LA MERI

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 21, 24 July 1936, Page 5

LA MERI

* AN INCOMPARABLE DANCER Versatility is but one, though not the least, of the many gifts bestowed on La Meri. Dancing at the Opera House last night she showed not only understanding by the spirit "Of many peoples as expressed in their dances, b.ufliow to make those dances stir the imaginations of the dullest of onlookers. In some of her dances she may suggest comparisons with the art of Pavlova, Genee, or the recently deceased La Argentina^ yet she preserves her distinct personality and she has her own ways and means of displaying her consummate art. Not only her features . but her limbs, her whole body, (and she is beautifully formed) are expressive, and yet on occasion, as in her Oriental dances, she can assume a: demeanour of impassivity and solemnity common to some of the dancers of the Orient On the other hand, when she feels she should let herself go, she does so with a vengeance. She displays 100, an exquisite delicacy in dances calling for graceful treatment, and when the noed arises she shows herself richly endowed with the sense of humour. The large audience at the Opera House last night ■ was captivated by La Meri. It wanted more and yet more, forgetting, for the moment the physical and mental efforts required in conveying the spirif and the idea of the many'and utterly dissimilar dances —physical, for some of the dances must have called • for , great bodily stress, mental, because in all La Meri did she showed^ herself a thinker and one quick.to f set nerve: and muscle to work in response to what she had in mind. ■;•-■■ Her programme contained over a dozen dances, every one different. They might have been classified as Spanish, Oriental, American,,.and . Jdyllic.. She opened with a Spanish dance, Goyesca, to the music of Granados. The curtain rose on; an: empty stage, with a pearly white floor, and draped with heavy black curtains at back and sides. The audience waited all expectant and receptive. : The entry of La Meri as a Spanish dancer, with- heavily-flounced and crinoline skirt, wearing a white mantilla; and a highback comb, was a brilliant feast for the~ eyes and the audience said so with strong emphasis, then held its breath The music began and La Meri followed, dancing with perfect grace and irresistible allure. This was Spain in its happy and carefree mood. No insxpert male pen should dare to describe the beauty of La Meri's costume for this dance, which was a promising beginning to the artistic feast to tollow. Moreover, apart from her dancing, La Meri made the castanets she clicked to "sing," there was no other word . for it. Her second dance, Bolero Antico, was also Spanish, full of quick and yet graceful movement in which hands, arms, legs, feet,; and torso' all had their part. Not a word then'or afterwards had La Meri to say, and yet her every movement and the click-click of the castanets seemed to say: "You think I am not attractive to you? Well, you'll see you are mistaken; but you shall come to me, not Ito you. You shall see!" ' The dance was a challenge; in fact it was, as all her other numbers, an act in which La Meri showed herself to,be a great artist in mime and motion as in the . dance—any of the dances she gave. ' A dramatic scena, a dance to Ravel's well-known orchestral work "Bolero," followed. The stage was suffused in soft rose and cerulean lights and the black curtains took on an indefinable but not sable hue of their own. Lying prone-on a blue silk shawl and dressed in some shining scarlet costume, La Meri was .discovered. As the music began pianissimo, so> she moved, just a tremulous hand, then an.arm, then the body rose, and as the music grew louder and louder, so La Meri's whole body quivered, and. undulated, so her face depicted rapture, terror, frenzy „ delirium .in time with the ascending loudness of the music to its massive crescendo and climax. . To itemise the dances of La ,Meri would take more space than is available for this notice, but reference must be made to the "White Peacock" dance, |a remarkable .study of. bird movement, more avian than human, descriptive -)f the peacock in its strutting, jerky movements, display of1 its tail, watchfulness, and leisurely setting down, with its legs beneath its body. : Mention must bo made, too, of the; Indian, Chinese, and Japanese dances and their authentic musical accompaniments, also to th-? exceedingly beautiful visualisation of Chopin's Nocturne, No. 2, the acme of graceful dancing and a perfect adaptation of the music to the action/Dvorak's "Humoresque," a Swedish "Polska" (danced with Laura Mollica), and a rustic dance. "Asturiana" supplier! much of; the 'comedy in a delightful and' diversified' programme of dancing that will remain long after in the minds of all who .saw it. .The verse of Vachell Lindsay, the American poet, was suggested in the passion and rhythm of his Panama and Cuban dances. - For every ~dance La Meri wears .a different costume and the range is from the simple ;to; the magnificent; but every costume is in keeping with the I dance and its character or nationality.The scenic accessories and stage settings are sufficient, simple, artistic, yet perfectly in keeping with the different and .sharply-contrasting dances. The lighting of the stage is a masterpiece in its way.. Incidental music was furnished by an accomplished trio of violin, 'cello, and pianoforte, directed by Mr. Mario Salerno,-and the players gave several highly acceptable solos. La Meri was presented by Mr. A. D. M. Longden," whose enterprise received flattering' endorsement from the enraptured audience. Guido Carreras directed the presentation of the dances and the stage. La Meri reappears all this week. She should not be missed. The Wellington season will definitely conclude next Wednesday night. Ti> night will be the last evening performance at which the famous dance, "The White Peacock," will be performed, as the entire programme is to be changed tomorrow night. Full particulars concerning prices, day sale tickets, and programmes are advertised.