The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-06-09

VI. I1Dppt, VI MdIItIld, ia, at st. /
Mary's SCHOOL,
AS poetry is the language of the
soul, and music the language Of the
heart and senses, so is dancing the
language of the body. Before man
knew logic or creed he knew emo
ZION and with mad leap and gesture,
10 the rythm of beaten drums, the
primitive man expressed his emotions
love and hate, fealty and jealousy,
desire and achieyement-all by means
Of the dance. So the tiny child .kips |
for joy and pranNes to the music of
The hand organ, long before it knows
the meaning of joy or sorrow.
Dancing, with man, is a primitive
emotion essentially, n although now
for several centuries it seems to have
lost its high place among the other
arts and we hear it spoken Of as the
little sister of music, sculpture and
painting, still we know from tradi-
ton that the a~ncients attributed
dancing to the ~divinities, and the ar
gument as to the arts antiquity may
be eliminated by a quotation from
an early writer-"The stars conform
10 the laws Of co-ordinated movement.
Co-ordinated movement is the defini-
ton of dancing, which therefore is
older than humanity"
A Means of Expression.
History shows US that just SO far as
q race may advance along the road Of
evolution, dancing persists on o plane
with wordpainting and music as a
means Of expression. The Hebrews OF
early days gave dancing a high place
in the of worship. Moses,
after crossing the Red Sea, bade the
children of Israel dance; David dane
ed before the Ark of the Covenant;
and the command was given to
Praise the ~Lord-praise him with
The timbrel and the dance" Egyp-
- 80
ago record the use of the dance in
religious ritual. These dances were
"A translation and an equivalent OF the
spirit of the Pharoah's monumental
architecture, and that they were no
less imposing than those temples, we
canine avoid believing.
In turning to Greece, we find chO-
geography luxuriant, perhaps as it
has never been since; protected by
priesthood and state, practiced by rich
and poor, philosopher aDd fool alike.
Wonderful ballets memorialized great
events; simple rustic dances cele-
brated the gathering of the crops and
The coming Of the flowers. Great men
danced in public places; philosophers
taught it to their pupils for it's effect
on mind and body; it was the means
of giving soldiers carriage and health;
and poets taught the dancers metre,
nnless it was the dance that taught
The metre to the poets.
a greater part Of our present day
instruction is founded on Greek philo-
sophy, mathematics, and political and
military sciences, but had the impor-
lance of it's dance been appreciated
who can say how much d~ulnesS, ugli-
ness and sickness of body and spirit
the world might have escaped?
Expression OF Great Motives.
To the development Of the dance
the Greek ideals of beauty were turn.
cd. Just as her other arts expressed
that fine simplicity Of thought, SO die
her dance. 1t was considered tn
proper Medium for expression of grea'
motives, and great minded artist!
chose it as a career; not in spite O.
public scorn, but with the supper
OF profound public respect.
This spirit of simplicity which do
minated Greece, through many cen
turtles of grandeur also dominated il
Rome until Rome grew rich. Th
Greeks understood beauty and tn
Hellenic mind loved beauty for it
own sake, but with the Romans i
was different. Early Rome, on &C
count of poverty, was obliged to &C
cept simplicity, but after a few cen
,uries of loot n tribute, degenerate
n V~ulgarity, in name and custom:
us we'll as the dance, followed Rom
contributed no one thing to the danct
records showing that only the goo
was Greek.
The Eternal City" held dancin
down &c her level until her deCayin
hands could hold it there no longe,
and caused it's restoration, to a prOpe
place among the great arts, to be pos
poned q thousand years. To this da
there persists, to its injury, an ech
Of its early degradation.
At the time of the Renaissanc
when the whole Of Europe was avail
tn, nftnr n "a, nd xynnrc IF c1nQn
dancing entertainment was given
Libson to celebrate the CanOniZatiO
Of Carlo Borromeo. This event cause
n sensation and the dance rapid
took it's place in polite society whel
taste was being reborn along wit
mentality. Men to whom half Il
glory of the Renaissance was Oh
allied themselves With the dane
Raphael made the decorations +
ballets presented in the Vatican