The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-01
WALTZ NO LONGER IN FASHION
Leading Dancing Masters Agree Tt is
Henceforth to be Tabooed.


Henceforth to be Tabooed-
From the Chicago Tribune. 77
Vale, the waltz!
The dreamy, rhythmic triple step by
which we swung into the rosehued land
of day dreams, the exquisite, sensuous
aid to our wOoings, the terpsichorean
means OF reconciliation after a lovers
quarrel, has been tabOOed. 1t has been
pronounced the dance of vulgarians.
A high crime has been laid at the
door of the waltz. 1t has become un-
fashionable. A powerful body met in
convention in this city in the early
summer months. 1t discussed and reg
ulated the pleasures of the rich for the
coming season. 1t decreed that the
waltz as it is waltzed is a shocking
and highly undignified feat. 1t issued
an ed1ct that the German importation
must be danced in slower tempo or not
at all. 1t adjourned with every evil
dence of cOmplacency. 1t has done it's
duty, and done it in the manner of
gentlemen and dancing masters.
The body was the National Associa-
tion of Teachers of Dancing. 1t was a
conservative and respectable organiza-
tiOn. Young persons who like to cover
a ballroom floor in three strides heard
the pronunciamento and muttered re-
belliOuSly.
Boston saw the convention of a yet
more courageous society. 1t was the
American Society of Professors of
Dancing. A fortnight ago it proclaim
dance, but a rOmp, and set the seal Of
its changeless disapproval upon it.
The waltz has had millions of devo-
tees throughout it's century reign.
Preachers have Illuminated against it
and had the pleasure of listening to
their own voices for their pains. Social
refOrmers have inVeighed against it,and
still waltz music was heard in the halls
of the rich and the houses of the poor.
When Lady Ancaster said that dane
ing was degenerating into romp she
set new pace for the dancing masters
! on this side. The English countess is
an ObserVant woman of the Lady Clara
| We're de We're order. Witnessing the
terpsichorean gamboIs of the day until
silence meant suffering to her impress
siOnable nature, she gave the world
her sentiments.
The only dance which can claim, in
the true sense, to be one at all in the
present day is the waltz" she said.
"Only, the waltz is being danced faster
and faster, and if this is continued it
will be spoiled. Owing to the pace it is
simply galoped through to no step at
all. This is fun, no doubt, but not
| dancing.
DOUBTLESS balls reflect the life of the
present day, which is one perpetual
rush No one can take pleasures
calmly. Surely it is not the perfection
of happiness to discover the art of per-
petual motion, which is what this gem
/ GRAFTON seems trying to do.
Though times and manners change,
I am sure a little old-fashioned cOur-
/ teSy. a little ceremony. and greater
/ desire to participate with others in Civ
ing pleasure would be an advantage to
US ALL"
The best known dancing masters of
! New York give the following state
| ments of their views concerning the
! dance:
| Professor Lawrence Dare-The waltz
| has become a rOmp. I am sorry to sa V
/ it, but [ must put the blame where it
/ belongs, at the door of the college boy.
/ College boys presume upon the amount
/ of their fathers money. They claim a
/ freedom that no gentleman should
/ want. They back a lady about without
/ fear or favor. 1 have found in my 20
4 years experience as dancing master
| that the college boy is the one I need
I to watch in my classes. He does not
! realize that the rule of dancing is al
/ ways to take care of the lady. They
violate this by backing her about as
! though they were moving furniture. Go
/ to any college dance to confirm this. So
/ long as the college boys rule on the
! dance floor continues the waltz will be
| in allegiance. The twO-step in slower
/ time will be it's successor.
| Oscar Duryea-The tWO-step is the
| leader. The secret of its success is that
| it is easy of accomplishment. 1t re-
/ quires no art to acquire it. 1t can cas-
! lily be learned in one lesson, while it
/ takes a season or two to thoroughly
/ master the waltz. There is more in
] spiration in the music of the quick
/ step, because it is quicker, and the
/ American must hurry even in his
! amusement. A waltz is not such I'M
/ less it is danced to slow. dreamy mus
ic. You cannot hasten the tempo of a
! waltz without spelling it. The reason
| for the present decadence of the waltz
! 1 take to be two-fOld. Its rival, the
two-step, is more easily learned and
can be danced with greater rapidity.
thus appealing to the American love of
| rush.
Professor T. George Dodworth-The
| disfavor shown the waltz is due to the
/ romping introduced into it of late
| years. The two-step brought out so
| much boisterousness that was carried
| into other dances, the waltz among 9TH
| ers. The very young set is chiefly re-
spOnsible for this.