Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-12-02

S~~AN@
thoughts turn handsprings
when they stand before the
i i glittering entrance to the shrine
Somersaulting notes whirl about and
purge the air of gloom. The city of
500 600 opens incandescent eyes. Streets
are washed by floods Of blinking light
from blazing dubious signs. Every night
at 8 o'clock the city awakens for the
dance of life.
The Capitals Young set parades to
q dance with lifting melody pounding
their ears Dawn of night, rise of a
blushing moon, and the lust for a sip
of intoxicating music draws them from
the homely hearth. Such magnetism
has the dance.
On streets that feed insurgent move
ment onto Pennsylvania avenue are
shrineG to the dance. Haunts and denS
and coy hooks, secluded and divine.
They lead near Chinatown and the
grassy Mall. They stand beside the
Government, careSs its boundless power
with wailing wawas and squeaky ka-
ZOOS. Echoes rebound from the strong
face of Federal dignity, and the giggling
trombone makes rowdy sport.
It is to feel the pulse of a Washing
ton night and flow in its undercurrent
ways throng the fetes, the cafe-dan-
SAINTS and probe the subtle mysteries of
a night club. A gust of pleasure creeps
over the city. Nightly its foundations
are rocked by quakes of jazz, by the
measured tread of marching regiments
of sky-rocketing notes, by the bubbling
laughter of joyous people, by the hoarse
cacaphony of auto horns. But come,
be on your way.
At night the streets are thronged
with drunken shadows. Shadows sprawl
ing over pavementS and asphalt. No
other capital like Washington. It is
American with touch of Paris. bit
of Vienna and some landmarks like
London. And who will gainsay that
along F street there is not a glinmer
of Broadway?
Did L'Enfant plan his city for la vie
de nuit9 Surely, he must have. Look
the stately width of Massachusetts
avenue drives like shaft straight to
the heart of the city, that those who
live in the northwest quadrant may
speed with expedition to and from their
homes. Those who live northeast come
by way of Maryland avenue, New York
avenue and Rhode Island avenue.
The Washington night harbors among
its silent mysteries all forms of enter
tainment. The theater not least, and
the dance not last. But tonight, come
worship the muse of dance.
X * ~
GEE them on the street, the dancers.
~ Take up their stride and follow.
They gyrate around the corners and
have no time for reckoning windows
They skip, almost trot. It's hard for
a lazy man to keep their pace. But
hold on, don't drop the scent. The end
of the trail is your reward. If you keep
from stepping on your toes and collid-
ing with others, the chase viii soon be
ended.
Their destination is uncertain, for
pandemonium RACES within them. They
make round of half a dozen places
before they find one to suit their fancy
The air is r1ipping, but they don't mind
They lead you from one cafe-dansant
to another, until the regular schedule is
exhausted and the heat under their COL
lars becomes vapory, and they feel as
though they will drain themselves of
all dancing energy. But at last, here
Is a program, and incidentally, q fee,
that suits them. And where have they
wound up? At place where there are
no walters to tip or food bills to foot.
In short, place where one finds others
who worship the dance. Who would
eat while an orchestra plays? Bah!
Not dancers.
The air reeks with human moisture
and rolls in clouds like a dense opiate
But the odor is pleasant to distended
nostrils because 1t is charged with the
essence of youth and clashing chords
of Tin Pan Alley.
The lighting is what deserves atten-
ton. An ex-stage hand is employed to
paint the hall in the wierdest tapestries
and pastelS. Every number has its
color. None can be colorless, no matter
whether the music be even a funeral