The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-05-11

g.rce that it is a physical delinea-
II the law of perpetual motion.
F., uhere it is the same-dancing,
6.r.tng morning. moor n night.
t..t cessation. it appears to be
- .re and only amusement of the
F. age. And this does not apply
- .1riety as confined to people of
u.slh and position, but to the world
II, roe when ii looks about for a
w. I'd pass the time.
i:ut upon second and more intros-
,tri..t thought it appears more
rarot:,I for indeed ii is an ~eXpedient
o1il-t Tor the spirit of unrest hat is
III product of modern civilization.
1ud Going deeper still, it is found that
dancing is not modern at all. 1t is
rrp III the most ancient arts. Many
archacologists claim that ii is the
most ancient Of all arts, and even the
mos lstute and austere scientists ac-
Knowledge that the modern method of
expression is simply a modification
cf Inc ancient dances.
Moons and AeOns Ago.
Arans and AeOns ago a wood
pgmph wandered fitfully through
primitive paths. 1t was in the bud
dina time of spring, and within his
heart surged the longing for it's
blossoms. In answer to his desire,
which Ndd tue strength Vi a prayer,
hc saw one white. sCarry face peer
ine at him from on high. Unable to
grasp it he caught it unto himself,
and with il came the tingling JOY of
rhythmic motion. Again he leaped,
tn. Tine from sheer glee. And thus
the dance was born.
Fauciful as this very old Japanese
folk tale may be. there is no history.
however far it may date back, that
do nnf contain Cnmn rofornnoa to
dancing.
lu he Nedas of the Hindoos. some
0t which date back 5000 years before
Christ. there is steady reference to
dancing as an expression of triumph.
Worship and even the deepest grief.
l. is the same in the Zendavestas of
the Iersians. Dancing with Cymbals
and tambourines. with bells tied tC
their ankles and wrists or around
their waists, was an art that the
iriestesses in the temples must under
stand
Miriam Danced Too.
I'm the Bible as early aS the day:
OF Moses Miriam and her sister!
danced before the Ark of the COven
ant when it was being taken into tn
promised land.
We read in the Book of tn
Dead which contains the papyruse
Of Egypt's most ancient seers an
scholars, that dancing was a part o
the Egyptian worship. In fact, tn
h~ierogiyhpics themselves. denotin
~edornation, triumph after battle
gloom at the death of a onarc
Or a high priest, were often figure
Of men or women in dancing posture
In the very far east Confuciou'
who lived nearly 600 years befor
Christ, mentions the dancing Of wa,
tiors and of the outcast women l
tha a,DtnD& Jannnncn Cnrni1C nnnSta Y
pictures appear of dancing girls an
warriors. And in Phoenicla n L
rania, Sparta and ancient Greece a
Uays we find hat dancing was a pa
OF the life of the people, just as 1t
t0d1v.
Religion of Greece.
iii Greece it was actually a part
the religion. Wisdom, we know, w;
beloved by them to ave sprung full
armed from the head of Power, b.
III ~ muses. were half divine ar
hall human: the children of ear
aremOry and heavenly power. Al
because they preferred the beautlf
lhmgs of the earth-the brooks, II
ocean, the forests and the flowe
Starred meadowS-they forsot
Heaven, and came down to delight
TIE material.
Three of these demigoddesses
TerpSschore. Melpomene and Thalia
Ner" devoted to the expression or t
emotions by means Of the body. Ter
Sichore. who loved nature, delight
a. the harvest and vintage feasts a
aet he choral dance n songs
praise and gratitude. Thalia was
merry muse and tripped gayly to I
sound OF running waters n the sw
OF he boughs in the spring breez
"hi" Melpomene inspired the 81
ana stately tread of the dithyral
@hrn mourning or dignity was to
called into action. 1t is these thu
instinct phases of life that danci
I9rtrayS.
we know from the dramas of /
rPldes and Aeschwlus what danci
meant 10 the Greek civilization a
90" 1t followed the western trend il
tome. With the fall of these I
C.asslc civilizations and the invas
81 The barbarians the humor of
mr. nhnnnraa I --..aX