The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-03-16
SPANISH DANCING.

Even at the present day Spanish
dancing is distinctive nothing like II
Is found elsewhere. Nor can IT be
transpianted; the Spanish dancers
who go abroad" Haveloek Ellis says
in his well-known book on Spain.
usually modify their methods by in
fusing them with French or other ira
ditions that are altogether alien. A
Spanish dance seems unable, indeed,
to survive even in the atmosphere OF
another province.
while. however, the dancing OF
Spain. and more especially OF An
dalusia, has long been clearly distinct
from that of any other country. IL
was certainly not so always. Thus
castanets were used in Greek dane
ing, as vases and figurines show, as
we'll as ancient authors. In Rome
also, caStanets were employed. though
they now began to be associated with
Spain rather than with Greece, and
Martial refers to 'Betica crusmata
In the fourth century Macrobius says
that formerly even noble ladies dane
ed with castanets. but that now there
were no udIiCtuB SLils ONC4t or PN~Ai
duets: and he looks upon this--as we
are always apt to when we throw OF
the customs of our fathers. however
decadent our own age may be-as
mark OF progress,
1.-The play of the arms and hands,
the sikcward turn, the extreme back
ward extension of the head and body
movements that are all so peculiarly
Spanish, are yet all movements OF
the Greek dance. Even the active
participation of the spectators In keep
ing time by clapping their hands. so
significant a feature of Spanish dane
ing. seems also to be a survival OF
Greek dancing. Indeed, In this mar
vslousiy conservative and tenacious
land OF Spain, T. kinship with ancient
Greece is preserved even In the cos
tune. One of the commonest types
among the Greek figurines, certainly
representing the average Greek lady
might be supposed TO represent a
Spanish lady, so closely do the fan
the dress, the mantilla-like covering
of the head, the erect and dignifled
carriage, recall modern Spain.
This affinity of Spanish dancing IL
not however. merely Greek. 1t is still
wider. 1t is part of that affinity OF
Spain with North Africa which is in
ether respects SO important AS we
may see In Egyptian monuments. the
movements of Spanish dances resem-
BILE those OF ancient Egypt, and Mar
tial coupled Gaditanian song dances
with those Of the Nile. The stringed
instruments of North Africa resemble
those of Spain, and the cymbals at
tached by a cord--as used by peas
ants in the country for serenading
at weddings-which / have picked ur
among the old metal objects on a
stall of the market in the dry river
bed at Malaga, exactly resemble the
Gym balls used two thousand years age
by Ankh-Hapi. musician in one of the
temples of Thebes.
while there In good reason to be-
.lieve that dancing resembling that
which still persists in Spain was In
remote ages widely spread around the
shores of the Mediterranean, II is evil
dent that even two thousand years age
Spain was already the pre- eminent
center of dancing on the Mediterrap-
can. The Romans went above to Spain
and especially Gades-the modern
Cadiz-for the dancing girls whom
they esteemed so highly. The famous
statue of the so-calIed Venus Call
ipyge. representing a woman who
turns her head around as she bends
backwards, is not as the name and
pose" the writer says, might imply
representation of standardization.
but undoubtedly the image of a Cadiz
dancer In a characteristic movement
of Spanish dance"