The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-02-04
LEVY ON DANCERS
Management OF Wichita Theater
Attaches Grand Box Office.
Five Hundred Dollars Claimed
as Cancellation Damages.
SHARTE TO CONTEST.
Manager Of the Imperial Ballet
Makes a Statement.
Talk of Stopping Play Here Fails
of Naturalization.

Manager E. L. Martling, of the Craw-
ford theater. Wichita. last night at
tached the box Office receipts at the
Grand opera house where the Imperial
Russian ballet, featuring Mile. Anna
Pavlowa and M. Mikail Mordkin. APP
peared for a one night presentation of
the so-called Ocular Opera"
L. M. Crawford. head of the Crawford
Philley e Zehrung theatrical circuit
and owner of the Wichita house, to-
gether with his manager. Mr.. Martling,
had contracted for the dancers for jan
uary 27, but this date was cancelled by
the management of the dancers. Dam
ages amounting to $500 were claimed
as a result.
Stanley Sharte. the manager, was
served with the papers after the first
1aiI OF the curtain and was greatly ex-
cited. There was much hurrying to and
FRO on the stage and it was limited that
the play would be stopped but this was
not done. He stated. that the case
would be contested.
Since the cancellation of the engage
ment at the Crawford theater, a fight
has been made by the Crawford man
agement to prevent the dancers from
appearing at the Forum in Wichita to-
night. The engagement at the Forum
is under the local management of the
municipality. Friday. an injunction was
| issued by Judge Thomas c. Wilson of
| the Sedgwick county court to prevent
the Crawford mana cement obtaining an
| Injunction against the Forum appear
ance.
A dispatch from Wichita is to the eff
| feet that the management of the Craw-
FORD theater as last resort will seek
federal Injunction to prevent the APP
| pearance. The dispatch says that Mr..
| Martling, who was in Topeka to attach
| the box office receipts at the Grand,
| intended, going on to Kansas City in
an effort to get the federal Injunction
! from Judge Pollock The Crawford
management holds that the contract,
| which was cancelled, prevents any 9TH
| er contract with interests in Wichita.
| A fight between the municipal and local
| theatrical interests in Wichita results
| in the action taken.
PerpIexity Among Critics.
Critics are perplexed over the ques-
| ton of what classification to give the
performances of Pavlowa, Mordkin
and the Imperial ballet. 1t is moot
question whether the attraction is
| concert field. The management styles
! the performances Ocular Opera" or
Opera in Action because the pro-
gram includes opera, or plays, espe
/ through the medium of this national
Russian art. The ballet is a govern
| ment institution of which the car is
| the chief patron.
| once 0dcns year I1o-cZaf selects from
| among his two hundred million sub
/ jects six or eight boys and. girls of
| from six to eight years of age. These
! children come from the better class
| of Russian families, and are selected
| for their mental and physical fitness
| for the arduous duties they are about
to undertake. It is indeed a rare hon
| or to be selected by the czar for can
| didacy in the Imperial dancing schools,
a prize much sought after but given to
| few.
After having been nominated for the
| Imperial schools. the children are at
/ once entered and then begin g steady
| grind of work which never ends until
| twelve hours day and for six days
| week each year the children are
trained and taught. not only dancing,
! but music, geography. history, and a
! thousand and one other subjects call
culated to improve the mentality. The
first few years are given to elementary
training of mind and body. Little at
tention is paid to the technique of
dancing.
| Folklore of Russia Studied.
| When the students are we'll ground
ed in various studies, they are given
a second course in the folklore of Rus
STA and especially that which pertains
to the dance. Then begins the actual
dance training. Steps, posing, walking,
running athletic exercises and what
at last the technique is mastered and
the mental and physical development
is brought to a state of perfection, the
students are given small parts in ocu-
lar operas
For these performances, whole
dramas telling complete stories are
written from time to time. Though the
narratives are logical, they are not ex-
pressed through spoken words. In
fact, never word is uttered in visual
se.f II, 10 1f
preston. The American playwright
would say that an ocular opera is a
wonderfully complete scenario, and sc
it is
Performances of these ocular OF
visual operas are given three or foul
times each week. As a matter of fact
the students are much like stock
company of our stage. Each has his
particular role in the opera or ballet
and must rehearse until he is letter
lperfect. After many private perform
ances, special presentation is giver
before the car and his court These
act as judges and decide who shall
have the first honors at graduation
time, which comes at the eighteenth
birthday.
After graduation. each student is
given a place in the Imperial ballet
the same aggregation which will be
, seen here. From the eighteenth te
the thirty-second birthdays the dane
ers appear under the direction of the
/ government, are paid by the govern
/ ment and subject to rules and regula-
/ ltions much more stringent than those
, outlined for officers of our army ane
/ navy. When the age of 81 is reached
T. | the dancers are retired by the govern
: nent on a comfortable pension. Never
latter that do they dance in public
/ for that would mean a forfeiture O
their pensions. Always are the!
wards of the government and may b,
called upon to teach dancing or per
form anyone of a thousand duties sucl
as only the Russian government ma.
l t ask of its subjects.
1t is in this stern school that ever.
1 | member of the supporting company a
e well as the principals, Mile. Pavlow;
!. | and NJ Mordkin have been trained. Ca
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