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Page 38
It is usual to have a maid servant in attendance in the dressing room set
apart for the ladies. She helps them relieve themselves of their wraps
when they arrive, and to don them again when they are ready to depart. A
dressing-table, completely furnished with hand-mirror, powder, perfume
and a small lamp, should be provided. A full-size mirror is always
appreciated. Sometimes, when a great number of guests are expected, a
checking system is devised to simplify matters and aid the maid in
identifying the wraps.
The men's dressing room may be provided with a smoking table supplied
with all the necessary requisites for smoking, matches, ash-trays,
cigar-cutters, etc. Here also a servant is usually on hand to offer the
gentleman his service wherever it is needed.
THE DANCE
There is a lesser formality, a greater gayety in the ballroom of to-day.
The dance-card and program are no longer enjoying unrivaled vogue as they
did when our grandmothers' danced the waltz and cotillon. The pauses
between dances are shorter. Something of the old dignity is gone, but in
its place is a new romance that is perhaps more gratifying. It is not a
romance of the Mid-Victorian period, or a romance that carries with it
the breath of mystery. It is a strangely companionable and levelheaded
romance which pervades the ballroom and makes everyone, young and old,
man and woman, want to get out on the floor and dance to the tune of the
pretty melodies.
But the ballroom of good society, must retain its dignity even while it
indulges in the new "romance of the dance." It must observe certain
little rules of good conduct without which it loses all the grace and
charm which are the pride and inspiration of the dancing couples. There
is, for instance, the etiquette of asking a lady to dance, and accepting
the invitation in a manner graciously befitting the well-bred young lady
of the twentieth century.
WHEN THE LADY IS ASKED TO DANCE
Before asking anyone else to dance, the gentleman must request the first
dance of the lady he escorted to the ball, Then he takes care that she
has a partner for each dance, and that she is never left a wallflower
while he dances with some other lady.
At the conclusion of the dance, the gentleman thanks the lady for the
dance and goes off to find his nest partner. The lady does not seek her
partner for the next dance, if she has promised it to anyone, but waits
until he comes to claim her. A man should never leave a woman standing
alone on the floor.
"CUTTING IN"
A modern system of "cutting in" seems to be enjoying a vogue among our
young people. While a dance is in progress, a young man may "cut in" and
ask the lady to finish the dance with him. If the dance has not been very
long in progress, and the young lady wishes to continue it, she may nod
and say, "The next time we pass here" The dance continues around the
room, and when the couple reach the same place again, the lady leaves her
partner and finishes the dance with the young man who has "cut in."
Perhaps this custom of "cutting in" carries with it the merest suggestion
of discourtesy, but when we consider the informal gayety of the ballroom,
the keen and wholehearted love of dancing, we can understand why the
privilege is extended. Like many another privilege, it becomes
distasteful when it is abused.
It is not good form for a couple to dance together so many times as to
make themselves conspicuous.
Men should not neglect their duty as dancers because they prefer to smoke
or simply to act as spectators.
DANCING POSITIONS
Dancing has been revolutionized since the day when the German waltz was
first introduced to polite society. And it is safe to say that some of
our austere granddames would feel righteously indignant if they were
suddenly brought back to the ballroom and forced to witness some of the
modern dance innovations!
There seems to be an attempt, on the part of the younger generation
(although the older generation is not so very far behind!) to achieve
absolute freedom of movement, to go through the dance with a certain
unrestrained impulsiveness unknown to the minuet or graceful quadrille.
These newer dances and dancing interpretations are charming and
entertaining; and yet there is the possibility of their becoming vulgar
if proper dancing positions are not taken. The position is especially
important in the latest dances.
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