About Dancing.

Bruce Herald, Volume IX, Issue 805, 23 May 1876, Page 7

About Dancing.

Among all nationalities the American and French are the most earnest votaries of Terpsichore; among thorn dancing has come to be considered almost a necessary part of every boy's and girl's education, and the advantages of it are so apparent that every one musb see them. All of the disadvaniagetj connected with, it, and all of the objections raised against the repreation, are entirely the result of an improper use and. at>use of an arfc which, learned under proper teaching, becomes an amusement that is productive of ai

much good as any which the human race indulge in. The dancing- Behoof properly conducted,; gives to the pupil ease and elegance of manner ; in fact, do one knows how to walk that has sot learned to dance; that is, to walk with ease and graceful movement. The ad vantages of the dancingschool are undoubtedly much greater to the young lady than the opposite sex, for in her case it ia a sanitary recreation. American ladies take very little exercise, the variable climate with its extremes of temperature, prevents its regular indulgence out of doors. They are like TROPICAL PLANTS. nurtured in the hot-house temperature of their parlors ; they are very lovely, but easily withered. It is a fact which cannot be denied, that the women who compose the wealthiest class of American society are physically inferior to their sisters of other nationalities. Now the disadvantages spoken of, which contribute partially to these results, can be overcome in a great measure by a judicious indulgence in dancing. There is no exertion which brings all the muscles of the body into gentle use and exercise like dancing, and more particularly those limbs which suffer the most for want of use in a sendentary life. A lady who dances frequently can walk three times as far as one who does not indulge in the recreation, and to those who indulge in mental occupation it gives that excitement absolutely necessary to secure a healthy condition of the brain. Thus ifc combines physical exertion and mental relief to many, the social condition of whose lives prevent them from availing themselves of any other recreatiou that will bo effectually accomplish this purpose. THE OBJECTIONS TO DANCING. The objections raised against dancing in a moral point of view are very strong, but they proceed entirely from a contemplation of the recreation as it is abused. This is an interesting question, as it must be patent to all who have considered the matter, that the tendency at the present day is to its abuse* and that ifc is tending to justify the opponents of the art in denouncing the pastime altogether. The young men of modern society have got in a free and easy Way of conducting themselves in a ballroom. They do not go to a dance to contract the habit of easy, gentlemanly deportment, which is essentially one of the most important phases of the recreation ; they go to hug the girls, and they do it. Many of them dance more like boors than gentlemen, and that which should be a graceful and elegaut exercise becomes a romp. A false idea of personal liberty of action has something to do with this, but careless teaching has much more to do with ifc. It is in the dancing academy that the habits to be observed in the ball-room are formed, and the way that many young men act there now is due to the license, ths almost unlimited license, allowed in some of the places where the art is taught. A danc-ing-mastershould, above all other teacher?, be a man of gentlemanly deportment and courteous manners, for he has to teach these things as well as the movements required in the dance. In a well-regulated school the young pupils should be taught to treat; the company with dignified courtesy, and be prevented from indulging in any form of dance that has in ifc any features that will admit of the huggiug which is now so much indulged in that many ladies are beginning to be afraid to allow their daughters to go to " hops," even when the place and the class of the visitors would seem to insure that everything would be governed by the most careful sense of propriety, because they know that there is a danger that " the young man of the period " will avail himself of the opportunity allowed in the waltz to treat his partner in a way that would not be allowed under any other circumstances. There really is no difference between promiscuous hugging in a ball-room in any other place, as far as its objectionable features are concerned. One of the last inventions of TERPSICHOREA>~ ART is the Celiareas waltz, commonly known as the " Glide." Ifc is an amalgamation of the old hop, the redowa and the waltz proper. A description of ifc would be very interesting to those who have not participated in it, but one thing forbids it ; a mere description of the dance, if truthful, would be too objectionable to appear in the columns of a newspaper. Many people do not think the old waltz an objectionable dance, but this 13 a matter of opinion on which many who approve of dancing will differ, it certainly is the most graceful of all dances, and ia indulged in by the most polished and refined society. But any school that allows its pupils to indulge in the lascivious glide should be shunned by parents who have any care to preserve that barrier of modesty and decorum which should surround the lives of those who in the future years are to become tke trainers another generation. In a properly con-, ducted dancing school the exercises are of a character to develop the physicial and the mental qualities of the pupils, who cannot begin to learn too young. The motion of the hand and the movement of the feet, together with the constant change of the pose of the body, not only produces health and vigorous action, but tends also to perfect the symmetry of its growth. Jefferson, in a communication reiativQ to the University of Virginia, recommended " that a suitable portion of the time of the students be devoted to the healthy and innocent amusement of dancing, unbending them from severe and laborious study, to give a healthy tone to the organs of digestion, vigor and elasticity to the body and. energy to the mind 5 also to cultivate a social and cheerful interchange or soul." One of the advantages of the dancing school is that ib is one of the few recreations in which both sexes unite, and much advantage ia gaiaed from this aesooi*-

