The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-05-10
By Lydia LupokOva.

Formerly Premiere Dansousc of the I'M
pcriol Theatre Of st. Petersburg.
r HAVE vowed never again to dance. For
the best OF reasons have / made my
vow. The dance is dying. In six
months 1t will be dead. One should not
attach herself to corpse
The tango. the one-step, the make, are
numbering the dance. In the tango you see
the death asonies Of all dances. Through
the Summer 1t may drag lingering life.
for Summer is the silly season. but the
Winter will come upon the dance dead.
1t will die because the foolish people
who have danced and danced and danced
will tire of It. or that which we have done
too much, the enjoyment with which We
have been satlated we tire. First weari-
ness, then disgust. then abandonment. That
Is the history Of all sensations overindulged
in. and dancing is only sensation.
1t is we'll l shall not raise my hand, my
foot, nor my voice against the death OF the
dance. Although have given all the life
I can remember to it, though have been
as devout at the altar OF dancing as ever
priestess before her shrine, have dropped
1t, and willingly. for l. too, am suffering
from disgust. have seen great art desc
Grated. made foolish and absurd. have
seen the garments OF Terpsichore trailing
in the dust see dancing everywhere. I
cannot escape it. 1t haunts me like the
memory OF a sin. cannot be we'll served
at table in restaurant or hotel, for there
are no more good walters. They have
turned dancing teachers. I know tailor
who used to make thirty dollars week.
Now he makes three hundred week by
giving tango lessons.
1T Is very much money" he said. "out
shall take it so long as they pay H."
There is no use doing things we'll which
everyone is doing more or less badly and
for which there exists no standard. Your
dancing in America, what Is 1t? One-step-
ping You say you tango. but you say that
because it sounds we'll. You do not tango.
else two persons In your country would
dance it the Same way; but they do not.
! have seen thousands dance what they
call the tango, and no two have danced 1t
the same. 1t Is a chaos Of onestaps into
which the dancer tries to introduce indi-
.viduaIity and only murders grace
The American is light upon his feet. 1t
is remarkable how little he seems to weigh
though he-weigh much. That may be truth
fully said of him. but otherwise as dancer
he is def1cient-sadly, almost hopelessly-
for he has little music in him. For him
the sense Of rhythm is rudimentary and
never seems to quite grow up The dancing
sense is not in him, and he substitutes, In
stead, dancing nonsense.
He attempts the maxixe. Merciful heav-
ems! Again the lightness OF his feet and
nothing else. The make is beautiful. 1t
requires the dancing sense, music and
rhythm, and Americans have them not.
Therefore your maxixe Is a burlesque.
The hesitation waltz? You do 1t better
but always there is the careless, slovenly
descent into one step which, as have said.
is only walk.
The turkey trot is dead, and of what?
ut died, last Winter OF WEAKNESS, and was
buried by disgust 1t has preceded the
Iothers by year. Next October am GER
tain they will be inferred in the graveyard
lof memories Of our follies
Mourn not the passing OF an evil thing.
I pronounce the dancing madness in the
United States an evil thing because it I'M
dermnes the character. 1t destroys the
health. Tho mind. though, suffers most
of all.
Life will be stupid without the dance"
you say. But you, my dear sir or madame,
aro stupid with 1t. Think of the head
omptying process Of whirling about a room