"THE BALLET" IN NEW ZEALAND.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 264, 6 November 1937, Page 18

"THE BALLET" IN NEW ZEALAND.

The Opinions of an Overseas Examiner. "In the last few years the standard of dancing in New Zealand and Australia lias become considerably higher," said Mr. Felix Demery, an examiner for the Royal Academy of Dancing, who is at present touring New Zealand. When interviewed this morning he seemed favourably impressed with the work that he had seen so far. "I was out here two years ago," he said, "and in that short interval great progress has been made. There is no reason, of course," he continued, "why the standard in this country should not equal that in any part of the world. The physique of the colonials is excellent, but their dancing suffers from lack of tradition and an insufficient knowledge of the ideals they are striving for. The main object of our examinations is to show people the standard required and give them a fuller knowledge of the principles of the ballet."

Mr. Demery went on to explain how in many cases he had been approached by people who suggested that a less difficult syllabus be arranged for the overseas countries, but in the opinion of the academy there was no reason why the standard of dancing here should not be raised to the same level. "A lot depends on the teachers," he explained. "The normal child should be able to pass the grade examinations without any difficulty. They are no harder than the ordinary grade examinations for music."

"One of our main difficulties," said Mr. Demery, "lies in the attitude of the parents. In England we soon found that the word 'ballet' was taken to imply a stage career, but when we adopted the term 'operatic* parents were quite content to allow their children to be trained." Mr. Demery also gave interesting descriptions of the amateur work being done in England. Public interest had grown in the last 12 years and many groups of people interested in the movement were getting together and producing amateur ballets and dances. "England," he remarked, "can hold ite own with any other country."

Another phase of colonial dancing that interested Mr. Demery was the lack of interest on the part of the men. "Most New Zealand men," he said, "consider that dancing is merely a feminine art and are very scornful of those who show any signe of interest." In answer to this problem Mr. Demery said that very few men realised the physique and physical fitness required in masculine dancing. Members of the recent Russian ballet in New Zealand were excellent example* of the tine work that can be done by men in this field. Their solos required an enormous amount of energy anil the average time allotted for men was less than two minutes. "Men will appreciate the art when they know more about i|t," he concluded. "I was pitchforked into dancing myself. At one time I had great ambitions of being a

farmer, but both my parents were teachers of dancing and I am not sorry now."