New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-02-09

, sponsibility. IL was her intention 10 siyo
performances for two weeks only. but
third week was necessary TO meet the a..
mands of the booking office ALTHOUGH
she herself has only just passed out AZ
the category Of child actresses, 10 know
her is To realize that she is a remarkably
self-confdent young woman, not lacking
IN business acumen. She arranged the
whole of the programme for the enter.
tainment, the dresses were made 10 her
own designs and her ideas alone were
carried out i'm the scenic effects. And IN
regard 10 the last item Miss Morris has
rooted belief i'm the value of simplicity.
I'm fact" she said. II used hardly any
scenery at all My chief scenic properties
were curtains which were looped I'D and
arranged to suit the different dances and
ballets. It is my firm belief that in near.
ly all things on the stage especially
where dances are the principal features,
scenic effects should be subservient 10 the
acts themselves. Scenery should be al.
ways sort of setting for the thing you
put I'm front Of il. ! have no belief in
gorgeous settings. | do not wish you to
infer that you should never have scenery.
but it should always be a secondary con-
sheraton. so that il does not detract IA
any way from the play or the artists"
Miss Morris holds a high opinion Of
the Duncan system which, she says, has
been arranged from the poses OF the
Greeks OF old. She makes the Duncan
system basis upon which 10 work. ap-
plying the general principles as they are
best suited to the children trained by her.
Before devoting herself entirely to the
classic style she was an enthusiastic
student Of ballet dancing, but she con-
siders il lacking in the scope which the
Greek system gives. The Greek dance
is much more beautiful" she says, "and
II leaves one much freer and gives far
more scope for imagination. In the ballet
you are so much more cramped. People
have notion that classic dancing IS
mere ambling, but that Is a fallacy. You
must work hard in your study Of the
quickness of movement and the grace OF
IL, and getting your pose and balance.
You need Just as much practice as the
ballet dancer.
Maud Allan says she does not believe
in studying dancing; she just gets up and
moves with the music. But that is far
from my experience and my belief. can
dance a thousand times better If | am In
practice. You must have perfect control
Of your limbs TO be able TO interpret the
beauty of the Greek dance"
Before her encouraging experiences at
the Court Theatre, Miss Morris had a
strong belief in the growing public de-
sire to see more of the higher form Ok
dancing on the stage, and this was en-
HANGED by the success her company
achieved at the Kingsway Theatre, when
they appeared as a curtain raiser to
one Of Bernard Shaw's plays
You could not accuse a Shaw audience
of being friendly critics of a dancing
entertainment" she remarked, but all
people love children, and | was agreesby
surpr sed at the popularity of the dances
The people liked them enormously and
when it became known that the children
danced before the play the people came 10
see both
II have always found that children are
tremendously natural and unconscious on
the stage. They feel al home and love
to dance for the sheer joy of il. | have
known some Of the little girls run on IN
their bedroom slippers, sublimely uncon-
scious of the fact that that was not the
right thing TO do. And one does not want
70 dlspel that feeling too much. mo
STACEY child is an abominalion. The pre-
cocious child who is trained 10 dance on
the ballet principle has so many assumed
little airs and graces that are AL rlShl
in grown-up persons but repulsive ~
child. And IL is the cultivation OF tUF
naturalness i'm modern dancing that mas
brought about a distinct demand for IL.
People are beginning 10 take II more
seriously because they can see the oeao-
ties Of il. They see there Is more ID
than mere Hitting about, and tney
realize that il is more of an art than they
previously thought it was.
Besides, dancing Of the character
which | teach my pupils is beneficial irolu
the health point of view. As pnyslN't
exercise alone il is extraordinarily govu
for them. and l have no end OF people
who want their children 10 learn. III ''o
troupe Of tWenty-fouf VINO aSS'''U ~
the Royal Court Theatre. there were OO,n
poor and wealthy children all equa'
keen and devoted to their studies.
Miss Morris, in commenting upon ~.
inability to appear in New York. said s'e
had arranged 10 take her COMPANY "
Vienna in the spring, and she misnt pos
sibly appear in other Continental CUE
but there the area was limited as IN oe'
many, she added. one cannot get hes'9'7
for children at any price. INV
1t seems to me to be such a great p",
that the laws are so stringent, for tne'0
is only that which is elevating anu o'-
tiful in all that my young helpers ~
the stage, and neither their heSl'n ~"
their education is neglected in the shsA'
est degree"