East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1910-10-03
KAISER'S BAN ON
BALLET RESENTED
"FLANIINGO LEGS NOW
BARRED BY SOVEREIGN
1.-the Dancers, Obliged to Don skirts,
Grow Corpulcnt Through Lack of
Training in Old-Time Kicking
Empress Wins Husband Over to
Opposition TO Tights.

''flamingo legs!"'
This extraordinary outburst of the !
Kaiser's indignation at the ballet has !
given rise to considerable excitement (
among the fair ballet dancers of the |
capital
The firm belief of the Kaiser in the !
divine rights of kings and his seri- |
Gus conviction of the infallibility of
monarchs have lead to a series of fun
domental revolutions in politics, art
and science, since his accession to the
throne. The stage, domain in which
the imperial views regarding the
pedagogical influence of the theatre
can well be demonstrated, has not es-
capped unscathed. The simple, STIR
ring plays of bygone ages have been
supplanted by gorgeous Byzantine
displays in which the whole wealth,
pomp and splendor of former imper-
ial ages dazzle and bewilder the spec
tators, as we'll as jades their senses.
Dances Change to Suit.
| The ballet, too, held in such great
esteem by William the First, has been
transformed and remodeled to suit
the Kaiser's taste. In olden days the
ballet was considered one of the
most important parts of Court The
ater performances, and nothing de-
lighted aged William the First more
than to feast his eyes on the grace
full and supple movements of his
short-skirted favorites, hesdames
Barberina and Pepita. The Empress
Augusta, it is we'll known. objected
to the ballet as prejudical to the NOR
L. Af a
less, the sturdy old Kaiser was not
to be daunted. and the art that Will
ed away the weary hours of Cardinal
Richelieu and Faria de Nedici re-
manned the point at the
Berlin Royal Opera House.
All this has been changed 81
don't want to see any more flamingo
legs" was the Kaiser's recent remark
to the court manager Of royal plays.
and forthwith the nimble, pink-col-
ored tights of the members of the
corps-de-balle were enveloped in
long, clinging garments. Free, un-
fe ttered movements have given way
t. slow, expressionless actions, and a
reign of inexpressionless dullness
has set in for the merry little dancers
who used to be the life of the royal
! theatres.
Empress VIII Wins.
The Kaiser was influenced in this
decision by the present Empress, who
doubted the advisability of displaying
such female charms in the presence
of her grown-up sons, who inherit
with their Hohenzollern blood all it:
vigorous tendencies. The death SEN
af al
and since then the noble terpsichor
can art, with its gauze and glitter
its abandon and grace, has ceased t
exist in Berlin.
The results have soon become evi
dent. The slim. dainty ballerinas o
erstwhile are now growing corpulen
and unwieldly through lack of train
ing and exercise, and their little fla
mingo legs" are gradually assuming
the proportions of those of a Billings
gate fisherwoman. Year by yea
members of the royal ballet have t
retire for reasons Of stoutness, an
the "age limit" of membership ha
been succeeded by a weight limit.
Ballet Advocates Remain.
The Berliners, however, whose NOR
ality has been the object of sue
Jealous care on the part of the Kaiser
yearn for the old times of flaming
legs" and every Spring, when tn
beautiful Anna Pavlova visits Ber
lin with her charming troupe of Rus
sian dancers, give vent to their feel
ings by frantic enthusiasm. TIL
terpsichorean daughters from tn
banks of the Neva trip gaily acros
| o1o in
pink tights. and evoke applause sue
as is seldom heard in the roya
houses. Crowded auditoriums we
come the foreign visitors, wherea
the poor maidens at the Kaiser's the
ater play before scanty and uner
thusiastic audiences. Herr Won Hue
sen, the Royal Master of Plays. woul
willingly revert to the old regime, BIT
is helpless in the face of the imperis
fiat.
The remarkable stoutness of mo!
members of the Berlin corps-de-ba
, let led to an amusing experience o
- the part of Miss Madge Lessing, VIII
= is drawing huge audiences to til
r Metropole theatre every evening b
dainty dancing.
In conversation with an America
she was indiscreet enough to CON
ment on their feature, adding Gel
tain flattering remarks as to the pei
sonal charms of Berlin ballet dar
GERS. These remarks were publishe
in an American daily and instant
cabled back to Berlin, where the
were conspicuously printed in POI
ular midday journal In the ev'
ing on Miss Lessing's appearance ;
the theater she was surrounded
a crowd of infuriated DANES Of II
corps-de de-ballet who, besides threa
ening her, declared that they wou
not appear on the stage until an al
ology had been made. The theat'
manager and Miss Lessing were
despair and ultimately Miss Lessir
had to appease her rivals as best 81
could Matters are smoothed 10
but nevertheless all the Berlin dan
ers are fair, fat and forty.