The Washington times., 1908-12-20
Special Features Redeem
Week From Dramatic
Starvation.
GENEE AND DUNCAN
AS OPPOSING TYPES
One Aims at Grace in Ballet, Other
at Revealing Spirit
of Music.
By ALLEN D. ALBERT.

Nenise," in 1897. and became immensely
popular: CarlOtta Grisl, who was IA
nous in "GiseIle," and Fanny EIIsler,
who was especially a favorite in La
Tarantule'' and La DIable bolteux"
The three most famous dancers Of the.
year nearing its close Cperhapse are
Maude Allen, dancing IN London; Isa-
dora Duncan, appearing with Walter
DamrOsch and his orchestra: Adele
Genee, who danced at the National
Theater in this city during this past
week
Now dancing is Of many kinds. In It's
origin il may be traced 10 a universal
desire 20 express emotion by action. At
a later period came the element of PAN
tomines the suggestion Of an idea by
means of motion. All the world has
danced-aud danced always. With mu-I
sic and without il, the emotion and
the idea TO be expressed have related TO
social custom. Wal and religion.
From Church to Ballet.
The Egyptians and the Hebrews 400
years ago consecrated all their dancing
20 religion, even the plrouette The
Greeks ranked it with poetry and mu-
sic. according 10 Lucian dancing and
followed Greece in this as in every other
art Then the church kept dancing
alive until some time prior 10 60, when
1t was expressly forbidden for having
lost It's religious character. Germany
and England were dancing. meanwhile,
out OF doors like their older neighbors-
Most OF all this was sort OF rhy chnlic
procession. There were costumes and
f-fr
the disposition. with the Greeks as
somewhat of an exception, was to form
figures. 10 sway back and forth in uni
son, to depict such emotions as anger.
pleasure. love and passion by attitude.
and to make dancing a matter of spec
tacle as far as the state of the arts
permitted Among the people, however.
circular Dances more lively than
the measures" constantly appeared
and disappeared, as the waltz. the
polka, the schOttsche, and the twO-step
are doing in our own time
Modern stage dancing dates back TO a
revival in Italy in the fifteenth century.
Ballets were never before so elaborate
- following the renaissance. Catherine
de Medlci introduced the fashion into
France. and from that time that nation
has led the world Little by little. the
ballet has come to be chiefly form Of
dancing for danCinEs sake. But there
still survive, in London, Paris. Berlin.
Vienna, and nearly every other
large city OF Europe. formal balIets.
highly organized. held as resoIutely to
plot as the formal drama.
Genee's Springing Lightness.
Genec IS "a product though not an ex-
pouent, ni this latent school Dancing
for. daucinc's sake is the foundation Of
what it is no extravaganza to call her
art Steps. accent, posture, poise, a
dazzling whirling round and round. with
the light Clistening from sDangles and
shining from sillIen 1abric-these ara her
chief concern. not plot or music. Her
effort is to produce grace Of motion.
And save from a French disposition 70
cNaggerate the artistic Importance Of a
stiff poisinE on the tips of her toes. the
effect is wholly beautiful
Springing lightness IS one Of her chief
charms. Again and again she made her
exit by sailing. as airily as a cloud. to
the back Of the stage and up the little
steps her feet found there. Her pirou-
ottes-which the dictionary defines as
a whirling or a turning on the toes IN
dancing g'-were done forward. back
ward. with one foot outstretched or
hidden IN her skirts or bending and
swsying. as she chose Her attitudes
were nearly all grace When finally the
curtain fell. there was in the mind a
strange confusion Of pictures. Of a
smiling woman who seemed littIer than
she was. twirIing and bending as easily
as a leaf in the wind. diaphonous and
airy aud silvery as a Wisp Of white
against a blue sky.
What Miss Duncan Would Teach.
Miss Aliens dancing was discussed in
these columns on the disclosure OF Miss
Hoffman's reproduction of the formers
Salome dance. Miss Duncan has come
since Hers Is still another kind of
dancing Says she:
with the Greeks, it was an idea,
not a series Of motions, which made
dancing. Hands and arms were of as
much Importance with them as legs and
feet Gayety and expressiveness, poet
~ and imagination. were the secrets Of
their dancing Now there has been I'm
music wonderful expression OF idea. OF
aspiration toward beauty, since the day
Of the Greeks. Why should not ali this
find a fuller Interpretation with the
help of dancing than without it?''
DO liilS woman sets out TO help as
good musician as Walter Damrosch
reveal the meaning of Beethoven.
GIuck, Chopin. That she gives "a new
objective to the music for the on-looker.
would be hard for any one to DENY.
That the dancing is in itself generally
thing of artistic beauty no one can
possibly deny But that the idea. the
beauty. are expressive to the spectator
and hearer of the composers musical
inspiration is very hard. indeed. TO be
ueVe.
She comes again next Tuesday after
noon This time she strikes back TO
another stage in the development OF the
dance by undertaking to elucidate
Gluck's "Iphengenie en- Aulide." Asthe
pioneer Of opera as an art form, GIuck
has made himself pretty plain. Let $
see Tuesday afternoon If Miss Isadors
Duncan. with her feet bare, can reveal
him any further
Two Who Redeemed the Week.
Harry Lauder and a dancer. then.
were the features OF our week. The one
was a fine illustration Of the power or
histriOUic art, Tho other was an equal
ly fine Illustration OF the beauty which