DANCE OF DEATH

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 April 1925, Page 6

DANCE OF DEATH

BULLET FOLLOWS FOX-TROT

Having danced all the afternoon in a select establishment of the Champs Elysees, • and part of the night in a well-known Montmartre resort, Mlle. Olga Vasilieva committed suicide in the Rue Chaptel, a few yards from the Grand Guignol Theatre, Paris, in the early hours of the morning of Saturday, February 21.

A very pretty brunette, born in Sebastopol 24 years ago, Olga Vastlieva escaped from Russia four years ago, and came to Paris. She had been well educated, and had studied art, but she worked for a living as a seamstress till she got into a dancing school. Within a few months she became a professional dancer, and was engaged at various Paris night resorts. Meanwhile, pretty Olga made the acquaintance of a wealthy man who helped her financially. Last month he sent her to the South of France. Returning to Paris, Olga Vasilieva heard that her friend was, about to get married,

On Friday, February 20, Olga took part in a. dancing contest in Champs Elysees, and scored considerable successi In the evening she went alone to a Montmartre restaurant wihere she used to> dance with her friend. She was dancing till 3 a.m. As she began her final fox-trot, she said to her partner, “This will be the last.” Opening her bag to give a tip to an attendant as she left, the girl dropped a small revolver. It went oft accidentally, but did not hurt anyone. Turning deadly pale, the dancer placed the revolver again in her bag and walked out. Asked if she wanted a taxi, she answered, “No, it could not take me where I want to go.”

A few minutes later a report was heard in the deserted Rue Chaptel. Mlle. Vasilieva had shot herself. She died a few minutes later. In a letter found in her bag, the little dancer said she could no longer live alone, and preferred death to solitude. The deceased stated that she left her property, valued at 300,000 francs (over £3000), owned in Rumania, to a girl dancer who was a friend of hers.