STREAMLINED FIGURES Walking

Evening Star, Issue 22775, 9 October 1937, Page 26

STREAMLINED FIGURES Walking

[By Donald Lcomis.]

The way to walk is to. set the heel down first and come up on the toe. Try this in an exaggerated fashion for a moment so that you will get the idea. The woman who wears high heels cannot do this; for this reason she has, as a rule, very poor posture and is tired easily. As.you-walk'swing the opposite arm —with .the .right foot, advance the left aim—with the left foot advance the right arm. In the picture Jean Chatham exaggerates this, hut when you become accustomed to it; you will not be aware of the detail, merely of: a rhythmic walk. It is difficult to show you how to ■ walk properly in a still picture.; A motion picture gives you a better idea, so that my first 'advice to you would be to watch Joan Crawford walk on the screen. To my mind, Joan has the best walk in Hollywood, a natural walk, for she glides along and seems to move without effort so that you hardly notice her movement. This is because of the perfect co-ordination of her muscles, particularly those in the small of her back.

For perfect posture in walking, keep hips forward, muscles of spine contracted just enough to accomplish this, hold, the stomach in and the chest will automatically come up. Don’t walk in a tensed position, but walk with grace. If you learn to walk properly it will soon become a habit. Don’t walk in two lines. Walk in one, putting one foot before the other, pointing the toe ahead. Film producers and directors Insist that every screen test includes a shot of the player walking, for how a girl moves is important to her screen career.

This ie the third of a series of articles by Mr Loomis, physical director of the stars at. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer • Studios. He has charge of such stairs as Joan Crawford, Jeanette Macdonald, Norma Shearer, Robert Taylor, Clark Gable, and Robert Montgomery. Further articles will ap-, pear each Saturday and Wednesday. . On Wednesday, ■ Your Feet.*

Watch the stars on the screen. Yon will note that most of the taller girls take rather long steps, but none of them strides. Look at yourself in shop windows as you go along. Does your head lead your Tody? Many persons are in such a hurry they can’t wait to get to wherever they are going, so they push their heads along in front. This spoils the entire picture. If you are small, do not make the mistake of taking too short a step. It is not attractive, and gives you a bumpy gait .that can’t be called “ cute ” by any stretoh of the imagination. Yes, it’s a lot' of trouble. But the chief fault of most people is that they are lazy. Think of what Helen Keller accomplished, although she was blind, deaf, and dumb. We know, because Miss Keller has proved it to us, that any blind,- deaf, and dumb person can overcome these handicaps if he is willing to pay the price.

And the price must be paid for a streamlined figure.