Pueblo chieftain., 1921-05-07
MODERN TERPS|CH0RES


interpret ourselves that we have let
it degenerate into jigging and clogging.
We are at disadvantage in creating
dance form typical of our period. be-
cause dancing has held almost no place
in our lives as rite or for self-ex-
preston In the beginning of the race,
the primitive man began spontaneously
to initiate the attractive rhythm of
the waves or grass in the wind. Then
rhythm became an accessory to wor-
ship. and for centuries, savages. Egyp-
tians, Greeks, and Hebrews danced be-
fore their affairs. But in the early
medieval times religious dancing be-
gan to lose favor. until now only in
Spain, among civilized nations, is there
any religious dancing, and even there
1t has survived by evasion of an edict.
Modern religion, with indoor services,
has no place for the ecstatic dance.
Our Unrhythmic Lives
Nor do our amusementts and occupa-
tions lend themselves readily to rhyth-
mic mimicry. We are told that the
Greek maidens played knuckle bones
in their dances, and the Indians have
arrow, bead, feather, and spear dances.
symbolic of their interests.
But when we take modern parallels
golf. the automobile, machinery and
airplanes - rhythmic possibilities have
seemed negligible. Yet it may be that
the fault is in ourselves. Adelaide
Genee, the famous ballerina, is noted
for her remarkable dance OF the hunt.
Why not a dance symbolic of the mot
orist? Or is it that we are so close
to the automobile that we cannot see
in it the picturesque qualities that we
note at once in the Roman chariot?
Any tyro at dancing could give you. a
chariot dance.
Amateurs get their ideas OF free
dancing from accounts saying that the
Greeks danced spontaneously and did
not spend long periods training for
their festival dancing. Tho point over
looked is that the Greeks had strict
physical training in gymnasium, and
generally the heritage of a strong ply
sique to begin with. Tho average per-
son today can with difficulty hold a
pose on one foot for ten seconds. Yet
to express lightness in dancing. the in
dividual must have the power to put
his body into positions that are really
easy and graceful. For us, who lacn
the heritage of the Greek. this means
hard work. But the casual devotees
of art fiutter along, trying to build
top story of bacchanals and Amazon
dances on a wobbly foundation.
Another scarcely understood fact is
that the Greeks used in their dances
the natural ways of expressing emo
'ipi thdl AIe uoSu III Ecie lIlc. w utu
jealousy. grief, hatred, and love arc
strong enough, even the fingers, eyes.
and shoulders respond with certain re-
actions. Isadora Duncan understood
this. She found the Greeks inspiring
because their dancing expressed emo
tions in ways which seemed to her
natural and beautiful. Her aim was
for the dance to interpret some aspect
OF !ifc just as a poem or painting does
not to initiate Greek poses for the sake
of doing a classic dance.
Many barefoot dancers. however.
havo wandered from this ideal of art.
They take II that the same gestures
can be used in every dance and that
so long as n step is graceful 1t is ap-
propriatc. This leads to the confused
waving of arms and legs with which
so many dancers greet the "Hungar-
ian Rhapsody" and Chopin's Funeral
March alike. Then. too. VIC have the
other extreme OF Greek dances pro-
duced with deadly precision that
reduces them to the inspirational level
OF a Swedish clap dance.
Greek dancing has been most popu-
lar with us because in dancing. as in
other things. We have moro in COM
mon with the European than with the
Oriental. Egyptian and Hindu dane
ors with elbows, contortions. and Turk
ish trousers have added n dash of tho
CNOtlC 10 our aFtiStlc C1lOTtS, Dut tnelt
vogue has been limited.
Strangely enough. the American In
dian has never figured to any extent
in our rcvivals of different styles OF
dancing. Yet tho primitive Indian put
religious and emotional expression in
his dances no less than tho Greek. The
form of the Indian dances is often at
tractivc. IT is "A mistake to think of
them as nothing but monotonous leap
ing in a circle with grunts from tho
chorus. Indian dancing should appeal
to us. too. because of its symbolic and
dramatic qualities. AS a people. we
respond most quickly to dancing that
tells a story.
.we seem to he drawing moro or less
inspiration from the various peoples
who made of dancing an art. We have
this for foundation. And now that
the rhythm of machinery has been pu,
into the language of the dance by one
pioneer. IL is possible that school may
grow up and that we shall have de- |
scriptive and dramatic dancing with
modern themes. 1t may be the begin
ming OF an American dance art.
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