New-York tribune., 1921-02-27
Interesting Chat and Stage Gossip for Playgoe
Dancing ON Toes
Is Simple as A BC
Says Lopokova
ssy Earriette UnderhiIl

LYDIA LopoBoya Is the dearest,
sweetest, most gracious little person
YOU ever met. When we visited her
ia her dressing room at the close of
her ballet in "The Rose Girl and told
her that we would give our eyes TO be
able to dance on our toes she replied:
'Oh, l am quite sure you could do Get
eef you try. Eet is very simple" And
when we voiced our doubt as to our
ability to "do eet'' she said; "But
only try with the proper slippers and
you weel find you, too, can dance on
your toes--so.' And Lydia illustrated
her point by putting the toe of one
pink kid clipper on the floor, stretch
ing the other one far out behind her
and spreading her arms to balance
herself. She looked like a pink bird
OF paradise about to take its fight, ''as
my ballet is now, you see, do bare
foot dance. Fokine arranged it so, but
next week am going TO have q new
dance and | shall wear these slippers
and dance on my toes. / like best to
dance on my toes. Fokine make a
speech tonight from tho stage. You
near him?"
No" we replied, "Fokine did not
make a speech tonight from the stage
Buy why :" inquired Lydia. "He
should DO So
"He should" we answered, "but we
heard some one in the theater say that
he got cold feet"
"oh, see; cold feet; that ees very
bad theeng!"
1T is, indeed, for dancer. But tell
me how. you like being back in
ooh. America / love, l lovei 1t ees
now five years since was here and in
that time have been in France and
italy and England and Russia and
South America and only now in my be-
loved America. When ] was in Amer
lca before | was real actress-yes.
With the Washington Square Players
/ get SIS week. We all get s25 g.
week. We were what you call COM
punity. But then, later, / hear that
they get very prosperous and move up
town. But was very good actress"
All persons with Russian names have
to be addressed as Madame, so we sup
pose it is Nine. Lopokova, though
this one. is so little and young that it
sounds funny. However, we remember
how we laughed when some one up
IN Saranac asked US if we had ever
met Miss Nazimova. SO we resolved
TO call Lydia Nine. Lopokova, al
though we should have liked TO call
her merely Lydia. She speaks with the
prettiest accent, which is noticeable
not because of her pronunciation so
much as because of her phrasing. She
speaks very correctly and carefully.
II want you to know Miss Beatrice
Swanson and her little sister, Marcella,
and Miss Mabel Withee. You see, this
theater is not yet finish, and in every
dressing room we have six people.
Now, in comes Miss Mabel to change
her dress, so all of you who are not
girls must go out and stand in the
hall. You may stay" she said pointing
10 us, but you must go and you must
go" and she put out the stage director
and the publicity director.
This left the dressing room fairly
we'll cleared In it were only Miss
Withee and her maid, Lopokova and her
maid, Marcella Swanson and her maid,
Beatrice Swanson and her maid, one
interviewer, Beatrice Swanson's NAM
ma and Marcella Swanson's mamma
Of course, that is only one. They have
the same mamma, but they have differ
ent maids, and what must it be like to
have two such daughters as Marcella
and Beatrice! They are gorgeous, nat
ural blond beauties, as tall as Dolores,
They made Miss Withee and Nine
Lopokova seem even smaller than their
q feet nothing.
This is quick change, but if you
sic still in the corner for one minute
only then we can talk again. 1t is a
good thing that we are all such nice
people in this room or we should be
crowded" So we sat still in the corner
while Miss Withee changed from a blue
r.Ip D. IL
son changed from silver to black, and
then we talked again. Although it has
nothing TO do with this story, we must
quote Nine. Lopokova on the subject of
coughs. Her phrasing is so quaint
Having been laid up for the last two
weeks with all things which end in
tits" our voice was not the best in
the world.
"oh," said the little dancer sym
pathetically. How you do cough? 1t
is a DOG. cough, itsn't it? For that
You should wear nice piece of red
flannel so big on your chest. I know,
my dog cough, too"
Dog cough Is very good name for
1t. I've heard of people working like
dogs, but there's no sense to that, Dogs
don't work. But dogs do cough, and
this sounds just like It, However. we
are going to take our dog cough to Ber-
muda tomorrow to try TO get rid of it
and our only regret is that we shall
miss your new dance which you are
putting on next week"
"Ah, but you will return" said
Nine. Lopokova, "and shall be here all
summer. And you should see my new
costumes. like this part" she said,
pointing, TO her pearl headdress, "and
thls," pointing TO her bodice, "but these
trousers, alsa, they must go, They are
beautiful only with barefoot dance.
When. wear slippers l must discard
them" The trousers referred to are
made. OF flesh chiffon and are not dis
cernible after the fifth row back, so
leaving them off won't really be very
shocking thing. As we were leaving
Nine. Lopekoya called after us ana
said, when you decide TO dance on
your toes buy your slippers in ITALY.
Nowhere else are they as good"
Yes we called back, 'when we do
we shall"