New-York tribune., 1903-03-22

from the graceful fexions Of the neo-Grcclan
American dancer
There is concealing the fact, however, Ihill
the cakewaIk as performed in Paris is entirely
different from the dance as II is seen IN Inc
Southern States one sees the Partisan cake
walk the influence of the defunct quadrillc and
.ancan The contrrtion Of the thighs and point
ing of the toes peculiar to the folk dances OF
Latin races are retained by the Partisan adapt
ers of the rural cake"alk, Very rarely one
finds Il Partisan cakewalk dancer VII" has mas
tered the absolute homeless Tli;incy Of the South
trn negro. The characteristic limp and the flap
ping Of the arms seldom acquired by the
Gallo performer. Moreover. the French actress
IS who have devoted themselves to interpreting
the caIkcwak preserve Il c"luetushness OF I'M
gerie and that Partisan refinement of provoca-
tive Vou4tuOusnt s. that Is foreign 10 Ile goo"
old Virginia c;ikeWall.
Last evening at the GI:t RI during the dress re
bfarsaI of IGevcrs oIcr;l Ia Statue''-which, by
the way contains one Of the most charming
bali,.ts produced at tn" National Academy Oh
Musicand Dance fCrmany a year-lt so happened
tb,t fell into conversation with 4 leading
s;ar Of the ballet. Mile Iohstein The graceful
artist EXPRESSED the oIi3.i'n that the chkeWilIk.
" hi, n she said was now apparently at the ZeHith
Of its popularity, would in som" way or other
leave its mark on the academic dancing of the
IS vet too soon to prcdirt,' she remarked. "hut
if may not be too hazardous to assume that the
long waving I,ruceseiunIikc action Of the cake
wall, will influence the composition and Sc"ntlht
conception of our ballet movements and group
inc.; We all KNOW continued my fair inform
ant "tnat it was from the flowing luminosity "l
the Ioie Fuller dance that We obtained some
of the finest effects Of the great Parlsl,n 'HII"'
figures and l think the American cakcW'Ik VIII
develop greater nexibiIity of the arms ana lead
gradually to a sort of arm dancing that if
studied carefully and applied to well drilled
corps de halIpts Of 300 dancers, all moving their
arms and hands in unison and with perfect pre-
cisiun will produce most original and striking
efItcts'
1t is curious to note that in the French
adaptation of "FIorod"ra,'' now produced
at the Theatre ,lcs Boufe -Tariscns, the cake
walk is danced 10y four negroes whose partners
are. four whit" American girls. What would
American audiences say about this new feature
of the race. problem? An interesting aspect OF
the cskcUalk Was PRESENTED at a juVtn nile On
tcrtauncut at tie Automobile Club Of France
where the childrvl of the members danced al
the. afternoon and enjoyed Immensely what *
nov regarded i'll Paris as the national American
dance.
The c:.kcwalk has entirely driven away tn"
clnc;In and the ''das,. du vcntre' frcm the
grand artistic costume balls Of Paris. Painters
likt. tfCrCrac I:uGilI;!t, GerveX, CarUus-l l'ul"n
Clairin Cuurtois WILL B"Idini, Gabriel FrrIlrr
and jules Left ',yrc. have one and all this year
tried their hands and feet at the irreI'rt Ssi'lc
cIktwaIk Nearly all the artists Of Paris ana
members Of the atcc!s Of the four arts $
uaintin. sculpture architecture and engraving
have been infected 10y the cakeWalk mI"r"'"
At the OF era balls this winter the great features
were the cakcwaIk competitions. Nightly. At
the famous Moulin dc Ia Galctte on the hrIEh'S
Of Montmartre, the cakcwalk rules SUPREME
went there last Thursday The place WAS
tbrnnced There was a Wild cyclonic noise u-
e+airs What is the mattcr?' oh th" cake
walk is bt.giuiiu2.,' Tw" policemen quI' KY
took off their uniform caps and rushed up t"
e.e the fun. The crowd WaS :" thick that there
was scarcely room enough for tn" SIX graceful
| little bacchantcs Uf MOntmartre to perform
! their syrations to the air of "SunflOwcr Sue
| There was a rush and a tumble. and all w're
uellmeI on the floor. After great difficulty,