New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-07-28
BUILDING THE BALLET
School for Beginners at the
AIhambra In London. '*.'
DESCRIBED BY ITS FOUNDER
But Emile August, Producer and
Dancer in Ballet of $780,
Likes Our Choruses Best.

Emile August, TIE ballot master, who
staged the very successful Ballet OF 1897
at the Winter Garden, and who Is also
the leading male dancer In this unique
advertisement, declares that the Ameri-
can chorus girls are altogether the mos,
wonderful I'm the world for the rapd,y
and skill with which they pick up neS
work But even though he is surprised
az the results which he himself obtained
In training the chorus girls for the en-
semble effects In the ballet. ne insists
that the standard OF dancing In this cdun-
try for ballots and advertisements is far
from what - should be. With the trr-
mendors supply OF natural talent and the
truly amazing diligence OF Tho American
girls, ne declares that the case shrdh
be JUS; reversed. and that American pro
ductions Should have infinitely ihe lf..
ballet and character de ncers IN the whcls
world. August says that al dancing mas
be divided into three ciasses--baliet dan
cling. character dancing and American
dancing. To his mind. ballet dancing
comes first ia importance ana. first h
artistic merit.
mo one can be a really finished dancer
without the training that makes danceH'
says August. What found tho AmsrE
can chorus girls at tho Winter Cares
capable OF learning IN couple Of weeEs
is marvellous, even admitting that the
are especially expert in the work WITH
which they ore familiar. But, nevcrthe-
less, the satisfactory training for one
production does not mean genuine and
thorough perfection in the art of dsncins
American girls certainly abound IN VI
tally, personality and diligence. sim
ply cannot imagine q chorus 81 Englisf
slrls going through the strenuous re-
hearsals OF both The Ballet Of 1880 and
The Passing Show OF 1912 without
,nur1nur and without Tagging 10 spirit
or energy But all the American dancing
IN the world will not make them entirely
expert in dancing OF another ard NOR
specialized order
THE ballet has been an institution at
the Alhambra Theatre London, for eigh'
teen years. The ballet school, which
csta blished when ] first went there a.
ballet master. has been regularly operated
In connection with the theatre for nins
years. II was that school which made !
possible for US TO develop the truly re-
markable advertisements which bscans
tho most famous and distinctive feature
Of the Alhambra productions ard whic
have probably never been excelled any
where We have been able with a W
weeks OF drastic effort and training 10
reproduce one OF these divertissemsnr
well and satisfactorily AZ the Winter
Garden. with girls and men not especially
trained for ballet work; but TO originsn
Il advertisement rs another matter. Also
please remember that all the prinoipss
dancers in The Ballet Of 1880 as staged
IL at the Winter Garden, are the sans
people who played the respective rolls
when the same work was interpreted a.
last year at the Alhambra, IN London =
doubt whether il would have been possF
BILE TO find principal dancers capable OF
doing exactly this work in America. Ger
tainly, we could not have found the"
among American born artists. .R
I'm this country there seems 20 preVsi
a general msconception as TO the nstlss
and scope OF the ballet. As a matter OF
fact, the work which We now interpre'
At the Winter Garden is not a ballet 81
all, but mimodrama, In which there aie
ballet episodes In London II was ah'
nounced merely as 1880 Here IL is an
nounced as The Ballet OF 1890 and even
though this form OF announcement may
convey a somewhat more explicit IDEA"
the public at large, the name is ms
homer from every technical and accuFa"
standpoint
1T seems to be a popular impreSs'o"
IN America that all ballet dancers mus,
be toe dancers. This is altosetne
erroneous. Our ballet at the AlhamoiA
included eighty-four dancers, and onE
the front row of twelve women were Wv
dancers. 1t is extremely difficult to NV
a woman who can develop into natur''
toe dancer and at the same time can re-
tain all her grace. ,t
"No tuition was charged at my ,scho"
at the Alhambra Theatre because th'
management paid all expenses, and the
idea was to keep supply OF first graz.
dancers on hond. so that. the places q
the retiring dancers could always %
filled with other women equally compe
tent. AS rule. We found that oetwee"
thirty and forty of the ballet dancers
would retire every season for various
reasons, and so some real system OF as'
veloping new artists to replace them wa
essential. e.
rs was my custom never TO aceep'