Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-10-03
Artist ReDieNS
Earlier Trials

Miss Ruth st. Denis. the original
Hindoo dancer. who is to appear here
at the Illinois theatre next Tuesday.
supported by an excellent company Of
assisting artists. tells the following In.
teresting story OF her life and work:
MY temporal beginning happened In
the state of New Jersey, my spiritual
beginning being an embodiment i will
not attempt to speak OF here An old
fashioned country farm, with sun and
fields and woods, and rambling old
| farmhouse were the externals OF my
early environment, and freedom was
the note of my early life. A western
pony. an old swing in the barn, and
/ the tops of pine trees-these suggest
with sufficient plainness some OF the
ways in which / spent my hours on
/ this old farm. In those days l had
very long legs. shock of tawny hair,
and plenty of freckles; and as we
were many league from fashion my
clothes were more remarkable for
| their comfort than for their beauty.
I'VE were a kind of misunderstood
family-my father being an inventor
and my mother a literary woman, and
so we were practically isolated in the
neighborhood. Religion. medicine, and
science we're the topics most thought
of and discussed in the family, and l
was brought up on pretty advanced
fare as a youngster. The first claim
on me was nature in all her moods,
and my first desire was to express
The mystic feeling of a June moon
light gave me a set of emotions which
demanded to be told. The proverbial
red school house stood at the cross
roads. and it was there that made
my first public appearance. On this
occasion benefit was given by some
amateur actors in the eighborhood to
raise funds for the school. The play
was The Old Homestead In which
figured in a double part; playing
Whistling Joe in the play, and giving
between the acts some movements
which we're called on the program
Exercises in Delsarte.' My next ambi-
tious attempt was in the town hall of
my native village, where my exercises
had now developed into a dance of my
own creation.
lit was during my last winter with
Belasco 1--WE were playing in 'Du Barry
out wesD, and a dear girl friend of
along as was, was with me- We had
weathered the winter together. and a
terrible one IL was, literally and ar
tistically. for It seemed as II the limit
of my endurance had come. But 1t
was the darkness before the dawn.
Something had to happen, and some
thing did. In a little chemist shop in
the city OF Buffalo l saw a picture-a
cigarette poster, the figure of an
Egyptian Deity. have 1t now. and
this picture was the magic wand that
touched the hidden strings of my art
life and made them vibrate. / was so
excited and exalted over the revela- !
ton this picture gave me, and for |
friend had almost to feed me. and for |
several days we sat together in the |
gloom of our little bedroom looking I
at Il as the plan unfolded itself to me \
OF expressing through movement the
religion and customs of the orient In
a flash a whole life was changed. a |
career opened from hidden state of
struggling actress. singer and dancer
to the privilege of being able to give
an entirely new development of art in
movement.
And now perhaps this is the place
to speak a word concerning how l got
my ideas. 1t seems to me (and in Ger
many the critics found themselves at
loss for a word to describe the per-
that my work is both more
and less than dancing. since dancing
means movement to rhythm,
whereas in expressing ideas by move
nent one need not always confine the
gesture to the bounds of music. I re-
member once hearing the death vail of
Jewish woman. and that vail, I'M {
musical and unrhythmic. contained to
ne the whole Jewish nation. And once 1
It a street corner saw an Italian girl |
{