New-York tribune., 1918-03-03
RoshQnara Is
A Real East
Indian Dancer
She Was Born II, India and
Learned Her Dances
There

There has been implanted in the
public mind in recent years very real
suspicion as to the authenticity of the
average exotic dance artist. 1t is, there
fore, relief to find a dancer whose
claims are genuine. Roshanara, who
is in the new Winter Garden show, is
announced as an East Indian dancer
and an East Indian dancer she is. Her
father was born in India, she was born
in India and she learned to dance in
India.
Roshanara's father is an English
officer stationed in Calcutta. The eli
mate there is not particularly health
full, and Roshanara's mother took her
back to England while she was still
baby. They returned to spend part Of
each year with the father. AS young
ster something instructive within her
told her to dance, but her father OBJ
jected. He did. not want her to spe-
cialize, but to do everything we'll, and
tried to make her into a conventional
English girl
When Roshanara was twelve years
old she made her first appearance be-
fore Queen Alexandra. The dance
was stereotyped, consisting of conven-
tional English steps. She first learned
Indian steps from native girl who
was her small brothers foster nurse.
The girl was a beautiful dancer, and
Roshanara was at first fascinated and
then deeply interested when she re-
allied the possibilities for intelligent
Interpretation which lay in the dances.
She finds Indian dances much more in
teresting than the conventional steps
because, she says, the work is never
finished. To interpret an Indian dance
properly one must know not only the
! steps but the myth connected with
J them, and there is always the posi-
blllty of changing and improving the
dance to bring out more of the story
Finally Roshanara decided to adopt
dancing as profession, and went to
India to study. The greatest Indian
dancer of the time, Bindra Din, be-
came her teacher. He was famous not
only throughout India, but also in Eu-
rope, and commanded what was at
that time considered fabulous price
for an artist-3,00 rubles Isl O0O) an
Ton ch
all the native dances. Roshanara's tri-
umphs in India were unusual. A
dancing girl holds no prestige there,
but Roshanara was accorded all the
consideration Of queen. She showed
the natives the possibilities Of their
own dances, and they adored her and
paid her homage.
After series of triumphs in Eu-
rope Roshanara came to the United
States. Her first appearance here was
at the Palace Theatre, and since then
she has been seen here often. Her
work in the Ballet-Intime was par
ticularly praised. She is not yet used
to the hurry and hustle of New York
and New Workers, and still wonders
why people rush SO.
Some idea of the machinery re-
, quired for the creation of one of
Roshanara's dances is indicated by the
legend Of "The Moon Flower" which
she told as follows:
"At night lotus buds guard the
cradle of the moon flower. At moon
rise they unfold their petals and sink
slowly down upon the water. The
moonbeams awake the flower, and the
moon parts the curtain of the clouds
/ and smiles down at her. The moon
flower firts with him, calling him
down to play with her. Just then
comes a big black cloud that hides
the moon. Disappointed and sad that
her playfellow has disappeared, the
little moon flower sinks back to rest
and the petals of the lotus close over
/ her"