DANCE RECITAL.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17319, 3 December 1921, Page 12

DANCE RECITAL.

MISS MAODONALD'S PUPILS. j The dance pupils of Miss Bessie Macdonald, to the number of close on one hundred, gathered together at the Choral Hall last night, and before a crowded house gave a recital by way of demonstration of the success of their tuition during the past year. The programme. contained the big total of 41 items, but with a cutting out of encores, combined with very efficient stage manageawttt, tn© entertainment -was brought to a, close before 11 o'clock. The performers were, with only one or two exceptions, girls ranging from the finishing school age to that of the kindergarten. In fact, some of the very sma.l juveniles appeared hardly to have graduated from the nursery. They all entered into their work with a whole-hearted desire to do their best, and with a general spirit of joyousness which made their efforts most pleasing. The leading item was an Eastern scene, in which a potentate and his spouse, seated in state, and in gaudy surroundings, watched the movements of the court dancers. In this scene the opening song was "Karavan," contributed by Miss Iris Edmonds, who was supported by a very dainty ballet. The senior and junior girls combined to present a dance of the East, a very elaborate affair, and the third specialty of the scene was a cymbal dance by Miss Nan Audibert, who out as the leader of the company, and who was prominent throughout all stages of the programme. A death donee was another notable item. This' was given by Miss Ella Prenter, snd was highly dramatic, in fact sombre. It depicted a dancing girl, who, in the last flicker of 'lile, and in a period of delirium, rose from her bed to take for the last. time those steps which in the hey-day of her health she was wont to charm the multitude nightly. Exhausted with the effort, she fell back on the bed and died. Miss Prenter- deserves credit for the very artistic and restrained manner in which she presented the scene. A. contrasting item, which possessed all the l gaiety of the foaming billows, was a dance of the soa nymphs, by the senior girls. Miss Nan Audibert took a solo part aB the mermaid, and at the closo of her dance she lifted the lid of an oyster shell and extracted a pearl, a tiny tot of a girl, June Stewart, who, in honour of her release, gave a charming little dance by herself. An Italian begging dance was another of the leading suc- [ cesses of the evening. In this. Miss Louie lies appeared as the Italian girl, despondent with rebuffs, until by means of a spirited tambourine dance she charms affability from the surrounding crowd. An item, "Statues, proved . most interesting. Four girls took part in a combined dance, whioh stopped suddenly every now and then, leaving the performers in various set postures, meant to represent something. For. instance, when there appeared to be a grope round for a lost threepenny piece, this was 'tying the shoe," when the girls led one to imagine they were throwing stones at each other this was "playing cricket," and when there was a general air of excitement this was "the quarrel." "forfiiveness' and friendship," however, followed quickly, and everything finished up well, although one was left at a loss to understand why "cricket should have developed so disastrously. It must have been girls' i<Srioket under representation. .The inevitable "dying swan" appeared again. This bird enjoys as robust an immortality as the Acclimatisation Society's white heron. Miss Nan Audibert was the swan, and she presented tho dance, a most elaborate and difficult one, with all the skill and charm which make her appearance at any time 170 welcome.. Many* other excellent. items were given, and the whole entertainment *as successful and most heartily enjoyed. The orchestra, wherever they came from, were really splendid. Intelligently controlled they maintained that synchronisation with the daieers which makes all the difference in the' world, and when given a free run, as in the "By Jingo" item, they were a treat to listen to. The recital will be repeated to-night.