Evening star., 1939-04-27

lnent were the stock in trade of
the Castles as long ago as 1915.
That Is "a years ago as time flies.
Nomenclature, of course. has been
modernized. Derived from the
barnyard, of all places. the earlier
versions of today'S dances bore
such names as the turkey trot, The
bunny hug and the lame duck
There was more grace and less
violence about them, but the way
they are danced by Fred Astaire
and Ginger Rogers (who never
were better) raises serious DOUBT
that the jitterbug is peculiarly the
product Of our own time. Those
1915 hippety- -hoppings were def
nitely the parents of the big apple,
the little peach, the banana split,
etc.
Actually, the dances antedated
the Castles. When they came along
to give the barnyard steps social
standing, the whole younger gen-
Grafton was looking funny trying
to strut like turkeys, wrestle like
rabbits or limp like rheumatic
ducks. The Castles, he with a
broad a. she with the background
Of a wealthy, substantial family,
simply dressed in something a little
bit higher than fashion and set
about proving that such steps could
be graceful. The country, and
Europe, too. was more than ready
to be shown how such energetic
steps could be done handsomely, al
most pitiably ready. The dancing
OF the Castles gave sWanlike
elegance to the dances which in
spired every one to emulate them.
At least to try!
Even the older folks, who then
as now were outraged at the antics
of their offsprings, were so capti-
waited by the excellence of the young
dance teams efforts that they for
got how much they disliked the
children's rejection of the tWo-step
and the waltz
There are whispers in connection
with the picture and the effect of
the Castles upon the dances of that
day that much the same thing is
going to happen again; that by next
year the awful vitality of today will
have given way to smooth, rhyth-
mic and smart dancing. And again
the old folks will forgive and forget.
X X X
One of the troubles with prima
donnas, if they don't mind our say
ing so, is that they seldom come in
pint sizes. That she is an exception
Is one of the pleasant things about
Jessica Dragonette. She is very
petite person in spite of the bigness
of the voice which she has been
using to enchant the radio millions
Cor are they up to billions nowO
for years.
Miss Dragonette, who comes to the
Capitol tomorrow, was a charming
guest OF honor yesterday afternoon
at a party at the Shoreham. Dragged
into cozy corner by a quartet of
critics, Miss Dragonette cheerfully
discussed everything from chicken
salad to musical tastes. Her tastes,
incidentally, are fairly universal.
She would like to do grand opera,
and will do 1t, but she also likes
popular music and thinks operettas
such as those of Victor Herbert,
Jerome Kern, ETC., are very, very
fine. They are the American equiva-
lent for the more pretentious grand
opera of the Old World, she thinks,
and she finds them quite as pleasant
in their way.
SHOW Boat" Miss Dragonette is
very glad to tell you, Is her idea of
an American opera and one that
does not have to run into a corner
and hide when some of the older
and more stodgy European pieces
come along.
Speaking of music, "Siboney" is
destined to get pretty thorough
workout on local stages starting to-
morrow. Marian Talley, the Earles
prima donna, has listed it on her
program. Miss Dragonette is going
to sing 1t also. And, as so many
people have discovered in the past
two weeks, 1t is the most dramatic
number in the program of Luba
Malina at Troika.
Maybe it's "Siboney" week.
Miss Natalie E. White wants to
scold us, and since she inferentially