The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-02-28

Continued From Page 5.

1t shows when she whirIs are stock
lnSed, while those of the highly COM
mended lsadora Duncan in her art ex-
ercises are bare. Still, this Cleopatra
looks like resident in a torrid zone II
IS hot night on the Nile, and she may
have come out of her palace into the
courtyard for the solace of music in
the open air; for at the first sight of
her she is reclining Iazily. while low
pipes and faint tomtOms make rythmic
sounds, and two slaves blow a breeze
on her with big fans. It is fine pic
ture in both peopling and painting.
X x y
Cleopatra is restless. Perhaps the
mosquitoes of that period bite her For
a second guess. her love of the absent
Antony makes her uneasy. Then
again, her majesty may have had
vision of American dollars. Anyway,
she breaks the picture by springing up
from redundancy, and eXpends some of
her royal excess of eXubeTance- AraJah
is some sort of swarthy Arabiansif not
an Egyptian, and handsome enough to
stand for the historically voiuptuous
queen. She is a trained danseUse in
the Spanish manner, too, and for five
minutes she is a new Carmencita. Sud
denly she develops muscle dancing
what we call hootchie-cOOtchie; but she
doesn't stand on mOtiOnless feet while
throwing her body into tumult OF aSi-
tation. She combines those movements
with graceful activity of arms and legs.
This is no lazy Cleopatra.
Her majesty is fitful in her moods.
too. Her gaiety ceases suddenly. She
peers wistfuliy up and down the Nile
she is looking for Antony. She viii die
of a viper's sting. A basket is brought
10 her. She thTusts in her hands and
hT5nr--
Irvine around her fingers. Several wO-
men hastily quit the theatre: many
avert their eyes from the sight. and
Cleopatra pretends to be afraid of her
handfuIs of snakes: but they won't
bite her and she filings them back into
the basket. Will she now produce an
imitation of the historic asp and place
it on her breast? No 1t is a long
snake that she next brings out-a yard
and q half Of wriggling serpent-nOt
torpid, either, but very wide awake.
The men at the pipes and tomtoms in
the scene set nOisieT, the servitOrs with
the fans are awed, and Cleo herself
takes on an air of weird terror. And
the snake. he Curls around her naked
arms and shoulders. while she grips
him FAR enough back from his head to
give lim loose use of the business end
nf him Several more women get out
uf The house hurriedly. And Cleopatra,
she, too. suffers an access of horror
But in the Interest of Egyptian tradi-
ton. not to mention Shakespeare play.
she must be stung to death by viper.
First, though. she may do 4 hootchie-
ccothcie stunt with that snake She
fondles him though showing that he Is
CbhoTert. winds him around her neck.
Coddles him in her bare bosom. makes
ciTclets of him Toy her naked arms,
wraps HIM like a tUTban around her
head; and for a tragic climax doesn't
let him seem 10 sting her breast, but
takes the deadly venom in a kiss. The
snake isn't an actor. and don't know
NJ what trick the girl makes him want
To nut his foul mouth 10 hers Per-
haDs she smears her red lips with
something the snakes likes It is sure
that whenever she gives him the
chance. he darts at her mouth. She af-
fects repuEnauce and terror. Again
and again she roco.ls from the dreadful
fizs that Will kill. And, mind you. she
F. dancing in ddZed. doped. sort of de-
iirium all this while. and the pipes and
tor1toms are excited exceedingly. At
last. with u spasm of courage, she let's
TIE serpent touch her lips.
II is all over except the dying. The
Ceath throes are terrific. Also. they
struck mo as comic For she went into
s5lc1 con vuIsionS Of muscle dancing
Standing on stationary feet jhis time.
hdt with every square incH Of her twiXt
reci- and hips. ia violent cOmmOJiOn IS
VIII make the dancers that I've ever
seen from Cairo stand as still in my
memory a. figures in an Egyptian mu-
r1I picture After q minute of that
She falls fiat. And. all in all, it is q re-
lnarkabIe exhibition.