The Washington herald., 1920-09-19
New York City
Ii Paid Him.
By o. o. Mcintyre.


nams-Chalif. The building is a
sort of monument TO the purity Of
the dance.
1t was twelve years ago that
Louis II. Chalif landed in Battery
Park from a Russian immigrant
ship with just $40 in cash. Chalif
had been a member Of the Russian
Imperial Ballet and favorlte
dancer of the late Gear,
He sold his belongings to come to
America. was robbed in Petrograd,
but came on to the new land prac-
ticaly broke. At that time he could
not speak English. He rented a
small room in a dilapidated build
ing on West Forty second street for
$40 a month.
He struggled along from hand to
mouth and then came the dance
craze. To anyone save Chalif it
for dancing teachers were
in demand. But Chalif held dane
ing as an art-and would not per-
init himself to defile the true spirit
Of the dance by teaching the bunny
hug, barn yard steps of that period.
Instead ne fought against them.
He saw the crowds beating paths to
other doors-Cheap dance acade-
mics. flashy Broadway parlors and
the like. He saw dance stars rise
to great heights and fail. Then
came the jazz and shlmmy.
But all the time Chalif was teach
ing the graceful steps. Marjorie
Gould became one of his pupils.
Limousines bearing children and
adults from the homes of the rich
hOcked TO his doors. He was di-
recting dance pageants for society
at the magnificent estates on the
Hudson.
Five interpretive dance stars ap-
peared on Broadway in a single
season-sll pupils of Chalif. He be-
came the highest priced dance in
structor in America. All the time
he was lighting the unclean dances
practically d lone warrior.
But it paid. He made enough in
one year TO build his studio build
ing. He has a home among the
rich in Westchester County. Now
when the cheap dance halls are
dying of like the proverbial flies
at the approach of winter, Chalifs
studies are filled with pupils.
Chalif is stockily built. athletic
type-a faxen blonde. l visited him
in mis- study He is nervous and
alert. Dancing" he said, came very
near becoming a lost art in Amer
iCa. The heart -to-hcart, sensuous
steps were actually nenacing the
the morals of the youth OF the
country. !. myself, watched a young
boy of 20 and a girl not more than
IS stand under a spotlight in a
dance hall in the Tenderloin and
merely wiggle for a period Of five
minutes. They were Cheek-to- cheek.
Such dancing could not continue
without becoming a public disgrace,
Dancing would reach the same
status as whisky, if decenCy had not
prevailed"
4 Bit Of Broadway Anthology.
Mike McMarus is a carriage man
at a welI-known cafe. He knows
everybody and in order to be any
body you must be able to greet him
as Mix. All is not gay with Mike
these days despite the glitter and
gold lace. He worries about the
situation in Ireland, He ays that
after hearty dinner the other
night he aud a party of friends
dubbed together and sent a cable
gram to Lord Mayor MacSwiney
bidding him never to give in to
the Saxon Cppressor.
400 In Cast.
New York is tc see the super the
atrical spectacle in Mecca" this sea.
son. The gorgeous extravaganza
of the Orient was originally sched-
uled to open in London. but will not
be produced at the Century. There
are Ia scenes in Mecca" and cost
about 100000 to produce. More
than 400 people will be in the cast
aside from Camels, donkeyS, sacred
yaks, zcbus. horses and baby ele-
plants. L. Lyan SWEETS. who staged
Aphrodite and Chu Chin Chow, will
stage the new spectacle. Gladys
Hanson is to have the leading
feminine role. The author of the
piece is oscar AsCEe. an English
man.
Many Are M0urncrs.
Old New Workers are mourning
the passing of BanCeIs Restaurant
d meeting place for society folk of
the late sos. 1t was on Third ave-
nue. near SiXty-seventh street, and
the planked steak and spaghetti
were famous the world over. Bancel
was a Frenchman, and his cocktails
were considered the best in New
York.
There was no style in the place
1t was a long room filled with tables
OF red cherry without covers, and
only after the customer had Sc
Ipcted one and taken his seat did a
waiter approach. BanCel, a tall,
thin man of grave and dignified
manners, sat at his desk in front
opening CLANS and mixing appe-
tizcrs. He was an accomplished
musician.
The other day a few customers
visited the place. 1t was closed. A
peep inside showed that the furni-
ture had been removed. Bancel had
not said anything to anyone save
his employees. 81 am going away"
he told them. Perhaps to fish
and am not coming back. 1 am
getting TOO old for this sort OF
thing" And he gave each employe
$500.
Several New Cafes.
A thousand and one new cafes
have sprung up in the Grand Cen
tral hotel district. 1t seems thar
they depend mostly upon the patron
age OF the guests in the higk-priced
hotels in the netghborhood. And the
hotels in turn get their patronage
from the New Workers. There are
pastry shops, dollar dinner places
Italian, French and Spanish cafes
so-calIcd Southern cooking
places. To prove it they have a
black NANNY in the window cook
inG wafles. Nearly all of the for
mer saloons are now restaurants
Mattresses are serving in most
places. The tips are small. but they
are paid S25 a week now for eight
hours work. Three famous restau-
rant men from New Orleans have