tion, when conducted under such conditions as have already been stated. The boy is taught to treat his partner with that careful courtesy and reverent respect which are a shield to protect her innocence and, at the same time, beget in him a veneration for the sex which he will never lose. Too much familiarity Bhould be avoided in the dancing, and ease, natural intercourse, and polite and agreeable conversation encouraged. Those who have properly learned to dance always appear to understand better what to do with themselves, and to have a more free and graceful use of their limbs, and a better carriage. They enter and quit a room with ease and self-possession, and address themselves to others with more grace than those who have not had similar advantages. To display and cultivate beauty and form and expression is an important business of life, and this is the dancing-master's work, and those who do it faithfully are greater benefactors to their kind than many think, and their profession ie entitled to greater consideration than is usually accorded to it. TIIE QUADRILLE. Of all modern dances the quadrille ia certainly the least objectionable. It combines a greater variety of rhythmic motion than any other, and a large number of people who object entirely to round dances participate in it. The quadrille is not of very old date, having been introduced in Paris during the reign of Louis XIV. by that monarch, as a counter-attraction to to card-playing, which was then indulged in to a fearful extent at court, and it proved so attractive that many of the gamblers forsook their cards to join in the fascinating new dance. Fashions change in dancing as in other things, and the tendency of the last few years has not been a very satisfactory one, for the generation that has given birth to the " glide " and the " can-can " cannot be said to have done much to advance the moral tone of Terpsichorean art. Theie ia one strong difference between Americans and Europeans and Asiatic nations in their love of dancing, for, while the former two dance themselves, the latter can see no pleasure but in watching the dancing of others, and wonder why we don't pay somebody to do the dancing for us, and enjoy the luxury of looking on. The Italians have a great passion for the ballet, which takes place in the opera house, between two of the acts or after its termination ; and the audience have sometimes scarcely patience to listen to their favorite A r erdi, while anxiously awaiting the opening of the ballet, which is there put on in splendid Btyle, sometimes numbering hundreds of performers. Dancing is one of the OLDEST OF RECREATIONS, and has been practised by all nations and by all qualities of people. How many instances are recorded in the Bible is well known. At the passage of the Bed Sea, Miriam, the prophetess, and the sister of Moses and Aaron, took, we are told, a timbrel in her hand, and with all her women commenced a dance of rejoicing for the great deliverance that had just been wrought for them. When Jeplitha returned victorious from the battle-fields he was met by his daughter and her maidens, who welcomed him with dance and song. Saul and David, too, were greeted in the same way after they had vanquished the Philistines. Cicero, the king of Roman orators, was fond of dancing, and often indulged iv a pleasant hour at the court of Terpsichore. All heathen nations have used dancing in their religious rites and ceremonies, performing dances before their altars and around the statues of their gods ; and, although there is no record of it in the Bible, there is but little doubt that some of the primitive Christians danced at their meetings for worship. Aristotle ranks dancing with poetry, and speaks of the Grecian dances " as expressing man* nerp, passions and actions," and in Pindar, " Apollo," the deity of the Muses., i 3 called the dancer. THE POETRY OF MOTION, that which is both an art and a recreation ; which numbers among its votaries all classes, from the Empress of an imperial court to the maiden that dances upon the floor of a border homestead ; that holds its joyous revels both in the palaces of queens ag well as around the Indian wigwam. -claims the attention of a larger number of admirers than any other amusement-, for all nations and all races join in the merry dance; and, as has been shown, it is something more thau a mere amusement ; also that under proper restrictions and judicious training, it is of value as promoting health and suppleness of limb ; that it aids in the development of beauty of form and action, and assists in promoting the social intercourse, which is, after all, the salt of life. It is not intended here to argue the ethical question as to the danger attending the associations around its practice, late hours, the excitement of the ballroom, &c. These are the results of misuse. We take higher ground and look upon it simply as healthful enjoyment, and call attention to the facts that all of the effects which are objectionable in the present mode of indulging in the dance, result in a great measure from injudicious teaching; that between the loud and coarse style, and the refined and polished style of dancing, there is a difference aa wide asunder as the poles ; and that while one inevitably leads to moral disaster, the other can have no influence hut that which is good. — ' St. Louia Globe-Democrat.'