The Madisonian. (Richmond, Ky.) 1913-1914, 1914-06-30

AAEAk thousands OF QenOuncerS, the
w modern dance craze. has
been a bone of contention in
almost every corner of the civilized
world
s There is little doubt that In their
original form the dances of today were
improper, but after passing through
the mill Of public usage they have
been so renovated as to be absolutely
unobjectionabIe at the present time.
The present mode of the tango calls
for the Partisan steps in place Of the
South American style, which was the
rage last year. However. some Of the
Argentine steps are very attractive,
and description Of them will not be
amiss.
The deep dip, forward and backward,
Is one Of the essential figures from this
dance and should be done as follows:
Start from the open tango position,
as shown in the accompanying illustra-
ton, take three steps forward, and ON
the fourth step bend forward till the
knee almost touches the floor. In all
open steps start with the outside foot,
SO that in the forward dip the outside
feet are advanced. Rising from this
position, take three more steps, swing
the inside foot forward, then back,
turn on the outside foot and dip back
with the inside foot In this manner
you have turned halfway around and
are facing in the opposite direction.
The foot which was formerly on the
outside is now inside and vice versa.
Take three steps forward, repeat step
and you are Strengthened out again.
Another pretty step is as follows:
Take three walking steps, swing out
side foot In front Of inside foot and
drag back three times. This sounds
very simple, but is really quite diff
cult, as the drags must not be jerky.
These are the three principal steps of
the Argentine as introduced in this
country, and countless other steps can
be devised to accompany them.
A hint for few semi-original steps
may be cleaned from the following:
A Irritation step, such as is danced
IN the make, standing behind the girl
and going from one side to another
A step similar to the hesitation, man
going forward and girl going backward
The man stands still crossing, one
foot in front of the other, while the
girl does a series of steps halfway
around him and then back again to
| original position.
These steps of the girls can be
changed at will, and offer many op
portunities for original thought
Rowley Downs, Jr., who has been in
the foremost ranks of dancers since
| the craze started, explains the dance
craze as follows:
''Many persons are anxious to know
why the dances have become so pop
| ular. Like all other amusements thai
| are taken up by the majority, there
| Is bound to be constant improvement
In the dances of the present this i'm
| pr0vement has been along the lines OF
less effort and greater simplicity. Fol
instance, the hesitation is only one-hali
the step of the original waltz, and the
one step cuts down the effort Of two
| stepping by half
This explains why so many oldel
men and women have taken up the
craze and find it so attractive 4
moderate amount of dancing is excel
lent exercise and helps to keep the BODY
fit where many medicines might fail.
"By the introduction of a new tempo
occasionally the public interest is KEEP
at a high pitch, and some one is al