Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-12
DAY OF THE DANCERS
Fascinating Monarchs and
!. Wedding MiIIionaires.
TAKING CITIES BY STORM
Drawing Higher Salaries Than Prima
Donnas.
HOW REVIVAL WAS STARTED
Dancing No Longer a Lost Art
Famous Ballet of the Paris
Grand Opera.
HOW REVIVAL WAS STARTED

Written for The Star.
Dancers enthralHng kings; dancers we'd
ding millionaires; dancers buying yachts
and automobiles; dancers taking cities by
storm and drawing higher salaries than
tenors and prima donnasi
This is the record from day to day. The
dancer was never more feted more sought
for than now.
Truly, 1t Is the age for the muse of Terp-
sichore
For time 1t looked as though dancing
were lost art.
For half century the art as 1t has been
practiced in the brilliant days of Ellser and
Taglioni seemed to have passed. True, the
Grand Opera at Paris still had it's ballet
and In all parts of the world the ballet
show. as an excuse for displaying the glo-
ries Of the feminine form divine. continued
to hold sway. But 1t was the loneliness of
the woman. not the art Of the dancer, that
formed the prime requisite.
Now the dancer has come back to her
own The poetry Of motion Is the aim of
the amusement purveyor He wants the
performer who has mastered all the beauti-
full evolutions that appeal to the eye. She
ought to be beautiful, of course, but this is
not essential if she can but dance.
The names of dozens of dancers whose
services are being eagerly fought for in
Europe Immediately suggest themselves as
votaries of the graceful art who have prof
Tied by the new prediction for art that
reaches way back into the haze of antiquity
when dancing formed part of the religious
ceremonies.
Otero. Guerrero, De Mendes, Aragon,
Rocca, Westergaard, Hero, Deja are all
worshiped now just as were their precursors
OF hundreds of years ago.
The revival In dancing has been about ten
years reaching Its climax. Undoubtedly
Carmencita. La Loie Fuller and Otero had
much to do with bringing It about.
Fuller, drawing an unimportant salary In
Hoyt farce, invented new forms Of dane
ing, and was quick to see the better posi-
bilities they had In Europe than in the
United States.
She judged rightly, went to Paris, opened
her own theater. made an unexampled sue
cess and became rich.
Carmencita was less the business woman,
but she went all over the world, and helped
make people enthusiastic over the real art
OF dancing, and Otero and Merode. the
latter with her classical dances helped
largely to effect the revival.
influence Of Europe's Rulers.
Europe's kings have not been without in
fuence In favoring dancing. Emperor Will
liam Of Germany has always delighted to
pay honor to the queens of the fairy feet:
80 has King Leopold OF Belgium who
heaped limitless wealth before the pretty
feet Of Cleo de Merode; and now the young
King Alfonso OF Spain has given orders
that there shall be assembled for him in
Madrid a corps Of dancers who for beauty
and ability shall be without match in the
world.
The young ruler Of the country OF the
dons loves music and dancing more than
any Of the other arts. and it Is his purpose
to award the highest salaries and privileges
to those who will help to keep Spain fore
most in the art of graceful motion.
1t is the plan of the king to keep out of
the repertoire the dance music of the for
eigns. and confine the work of his troupe
to strictly national dances.
Nor will he keep his dancers at home ex-
clusively. He wants the world to know the
beauties Of the bolero, fandango, seguedilla
and flamenco, and during the season which
is not the fashionable one at Madrid the
company will travel to Paris, Berlin,
Vienna, London, st. Petersburg, and even
to the United States.
One of the results of the newly aroused
interest in dancing is the greatly improved
ballet that is now a feature Of grand opera
performances in this country 1t used to be
that opera goers cared little about the kind
OF dancing that was furnished them. Free
quently in operas like Faust" the ballet
was cut altogether, and where, as in
Aida" "Lakme' and Queen of Sheba,"
1t was Indispensable, it was SO poorly given
as to be merely travesty on what art
should be-
Now things are different. Herr Conreid,
OI the metropolitan opera House,
thinks the dancing feature of his entertain
ments so important that he picks out the
best premier danseuses in Europe. The art
of the Girl With the Red Domino has
attracted to the Metropolitan Opera House |
many whom the destinations Of the music
alone would never suffice to draw.
1t has been the usual experience of the |
dancer to come up from the ranks, to have |
been an humble performer at first, child |
dancer, a prodigy. OF such kind was Me- |
rode, who began an inconspicuous men, |
Der of the ballet at the Grand Opera, Paris |
and worked her way to the top.
Daughter Of a Countess.
Otero, who is mentioned as one of the |
stars that Alfonso hopes to take to Mad
rid, is noblewoman, daughter Of the |