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

dumb shows, had sprung up. Henry
VII was a patron of the dance. and
Elizabeth carried it on. She became
SO fond of the "Pavane," a dance
aid to have been COMPOSED bv |
Cortez on his return from America
that 1t was whispered the excellence
or It's performance was valued above
craftsmanship as a basis of political
favor.
The Ballet.
Public interest in the ballet was
brought TO the point Of eager excite
ment by Louis XIV. Dancers. com
posers and directors abandoned them
selves to their work with a zeal that
comes from knowing that they would
gain favor with the King. One dan
Ger, a genius on hon Louis rained
much fattery, was ont to observe
This century has produced but three
great nnen-myself, Voltaire and
Frederick the Great" Thus was tile
ballet firmly established, but with the
of the opera, another IA
Vorable impulse was given to the in
terest of dancing. With the oming
OF the Revolution, however, the prog
resS OF the dance was halted. One
director ~endeavOred to keep in motion
the dance by the use Of a spectacle
La Marseillaise," but people on the
streets were too busy dancing l.
CarmagnOie and the nobility were
as far from Paris as possible.
In Spain the national dances with
which We are quite familiar today,
were developing with richness and
variety. There in the shadow of the
; Moorish castle, the national dance Of
Span grew and evolved itself into two
parts-the Gypsy and the pure classic.
The former is the parent of many of
out p~resent-day dances and X the
Orlenta. is developed by contrast. 1t
is doubtful if the North ever carried
to the superlative any of the qualities
or real dancing as are seen in the
spanish dances with their pure deco
rative beauty, variety and force of eX-
preston.
Folk Dancing.
Spanish and Italian dances might
be classed under folk-dancing, except
that they are developed to a much
higher degree. Folk-dancing came
about more as a recreation for people
who worked long continuing hours
While the dances Of Spain and Italy
belong to true art. National sense OF
beauty and the powerful element OF
national pride are factors in the de
termination Of the folk-dances Of 6
country. Hence Scotland has de.
veloped its Fling and it's Sword Dance
trod by many Scottish chief to cele-
brate victory; Ireland has it's Jig, Rec
and Hornpipe; Egland its Morris ant
Maypole dances; Scandinavia ant
Germany it's national dances; bu
compared with tn folk-dances Of tn
South, they are as the cold winds o
the mountains to the soft breeZeS O
the Mediterranean.
Dark Age of the Dance.
About the middle of the nineteenth
century the dance underwent it's dark
est age. 1t was crippled by hesitation
to depart from the accepted means Q
expression, and the public was tire
l of these means. Strictly speaking, al
l the work that was done at this tim
could hardly be called dancing. TIL
t ballet became a company Of hlgl
S kickers, not dancers. The Chicag
Worlds Fair brought to this countr
t some wonderfully graceful Orienta
dances, out the public was SO amaze
: by the Oriental disregard Of Purita,
: tradition that they did not see tn
wealth Of poetic symbolism in tn
e dances, but classed them all as Oh
e scene. The Russian ballet influence
S much the taste in dancing at the la
t ter part Of the nineteenth century an
paved the way for great things tha
were to come, but the real force c
the coming change, that was to tax
y it's place among the important reveal
5, tions in the history of art, came fro1
e a small American town.
> ISadOra n was THIS force. Sn
- was a worshiper of nature and bt
lieved in the simple dances of til
s Greeks. Now the Russian ballet VIZ
8 entirely out of tune with these ideal
:, so when Miss Duncan came to S
: Petersburg the world waited breath
:. lessly to learn Of the consequence.
y must be known that the Russian ba
- let is a defnite ward Of the govern
= ment and candidates are very car
. fully selected for admission to II
Imperial Ballet Academ. Those az
q mitted are cared for as if they we,
- heirs to the throne, given an al
- round education, and assured Of 6
- honorable career.
y However, before the end of Mi
~ Duncan's st. Petersburg enSagemer
-. she had been asked to give a Specl
~, performance at the Academy. II
- romantic Revolution dates from tn
hour. The Academy very soon adop
ed Miss Duncan's ideas and recreate
. IN itS eSSapSe. the beS of classic dan