Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1910-01-20
FAMOUS BALLET DANCERS.
stories OF In TagIioni, Fanny EIssies
and Lola Montes.

IL hoo OtCh acoCiACu TIE
ballet died when the famous Taglioni
retired in 1916. At any rate, che ballet
today is chiefly a spectacle of dress
ana colored limelight 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 ard declared enthusiasts
tically ia The Newcomes" that the
young men OF the day will never see
anything so graceful as Taglioui in
La Sylphide.'" At that time she was
tile rage. Stagecoaches aud great.
coats were named after her.
La Taglioni owed her charm TO q
wonderful lightness and grace. Her
style was rather ideal than realistic
and voluptuous. as was then the vogue.
The hidsous ballet skirt or today she
never wore. but "a skirt that reached
nearly to Der ankles. II was one OF
the principles or her father. who taught
her all she learned OF the art that the
dancer should be modest ia dress, in
movement aud in expression.
Another famous master. who called
himself lie Dieu de la Danse," always
told his pupils TO use all the coquetry
they could
NestriG who founded the famous
NeStris family. was an eighteenth cen
Jury celebrity and quite remarkably
concsitsd even for a dancer. There
are but three great men alive" he used
to say. myself. the Prussian Fred
erick and Veltaire." ut is Interesting
10 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 eI-
tremsly strong and supple.
A curious story is told about Fanny
Elssler, German dancer with coal
black hair, which illustrates the ex-
treme muscular strength u dancer re-
quires. She was crossing TO America
when she entered her cabin one day
and discovered n thief abstracting the
jewel case which she kept hidden UNI
der her pillow. Before he could attack
chest and killed him on the spot
IL is curious that no Englishwoman
has ever achieved supreme success az
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, aud then, unless
they have danced from their cradle.
they cannot hope TO attain the first
rank.
r Another quality essential TO the great
2 dancer is infinite patience. The only
English dancer who ever gave promise
of attaining the front rank failed ia
this respect Lola Montez was the
somewhat foreign name she had taken.
She lost her temper Que 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 Grisl is another famous
name of the old opera II was she
who first introduced the polka into
England-a Bohemian dance that came
to stay. IL was for her. too, that
Heine, Gautier and Adolphe Adam
cOllaborated ia writing "Gisells"
There were score more famous
names that were familiar words Ia
those days. Or the twelve leading
dancers engaged at the Kings theater
Ia 1874 for two months season 1.-Two
Wese sufficient attraction to receive
more than - 700 each Lopdcn Mail
oddly Named.
Mr.. Hudson. who had made a
large fortune aa "a danffaf had h,ite .