Los Angeles herald., 1910-12-11
TWO WORDS COST
COMPANY FORTUNE
Ocular Opera Means That At
we'll and Associates Have to
/. Pay High Music Rates
RUSSIAN DANCERS ARE HERE
73, Recruited from Famous
School, Tell Dramatic
Stories in Pantomime
RUSSIAN DANCERS ARE HERE

The use of a two-word "catch line"
in his advertising will cost Benjamin
Atwell and his business associates
several thousand dollars before the
close of the present theatrical season,
and vet Mr.. Atwell regards the money
as we'll spent. He told the story at
his own expense yesterday.
1.-THE words are ocular OPERA Mr..
Atwell explained. II used the phrase
first in a newspaper head. 1t at
tracted attention and 1 decided to re-
tain 1t. Then, one day, just before we
left New York, we were notified by
the Musicians union that we should
be expected to pay our orchestra the
grand opera scale, the union making
no distinction between ocular opera
and grand opera. OF course this
meant a considerable extra expense,
but we are paying 1t, and really l
believe the two words are worth the
difference, though they are not so
nicely descriptive of our production as
pantomime opera would be-"
Like many other men of prominence
in the amusement field, Mr.. Atwell,
who is in Los Angeles in the interests
of Anna Pavlowa, Mikail Mordkin and
= the imperial Russian ballet and or
chestra, is q graduate from the news
paper field. He began his newspaper
career on the Chicago News. After
twelve years on the News he went to
the Chicago Journal, and from there
into the amusement business, where
he amassed q fortune and lost it.
After that he returned to newspaper
work for a time, and later became to
Chicago what Len Behymer Is to Los
Angeles, many prominent musicians
and singers having appeared in the
Windy city under his management.
Is AID TO COUNT
a.. DO %aI
with Count Centanini and NJ Rabanoff
in the management of the great Rus
sian dancers, who gave the first of
six performances at the Auditorium
last night and who will continue
through the week, with matinees this
afternoon and Saturday.
The ocular opera" performers num-
ber seventy-three persons and travel
in their own train, which Mr. Atwell
describes as a "meandering Russian
village" Only eleven of the seventy
three speak English. One Of these is
Veronine West, whose father was bal
let master at Drury Lane, London.
The boy, however, was brought up
in Russia, and never visited an Eng
lish-speaking country until last May
when he went to London with the Or
ganization of which he is now a
member.
'Our productions" said Mr.. Atwell
yesterday, illustrate a development
of the ballet which has been achieved
in Russia and nowhere else in the
world. Pavlowa, Mordkin and the
others are not merely dancers, as the
term is understood here They are
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Of artistic merit
Mordkin, 1 believe, is the greatest
actor of his day. These people enact
a tremendous tragedy so that every
one in the audience understands 1t,
and not a word Is spoken. That sort
of thing takes art.
Most of them are graduates Of the
Mariensky Institute of Ballet Dancing,
founded in the early '30s by a Russian
nobleman of that name. At that time
only Italy and France had such
schools. Begun as charity for the
instruction of foundlings, the school
won the patronage Of the ozar, and
today the best families in Russia fight
to get their children into it."
JEALOUS OF THEIR TITLES
"Mordkin's title in the company is
premier danceur classique PavloWa
is the prima ballerina assoluta.
Mile. Pajitzkaia is the solo danseuse.
They are extremely Jealous of these
titles and of the privileges and rights
that go with them
The Russian dancers first came to
America last March, but were seen
present season opened at the Metro
politan opera house, New York, October
is. Then they began a tour of twenty
six weeks, playing only the largest
cities in the country. Los Angeles is
particularly fortunate in being allotted
Six performances, as after leaving here
the company will play two perform
ances in San Francisco, and then will
start back east, playing a matinee at
Salt Lake, one night at Omaha, mat
inee and night in st. Louis, matinee
and night in Chicago, one night at
Pittsburg. and a o'clock matinee in
Washington, going from there to New
York for three weeks and then on the
road again. The New York engage
ment opens December IT,
In the matter OF time and distance
covered this transcontinental tour will
set a new record for an organization
of this size. The company closed
weeks engagement in San Francisco
Saturday night, the two additional
performances of next week being a
return date. Sacramento and Fresno
are the only other California cities to
be visited.