Evening star., 1923-12-02


Il square dance is always liable
to bob up serenely with a new kick"
and surpass all rivals in popular
favor.
They put the kick in quadrille in
1SS9-when the Moulin Rouge was
started.
Now. again, today, the kick Is
new. 1t is dolled UP in real lace;
but no tango, fox-trot Or jazz dance
could have the resulting consequence
to start up, In a word, the old
pre-war Partisan gayety! The quad
rille of the Moulin Rouge is going
strong.
Men will laughingly agree, all
|-over-on the pampas Of the Argen-
tine, the steppes of Russia. the
prairies of Iowa The news will stir
up "reminiscences from New York
brokers, English milords, Chinese
mandarins, and magnates of the
Transvaai.
They will remember how, when
they were lonesome. once, in Paris,
the good old Moulin Rouge launched
them. slap-bang, into society!
OF course, any one can go, like
t0at, slap DdnS INV coSioeSt "ASi
out introductions, without invita-
tion, in the modern "dancings" Of
great cities. But will they-will
timid, bashfuI men. who do not
dance, have a slap-bang good time?
The Moulin Rouge had the secret
of it. from the flrst day-in the
quadrille. 1t broke the ice. And the
whole thing was there:
At the Moulin Rouge you do not
dance.
Its quadrille always was show.
a sight: but just to hear that
music Orchestra OF forty pieces.
type of quadrille from The Grand
Mogol") was the thing that tipped
the scale for the timid outsider. 1t
got him going. that gay banging
ryhthm that invites to sociability
and beats down loneliness!
There is something strained, slow,
cold. about a tango joint Even jazz
Is jealous-two-b by-two, and down
with all dancers!
But imagine that you break from
the night street into these boisterous
halls OF light. where few dance. in
deed, but simply thousands are
Y,
pushing, begging pardon, paying
compliments. and crowding in little
eddies toward spots in the center OF
the dance floor. to get a sight Of
some special stunt!
All to the crash bang OF the grand
quadrille.
Come In, come in! The waters
fine!
n SAY, the public does not dance.
II stands while and watches
sets" in cleared spots OF the dance
floor. 1t gathers. eager, laughing.
hurrying. and melts away again,
into the joshing, complimenting
throng.
In those days we watched La
Goulue, La Nome Fromage, La Sau-
terelle and Grille d'Edout. What
names! The Cob. Cheese Kid, Grass
hopper, Gutter Cricket! La Goulue,
most famous OF them all. inspired
the pictorial poster Of Toulouse
Lautrec-most famous Of all pictorial
posters, most sought for today by
collectors. and selling as high as
s100 for an original in flne condition.
We watched Rayon dor (whose
hat, two yards in circumference. was
always straight): Mini Patte-en-rAir
twho took a troupe around the
world; Jeanne Avril Uiterary girl
and friend Of artists. for whom
Toulouse Lautree made his second
poster); Pigeonette twho had g.
dancing school in New York;, and
fifty others!
All professionals Of the quadrille-
just as today. All girls, no men,
except just one, grim. punctilious
amateur - Valentin the Boneless,
whose silhouette appears in the fore
ground of the Iautrec poster. VAL
entin never accepted a drink without
paying it back Immediately, and his
brother, the Notary of Sceaux,
mourned that The made the Moulin
Rouge his office.
Around the spectacle of the qua
drilles the true life of the Mou9in
has always gathered. Then the
quadrilles were rather rude. less ele-
CANT and provocative than today,
with outrageous comedy stunts. &C.
centricities Of cavaliers seuls, and
some vulgarity.
Today real lace is featured,
where machine-made edging deco
rated work girl muslin; and the
comedy is in keeping with refined
and beautiful girls. But now. as
then (and yet before, at the MabilleO,
the motive force of all is the qua
drille. the chahut, hell-broke e-loose-
in a word. the cancan.
$s: X
MOT alone, The banging chahut
~ music tells the timid outsider
that here is society! Jazz might
make him suspicious.
He stops at an attraction" say,
a sort of bagatelle board, with
prizes. A timid touch is on his
sleeve: and q nice girl wishes him
to back her skill. She Graves to win
that china goat. And the lone man
is not alone!
Or at the javelin- throwing game
he meets a face that smiles with
friendly interest. Will monsieur pay
for ten throws? She thinks she met
monsieur at Ostend- She desires to
win him a knit smoking cap. a box
of cough-drops or a hand-painted
mug! (Hers is hand-painted.)
Their strings" ("fcelles') are nu-
merous. First. you get the candy
box, then the bouquet. Each night
5000 lonely, timid men buck up
gratefully and let themselves be.
"stringed."
Willingly. at little tables. they buy
refreshments re for the fair who have
/ the health" Cnerve") to break the
ice like a lady. When the bouquet
woman comes they paw 25 francs