. have had &c give up The wheel much
as I hated to. l couldn't make the little
kicks and twirls with my legs that | ought
to in order to make my dance perfect. -
Chicago Chronicle.