Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1906-10-23
FAMOUS BALLET DANCERS.

IT has been asserted that the grand
ballet died when the famous Taglioni
retired in 1915. At any rate, the ballet
today is chiefly spectacle of dress
and colored limeIight. Except for a
very few performers, dancing as a
high art has vanished.
There is no one now to set beside
La Taglioni, who was the queen of the
stage Balzac introduced her into his
novels. Even Thackeray condescended
to notice her and declared enthusiasts
tically in 1.-THE Newcomes. that the
young men of the day will never see
anything so graceful as Tagiionl in
La Sylphide.'" At that time she was
the rage. Stagecoaches and great
coats were named after her.
La Taglioni owed her charm to a
wonderful lightness and grace. Her
style was rather ideal than realistic
and voluptuous, as was then the vogue
The hideous ballet skirt of today she
never wore, but skirt that reached
nearly to her ankles. 1t was one Of
the principles of her father, who taught
her all she learned of the art, that the
dancer should be modest in dress, in
movement and in expression.
Another famous master, who called
himself lie Dieu de la Danse,' always
told his pupils to use all the coquetry
they could.
Vestris, who founded the famous
Vestris family, was an eighteenth cen
fury celebrity and quite remarkably
conceited even for dancer. There
are but three great men alive" he used
to say, myself, the Prussian Fred
erick and yoltaire" ct is interesting
to compare Southey's remark that a
male dancer deserves to be ham,
strung.) That profession of which he
was so proud Is indeed an arduous one.
vestris used to practice for about six
hours day. A dancer must be ex-
tremeiy strong and supple.
A curious story is told about Fanny
Elssler, a German dancer with coal
black hair, which illustrates the ex-
IRENE muscular strength dancer re-
quires. She was crossing to America
when she entered her cabin one day
and discovered a thief abstracting the
jewel case which she kept hidden I'M
der her pillow. Before he could attack
her she planted her foot full in his
chest and killed him on the spot.
1t is curious that no Englishwoman
has ever achieved supreme success as
a dancer. 1t is possible, as foreigners
assert. that they lack the dramatic gift.
1t is certain that lifelong devotion
and arduous apprenticeship are essen
tial to any expression through the me-
dunn of dancing. The rats" the be-
ginners at the Paris Opera, are arti-
cled for five years, and then, unless
they have danced from their cradle,
they cannot hope to attain the first
rank
Another quality essential to the great
dancer is Infinite patience. The only
English dancer who ever gave promise
of attaining the front rank failed In
this respect. Lola Montez was the
foreign name she had taken.
She lost her temper one day with the
manager at rehearsal and expressed
her feelings so dramatically as to
break an umbrella over his head. Man
ayers will endure much for arts sake.
but this was too much
Carlotta Grisi is another famous
name of the old opera. 1t was she
who first introduced the polka into
Bohemian dance that came
to stay. 1t was for her, too, that
Heine, Gautier and Adoiphe Adam
in writing "Giselle."
There were score more famous
names that were familiar words in
those days. OF the twelve leading
dancers engaged at the Kings theater
in 1924 for two months season five
were sufficient attraction to receive
more than Fl 900 each-London Mail.