The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-03-21
THE CASE OF DANCING
 VERSUS GYMNASTICS

There has lately been a tendency on
 the part Of American universities and
 colleges to encourage athletic sports in which the entire student body, rath-
 CT than a picked few physical super men, may take part. This is high-
 ly encoura ging to those who have the welfare Of the next generation a.
 heart It is tendency that should
 be encouraged in common and high
 schools as well as the institutions Of
 higher 1earning The boy who is
 both physically and mentally active
 has a much better chance to win suc-
 cess than the lad who develops brawn
 at the expense of brain. or mind at the
 expense of body. The endeavors to
 make physical exercise interesting, so as to. enlist the enthusiasm of all stu
 dents, may, however, be carried too far If it is true, as reported in some
 newspapers, that some of the classes at Yale have been permitted to sub
 stitute dancing for the .smonotonolls driIls'' of the gymnasium, then I should say that the limit has been reached. That strikes me as a, pro- cedure very similar to substituting
 chocolate creams and pickles for
 humble roast beef and .pertaties,,
 These Yale studepts, we are told,
 sshave picked up the dances readily ana already get much more enjoyme nt
 out of this kind of gymnasium work
 than they could with the tiresome arm and leg exercises. Perhaps they do
 get more @enjoyment., As mental
 exercise they could also get more et1-
 joyEnert out of a perusaI Of their fa- vorite form of fiction than out of text
 books and lectures. Such studies as mathematics, history, languages, and
 natural science, are often .'tiresome's
 and s'nonotonous'' to the youthful
 mind Richard Harding Davis pro-. vides mental pabu1um that is much
 more .eenjoyable.'' However, there
 are some old fashioned people who
 hold that the sole end and aim of
 colleges is not the giving of enjoy. ment to their pupils.
 Dancing, as an exercise, is to be
 comm ended, not condemned. Under
 proper conditions. dancing is a health :
 fuI pastime, and it provides a mild form of physical exercise. It devel- ops bodily boise and grace and supp pIeness. Yale students, and all oth-
 CTS, should dance. by all means, butt the dancing should be supplementary to other more vigorous physical actIv- ities. It cannot be used as suhsti- tute for those varied exercises of the gymnasium and athletic field which are designed to develop all the organs and muscles of the body. The man who dances, and takes no other form of gymnastic work, will not gain any great amount of physical vitality, aI- though he will certainly be better off
  Punching bags. dumb bells, bars, In- dian clubs, boxing gloves, and other gymnastic apparatus, still have their uses, and the records of Yale gymna- siun show that the men who make use of them are vastly superior to those who don't. The assumption that gymnastic exercises are neces- sarf1y dull and monotonous is entirely a mistake Nearly all people, who are not too lazy to breathe, find gym nastic work a means of pleasure as we'll as of health. The gyrnnasi uT11 may not always afford the keen de- l light that the dancing enthusiasts find | in the ballroom. Chocolate creams also tickle the taste more than beef | steak.
 | Go right ahead and dance, Let joy 1 be unconfined. At the same time, l don't think for a minute that you can | dance your way to perfect physical 6eveI1praept, etreneth and visor. i.