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Page 40
A public ball is either a tremendous success or a miserable failure.
There is no in-between. And the success or failure rests solely on the
good judgment and influence of the ladies and gentlemen of the
committees, including, of course, those who receive. To mingle freely
among the guests, to join in the conversation, to introduce guests to
each other and find partners for the "wallflowers" all these little
services tend to arouse a spirit of friendliness and harmony that cannot
but result in an evening that will be long remembered in the minds of
every guest.
A PLEA FOR DANCING
Lately there has been a great deal of unfavorable criticism directed
against the modern dances. There have been newspaper articles condemning
the "latest dance fads" as immoral and degrading. There have been
speeches and lectures against "shaking and twisting of the body into
weird, outlandish contortions." There have been vigorous crusades
against dance halls. And all because a few ill-bred, fun-loving,
carefree young people wrongly interpreted the new dances in their own way
and gave to the steps the vulgar abandon appropriate only to the cheap
vaudeville stage or the low dance hall.
Dancing, even the shoulder-shaking, oscillating dancing of to-day, is
really not intended to be vulgar or immoral at all, despite the crusades
of the anti-immorality dancing committees! What is dancing, after all, if
not the expression of one's ideals and emotions? It is only the man or
woman with a vulgar mind, with base ideals, who will give a vulgar
interpretation to a dance of any kind. But the essentially fine girl,
the really well-bred man, the people who, by their poise and dignity have
earned for America the envied title of "Republic of the
Aristocrats"--they dance these latest creations for the sheer joy of the
dance itself, reveling in its newness, enjoying the novelty of its
"different" steps, seeing nothing in its slow undulations or brisk little
steps, but art--a "jazzy" art, to be sure, but still the beautiful art of
dancing.
And so we plead--let the younger generation enjoy its giddy waltzes and
brisk-paced fox-trots and fancy new dances just as grandmother, when she
was young, was allowed to enjoy the minuet and the slow waltz. They are
different, yes, and rather hard to accept after the dignified dances of
not so long ago. But they are picturesque, to say the least, and
artistic. The gracefully-swaying bodies, keeping step in perfect
harmony to the tunes of the newer symphony orchestras, are delightful to
watch; and in good society, young men and women can always be trusted to
deport themselves with utter grace and poise.
The minuet was decidedly graceful. The old German waltz with its dreamy,
haunting melody was beautiful as it was enjoyable. But they have been
relegated into the days of hoop skirts and powdered wigs. To-day the
"jazzy" dances are in vogue, and society in its lowest and highest
circles is finding intense pleasure in the whirling, swirling dances
decreed by fashion as her favorites. Why complain? Perhaps in another
year or two, these giddy-paced dances will be "out of style" and in their
stead will be solemn, slow dances more graceful and stately than even the
minuet of yore.
THE CHARM OF DRESS IN DANCING
Immediately after the Reign of Terror, France was plunged into a reckless
round of unrestrained gayety that can come only from love of life and
youth and laughter long pent-up. It was as though an avalanche of joy
had been released; it was in reality the reaction from the terrors and
nightmares of those two years of horror. The people were free, free to
do as they pleased without the fear of the guillotine ever present; and
all France went mad with rejoicing.
It was then that dancing came into its own. Almost overnight huge dance
halls sprang up. The homes of wealthy aristocrats who had been
sacrificed to the monster guillotine, were converted into places for
dancing. Every available inch of space was utilized for the dance. And
the more these freed people danced, the more their spirits soared with
the joy of life and living, until they found in the dance itself the
interpretation of freedom and all that it means.
A biographer who was an eye-witness of this madcap Paris, wrote in detail
about the dance and the dress of these people. He told how they dressed
in the brightest clothes they could obtain, for maddened with happiness
as they were, they instinctively felt that bright clothes would enliven
their spirits. And they did!
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