The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-12-25
DANCE AS YOU PLEASE NOW.
Society Really Has Forsaken the
 Dainty Steps of Old.
New York Sun.

Society Really Has Forsaken the Dainty Steps of Old.
 New York Sun. | Just about year ago letter "rit'e" by an English dancing master got into one or two of the newspapers here anu caused a mild sensation for the traoi, tional nine days. The Engishman nao the temerity to declare that American women were not graceful dancers, or at least that they danced less gracetuiiy than
 English women.
 | The uncomplinentary declaration pro-
 voked immediate and warm denials from | indignant New Workers of both sexes | Then the topic died a natural death, ana Americans went on dancing as gayiy as | ever and precisely after the 1asnioh De- rated by the Londoner.
 He must be chuckling now, though, II | he reads American newspapers, Tor out or Chicago comes a vigorous wall rom an erstwhile master of dancing, who declares
 he has gone out of the business soiely De- cause it has come to paSs that nowadays no one dances; that the rising generation
 romps and shuffles and runs, does every thing, in fact, but glide. Worse still grace and dignity In the ballroom are out | of fashion, he says Young women dont | know how to curtesy nor young men | how to bow. And he says that the oalnty | Anished stems once associated with the art of dancing have all but disappeared
 dating from about the time when the
 two-step sprang into being and made dancing possible for the untrained
 This from Chicago! Here in New York,
 which brides itself on knowing few po- lite accomplishments, 1t might be expect ed that the dancing masters. at least. | would take issue with the Chicagoan's description of 'latter-day dancing. Strange | to say, though, soma agree with him, ana | the best of them are almost apatheuc on | the subject.
 | ''In some respects" said one of them
 'the Chicago teacher is right Where he
 makes a mistake. though. is to say that the rising generation doesn't know how | to do the dainty steps danced by its
 Rrandmothers. The very self-same steps l taught then are taught to children today
 by every first class teacher. both pri-
 vately and In class, and they are thor
 oughly learned and practiced, too, at ev- | cry dancing school"
 | Then why is this iconoclast rigdff" | Society, when it grows up, win have
 none of the dainty steps, except on special | occasions. For the last five years, at 1 least, the two-step and waltz have alter
 mated on fashionable dance programs as | well as on others not so fashionable. to I
 except an occasional lancers. It is quite | true that the schottische, redowa, varso- | vienne, minuet and other dances which ! once had a conspicuous place in the ball. room card are seen no more but not for l the reason that young people don't know | how to dance them.
 New York spends piles of money ev- | cry year on dancing lessons which include
 all kinds of fancy dances and the most | A lS1a- | to-do, almost from their very cradles, are toted off to dancing school. Yet in l spite of 1t all, the richest set-the smart l set, as 1t is caled-dances. If anything, more carelessly and with less grace than | any other. It can be accounted for only by believing that 1t wants to take its
 dancing, like everything else with as little trouble as possible.
 l Really, the best dancing in New York | is not seen in the bathrooms of society
 but in the cosmopolitan dance halls. fur
 ther down town, patronized by the plain
 est classes of every nationality. In the | latter on occasion one may see really
 beautiful dancing-not romping; see the
 lancers danced-not walked through | AS a matter of fact, the movements
 in the lancers are really very graceful. although oftentimes the truth would
 never be suspected, judging from the way In which they are performed in the | average ballroom. As rule at such times
 instead of lowing low to his partner and turning gracefully with the music to
 repeat the ceremony to the lady on the l opposite corner young men content them
 selves with bobbing their heads and
 slightly twisting their bodies. Ana when
 the time comes for other very pretty steps | they simply shuttle their feet Some young | women are almost cI-eless
 Presumably the. now how it 1 ought to be done fo vent to danc-
 ing school when childi =; they prefer
 to do as they please.
 | "A dancing master. in fact has little
 or nothing to do nowadays in regulating
 what and how society shall dance in
 public. Nov Workers are nothing if not | faddish. All that is necessary is for some ] one bolder than the rest to start a par
 ttcular movement and at once all the
 rest follow suit, until a newer one Is in- troduced.
 For instance last season 1t was the
 custom in many fashionable baIlfooms
 for young men during the dance to hold
 the right hand of their partners pressed 1 against their neCkte. so to speak or ! practically as high as that Needless to
 say. no dancing master ever taught any, tnlns so ridiculous, The custom was start ca by lot of college boys on the alert
 for novelty. If was probably ;he outcome
 Of that other absurd custom which was
 all the rage one winter. of shaking hands
 on level with the nose.
 Last winter, and, indeed all summer long at the best known watering places young women, especially the more fash lohaole or them. made q point when
 dancing of pulling their dresses aronnd them SD tightly as to outline The p.hnrs figure and make 1t almost impossible fur the Wearer to take a long gliding step
 Does anyone imagine that a danciny
 teacher ever encouraged such folly? or
 that he would for one instant permit ! such an ungraceful proceeding while eiv- ing lesson? Certainly not"