The San Francisco call., 1910-07-16
MODERN SOCIETY ADOPTS
DANCING AS A pANACEA
Soul Throbs, Stiffness, Fat, All Yleld
To Step Fantastic
Bv MARY AsHE MILLER

YOU will be fulfilling the mandates oN
fashion. Looked at from any stand
point you are doing as well as possiole'
SocioIogists took up the matter nrse
as pursuit for their settlements ana
playground centers. Physical cultur-
lists began to realize it's value; physi-
clans began to see the use it might De
to them. and finally society has set t@s
stamp of its approval, probably ratner
because the stage has made 1t the rage
than because of it's hygienic properties.
Boston is the hub" for esthetie
dancing as it has been for things cul-
tured. and a reunionsof one of the lead
ing schools for dancing of the country
schools being used in the sense OF
cult or method rather than real
dancing schoor'-has been held there
recently.
IT is said that two things were
strongly in evidence. one the dinerence
between the old fashioned idea OF
dancing and the present advanced con-
ception of the art and the other the
important part dancing plays in ply
sical development and general well
being.
Doctor Sargent. for many years in
charge of physical instruction at Har-
ward. paid a glowing tribute TO Gileert.
the founder of the system whose grad
yates met. who had been head OF the
department of esthetic dancing at Hem
enway gymnasium, Harvard university.
Doctor Sargent spoke OF the beauti-
treated his art and OF the Importance
of. dancing as an educational factor
and it's uplifting influences.
DR.. Robert w. Lovett, an eminent
surgeon of Boston, dealt with the. ply
sicaI value of dancing and said that
there was a constantly increasing de-
mand for some form of physical ex-
preston to bring to perfection unde-
veloped muscles or impaired eircula-
tion by enjoyable methods.
OF course. in it's fashionable aspect
there are things to be considered. No
one is going in for folk dancing alons
to the exclusion of all other types or
estheticism- There will be classic, near
classic interpretative, emotional and
merely ridiculous And how will they
dress for all of this?
Folk dances are supposed 20 demand
something approximating a national
dress. so they seem safest.
But think of the others-some ons
will be shocked all the time when per-
sonal tastes for dressing and undress-
ing are gratified.
The old fashioned ballet girl, whom
no really nice girl" can exactly copy
save for particularly intimate audi
ences, has a definite lighted, trunked.
more or less brief skirted way of at
firing herself. that you know at
once whether you want to crawl under
the seat or not.
Not so with the classic and the like.
They are so 1uctuating. II bare feet
are worn you soon get accustomed to
them and just feel that trey are ugly,
but $50 stylish" But these limp. de-
-ceptive draperies-when the dance be-
gins.
You never know whether to stay per-
manently purple with your eyes glued
10 the floor. One moment IL is all as de-
nnure as a surpliced choir boy seeking
the prize for good behavior; the next
well. you are sure she is losing some
thing, or has forgotten something.
Silks. chiffons and even cheesecloth
hangings do fly about so. you get all
of futter yourself.
- But IL you want to be absolutely up
to date you must learn some sort of
a dance and then ut is left to you how
you will dress the part.