Evening star., 1952-04-20
Dancing in the Washington OF Days long Gone By
By John Cloeett Proctor

Hall, then at Fifth and H streets
NV, on Thursday evening, Oc-
tober %, 1890. On the back page
of the program the officers in
charge of the dance are given as:
Floor manager, William Rooney:
Floor Committee, J. j. Brosnahan,
Charles KoonS. w. o. Gingell,
John Lewis; Reception Commit
tee, F. Dickey, H. Delaplain, B. F.
Gingell. S. Sweetman. The in
side pages of the card are inter-
esting because they give on one
side the dances then in vogue and
on the other side spaces to be
filled in with the names of those
engaged as partners for the
evening.
These were not all the ballroom
dances of go OF 70 years ago, for
there were the mazurka, Virginia
reel, gavotte, and if we 60 back
to the Civil War period We will
find them dancing "Old Dan
Tucker" in addition to some of
those mentioned.
This dance, if anything, was a
little livelier than our present
Paul Jones'" It was danced by
the forming of a circle around the
room, with one or more fuckers in
the center without partners
When the music began, the call
"All balance to Tucker" was made
followed by "Allemande left
Grand right and left" promenade
all, "All forward and back and
All join handS-circle to the left. -
The words to the music played for
this dance ran:
Il came to to,Un de udder night,
| / hard de noise and SGU de fight,
De 10dtchman WdS running
'rOun,'
Cryin' old Dan fuckers come
to toWn.'
CHORUS.
$50 get out de Uay, Ole Dan
Tucker,
Get out de iOay, Old Dan'Tucker,
Get out de lUGy, Old Dan Tucker,
You're too late to come to
supper"
President Washington, at the
complimentary ball rendered him,
following his Inauguration in New
York City on April 80, 1889,
danced the cotillion successfully
with Mrs. Peter Van Brook Liv-
ingSton and Mrs. Alexander Ham
Iilton and afterWard danced a min
Iuet with Miss Van Zandt, and it
is said there was dignity and grace
in every movement of the in
comparable man."
This ball, the preparations for
which were made by the dancing
assemblies of New York, was at
tended by many of the most dis
tinguished people of that time
and included, in addition to Gen
Washington, the Vice President
and most of the members of both
branches of Congress-.
Introducing the Waltz.
So far as known, the waltz was
not introduced into America priol
to 1926, and it is quite probable
that it remained for Baron Stalk
Ielberg, the Swedish Charge d'Af-
fairs to this country, first to bring
it out, during that year. at Carusi's
saloon. This building, first known
as the Washington Theater, was
destroyed by fire on April 10, 1920
rebuilt by Lewis COR Louis Ca
Irusi, and opened as the Washing
ton City Assembly Rooms in 1922
when the baron was serving as a
diplomat in this city, and contin-
ued to do so for some years after
ward.
Just when the waltz was origi-
mated. and where, would be diff
cult questions to answer. One
writer says: "Waltzing is a species
of dancing that owes its origin to
the Germans, having been first
introduced in Swabia, one of the
nine circles of Germany: and
from it's introduction into the
Ineighboring provinces and thence
throughout the European conti-
nent, its original manner has
been greatly improved"
Another tells us it is of Bo-
Ihemian origin, while still another
Isays it was originally of French
origin, "but SO modified in Ger
many as to belong really to that
country 1t became popular,
continues this source of informa-
ton, ION the continent at the
beginning of the 10th century
and was introduced in England
lin 1872" This, at least, would
lend color to Washington's claim
flor first having danced the waltz
in this country.
Old "Uncle Tom"
| However, Prof. Carusi did much
toward making it popular at his
dancing saloon, where many OF
our earlier residents took lessons
lin their youthful days to the
strains of the fiddle played by
slave belonging to the professor
named Harry White. The writer
recalls this old colored man. when
he was feeble and, with his snow
white hair, he looked the part OF
the typical Uncle Tom in Uncle
Toms Cabin"
Lewis Carusi was one of the three
sons of Gaetano Carusi, who came
to this country for the purpose OF
organizing the United States Ma
rine Band, but who did not fare
so well, because the officers who
urged him to come here went be-
yond their authority in doing So
Complications naturally ensued,
and apparently no one seemed
strong enough to assume the re-
sponsibility for the presence OF
the pioneer Carusi and his family,
or for those who came here to
play in the band. He was un-
questionably vary badly treated,
though he appears to have done
everything he could to make good
More than a century ago, when
he had grown old. he appealed to