The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1907-02-04
FOY
] ak S
IN AN INTERESTING Way HE
TELLS OF THE EVOLUTION or
THE CHORUS GIRL.
(By Eddie Foy.)

VIII be more OF the legitimate, yes
perhaps more of the chorus girl, al
in THE Earl and the Girl" and les.
of the show girl. Il as a stager you
should drop In any of the spaghetti
restaurants in any Of the cross streets
in New York town at the dinner hou.
during any OF the summer mnths. the
frequency of the onslaughts Of tn.
street piano would startie you most
At least a dozen automatic musicians
will importune the guests assembled
around the tables within an hour. But
it Is, not the piano nor the musician
who commands the attention of one So
much as the gyratlons Of the little
girls who execute series of dances
to the accompaniment of the box.organ.
These are ubiquitous, indeed natural
appendage, to the piano.
But to indlviduniize. In one of tho
little cross treets in front Of one of
the little spaghetti eating houses, as
the clock strikes Ave, little Italian
girl wheels her piano up to the curb,
and little Iight-ha!red girl and lit.
tie dark haired girl take their places
upon the pavement for the evenings
rehearsal. They do not waltz; they
do not two.step. But they do take
upon themselves all the poses of>the
chorus girl. In fact they are show.
girls in embryo. They have their en-
frances and their exits and their en-.
sembles. They clasp hands and do a
step: they nod their heads and point
their toes and elevate their arms. Al
ways serious, they give no heed to
spectators. A blonde and brunette,
they seem designed for the chorus
ranks. Before two or three or four
years have passed they will have de-
yeloped into show girls. living in
their suit cases and making one night
stands. They are getting their train.
ing upon the cross streets of New
York, and in the chorus quarter.
Shortly they will wear the street cos.
tunes OF the typical chorus girl,
waists and skirts and hats in angles
and triangles and squares. Every.
thing square and masculine, always
eschewing the softer textures and the
curves.
Indeed the street costume Of the or.
binary chorus girl is distinct, and the
ordinary chorus girl is type. She is
indigenous to certain sections OF New
York City, and the individuality OF the
chorus girl dominates the soubrette
row, just as the individually of the
art student dominates the Latin
Quarter" of Paris.
1t is matter of ease to find the
rendezvous of the habitation of tho
chorus girl. saunter down any of the
side streets of New York during the
summer months and you will soon
know that you are among this inter
esting species OF the eternal feminine;
there comes a Focalizatlon through
the open windows, and now and anon
you will get peep through the open
window OF young woman fixing over
last years hat or tanning to iryness
the white shoes which have just re.
ceived fresh coat of chalk. Or you
will see her on the front stoop mend
ing stocking. always very near the
curb and the pavement, always in the
public eye, even from the embryonic
state up; indeed her windows are al.
ways open. She is show girl. She
is always before the public, and usual
ly living without sense Of her con.
| spicuousness. It is as natural for
her to pose before the public as 1t il
for the model TO pose before the ar.
fist. But her pose is sort of re.
poseful" pose, II you will allow such
an expression.
Musical comedies have been popu.
lar for decade or more; even longer
l should say. Whole families have de.
veloped into show girls during that
time. Mother and daughter have gone
into the ranks together, and young
women have come into this world with
all the instincts OF the matured chorus
girl: as witness the two little girls
have called your attention to. 1t is
Just as natural for them to SHOW
themselves. to dance upon the curb, rs
1t is for the birds to sing. They are
to the manner born. So the public.
through its great demand for musical
comedy during the last twenty years.
has been instrumental in creating a
distinct type of womanl,ooi.
All chorus girls are not Of the stere'
otype character, however.
Believe me, there are several spe-
cies, different in dress and mode OF
life. There's the show girl in the
front rank and the show girl in the
rear rank, the statuesque sextet and
the petite poney ballet, alwys dis
tinct in makeup. And would you be
1ieye It, this makeup of dress is re-