Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-11


party. And the party WAs tango.
Touring the places where the tango is
in sway, one wonders whether there is
any room left for the old-fashioned waltz
Apparently not. After all, the new
dances seem to have gained control Of
things and the dances of other days are
becoming obsolete.
In the more fashionable schools the in
structors of the tango are usually men
who have themselves become adept on
the stage. They are, as a rule. sub
Hmated ballet masters who have learned
every possible angle of the dance and
who give some time to developing rhyth-
mic steps OF their own invention.
1t is always the hope of these men that
some day they will succeed in introducing
steps which will become immensely fash
ionable, for this means fame and fortune
to them. To the uninitiated one step
more or less seems little But among the
experts the invention Of another evolu-
ton is as great an accomplishment as
the discovery of new operation among
doctors. Frequently the maitre de danse
will prance around by himself for half an
hour, figuring out turn or glide and
humming madly some snatch of song.
The step and the music must be in per-
feet accord. Hence the tango music" as
it is called which permits wide latitude
of expression.
The greatest beauty of the tango is
that its perfection is merely a question of
individuality. There are steps which All
may take-it is the simplest Of all dances
to learn in rudimentary way-and there
are steps which no one but tango con-
tortionist would ever dare try with any
hope of success. There are turns which
only few could accomplish even il they
practiced for years.
The wide latitude of the dance is what
appeals to most people. They can tango
around tearoom. if they can walk. and
convince themselves that their little walk
is really quite the thing. Or, if they are
adept, they can whirl by other couples.
past chairs and tables, crossing, gliding,
turning, crossing again and utterly aston
ish their more careful brethren. The tan
go, unlike any other dance, is limited
merely by human ability.
The observer went away from the pro-
lessor of dancing and began an after
noon search Of the places where the tired
business man and the society bud can
take enough exercise to arouse the envy
of a coal heaver-and a good, strong coal
HEAVIER, at that
There was the theater. room had
been set apart and in it portion of the
theater orchestra was gathered behind a
small setting of palms. There was more
than an hour to spare before the per-
70. nance began but despite this hour
the floor was well filled By youngsters
and oldsters who ordinarily would have
delayed their appearance until the open
ing act was over.
A young man started out on the floor
with a fragile looking girl with large, al
Turing eyes and a pink silk dress.
DO you do the Washington wrestler"
he asked softly.
Il have just learned it." she replied.
She turned her humid, fawniike eyes
upon him He grasped her firmly by the
shoulder. 1t was something like the grip
/. which a policeman uses when he is de-
termined not to be misunderstood. She
countered with a jiu-jitsu hold on the
forearm.
They caught a phrase in the music. a
gentle, delightful phrase, in which there
was a. bass effect like a wagon going
over cobblestones- Away they Whirled,
marching, reversing, turning sideways,
bending and otherwise exercising.
There wasn't a thing to which a mem
Der of the Dorcas Society might have
taken objection. 1t was beautiful and
rhythmic dance despite its rather un-
euphonious name But it surely was ex-
ercise spelled in large capital letters. A
fat man never could have done that waist
bend and lived to tell the tale. Something
would have broken under the strain and
the fat man would have been carried out
moaning feebly.
The music rose to climax Of allegro.
The first beat of The measure became
more and more strongly accented. The
young man seemed to almost lift his
partner from the ground. They whirled
around twice at dizzying speed. Then he
led her back to her seat
And. believe it or not, she hadn't turned
a hair! Her delightfully."- coiffured hair
possessed the same perfection that it had
when she went on the floor, and her
breathing was as even and effortless as
II she had been sitting still all the time.
Perplexed. the observer sought the mas
tired, stood in a corner and watched the
whirling, sWaying crowd.
'Will you tell me-" said the observer.
nov that girl in pink managed to dance