BIG SALARY FOR CLASSICAL DANCING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14375, 21 May 1910, Page 2 (Supplement)

BIG SALARY FOR CLASSICAL DANCING.

"--■:'■"•'''•"■•■•■■■—" —■—*..■. .. "■ ' MISS RUTH ST. DENIS DISPUTES A CONTRACT. TO PAY £1750 DAMAGES. f ..Tire famous classical and Indian dancer, - Miss Ruth St. Denis, was sued by her manager, Mr. Ike Scli? Rose, in the King's >- Bench Division for breaking her contract ; lost her case, and was ordered to pay damages assessed by the jury at. £1750. Miss St. Denis denied the agreement, but contended that, if there was an agreement, an end was put to it by the manager !;'/ failing 10 fulfil one of its conditions. Mr. V Rose, an imprcesario and theatrical manager, carrying on business in London, Berlin, and the United States, claimed damages for breach of agreement, under which, he said, he was to act as Miss St. Denis's sole manager for a year. % Opening the case, Sir F. Low stated that Miss St. Denis was a well-known dancer, who commanded a very high salary for her beautiful performances. She wished to improve her position, not only in the United Kingdom, but also on the Continent and in the United States. Mr. Rose could obtain special advantages for such an artist, and under the agreement he was to act as sole manager for her for a period of 1? months, receiving by way of remuneration 20 per cent, of Miss Denis's salary and fares when-' travelling :'-i abroad. He was to have authority to book engagements, and if Miss St. Denis obtained an engagement herself then Mr. Rose Was still to receive his 20 per cent. The dispute occurred, counsel said, because Mr. Rose went to the Continent for . four days on business, and for that the ladv terminated her contract. The agreement, between Miss St. Denis and Mr. Rose was entered into on January 26 last year. Mr. Rose was bound bv the . agreement, to use his best endeavours to further the dancer's interests, and was to travel with her, but if he required to be absent to attend to his other duties he was " to be at liberty to absent himself for not more than four or five days at a time. The first engagement was at the London I Coliseum, on April 19. 1909, for four weeks} and was so successful that -he plaintiff got : it extended for eight. weeks, one week of , which was in Glasgow and another in Edin- ! burgh. The salary each week was £275. On Mav 3 Mr. Rose received the following | letter from Miss St. Denis: —-,'•' - -.'. "' Dear Mr. Rose, — you have exceeded the time-limit allowed for your absence, I consider my contract with you at an end. Consequently, pending further advice, we ••''. cannot have further business relations. r Yours sincerely, R. St. Denis." ; ". Miss St. Denis, said counsel, put an end • to tho agreement, and ever since that date : she had refused to be bound by it. As to ; Mr. Rose's absence, the fact, said counsel, was that, in order to boom Miss St. Denis, ':.■■* mi entertainment was given at tho Carlton Hotel. - ■ , £400 A WEEK IX AMERICA. » ':.'. rr- He spent the whole day looking after Miss St. Denis's interests, and on the Tuesday evening he left for the Continent, rei? turning on the following Sunday, so that X he was only away for four working days. ;? ■ „-•. Sir : F. Low then referred to a business ..'. arrangement into which Miss St. Denis en- : . tered with a gentleman named Harris in the United States. After concluding her performance in England, she went to America, :: and had "been .performing, it was stated, :■■•■ .- in ..the. United States ever since. ; According tocher,affidavit, she was carrying out .■>.'■ T very valuable engagements in that country, earning salaries at the rate of£4oo a week. Miss St. Denis had complained thatplain- , tiff had not acted as press agent for her, ' or provided a. proper dressing-room at the ;' Coliseum, although, in reality, said coun- : sel, she'had the "star" dressing-room there.' Mr.Rose went into the witness-box, and related how he became business manager .■■■;■■ to the classical dancer. 1 He-heard ; of., her • four years ago, when she made her first appearance,' and she. approached him;i in v> 1906 in Berlin. : He explained that, he was ;; not, in the ordinarv sense, of the word, a ! ; theatrical agent. He was a manager, and -■ dealt with one or two stars only. ', Counsel: Does it sometimes go to three •tars? . (Laughter.) ' -His Lordship: It would take a good deal „ . to keep up. (Laughter.) ; , Mr. Rose went on to say that before Miss : St.' Denis entered into' the contract the * highest salary she obtained per week was ;'_..' £110, in Germany. Her Coliseum perform- '•■■.."' ances were very successful, and : ; she -had since been offered 17 weeks' engagement -' by-Mr.' Stoll.'at: the same salary £275 a . .'. weekas from . November next, but she fvV : l refused. "J:.y: : '''"V'/"*.:"--v.'; \' • Mr. Rose explained that he had also got her a week's engagement in ; Cork for June 3, at £300. When he asked her with refer- . ence to American bookings, she replied that she was under an obligation to Mr. H. " Harris, and ' would not care ; 'to 'play ;in America unless he engaged her. ? * ■■■- He stated that- after he received the let- - : ter breaking the contract he tried to' see .Miss St. Denis on several occasions, but she - refused, as -she said she was nervous. - (Laughter.) She had "star" room at the Coliseum, with extra carpets, and it ; was fixed up very nicely. _','■" His Lordship: Every "star seems to have - had two carpets. ' (Laughter.) V .., A solicitor's clerk gave evidence as to prei; - paring the' agreement, which the dancer . read through and agreed to. When he sug- : ' gested that she should have the advice of - another solicitor, she declined...■'■■;'' •_ His ; Lordship: It is rather a delicate \ question, but', what "'. would the ; lady's - age . be? '"-•:'. • .' . The 1 Clerk: It is rather a dangerous thing to answer, but it might be five or six and > twenty. *~ (Laughter.) .' .. His Lordship: , Not sixteen: or seventeen? '('.■':--i. (Laughter.) '■■'.■■■■■'. '. ,' . '. The Clerk Oh! deaf, no.. ", In summing-up, his lordship remarked on the fact that it was stated in evidence that Miss St. Denis was offered an engagement at £400 a week. That was, no doubt, .very good money. It was a large sum for .' people who worked with their heads (laughter)-—but when it came to .the other < j extremity, well,; he hardly knew they were so valuable. (Laughter.) Counsel had tried hard to get Mr. Rose up to three " stars," / but his lordship thought it would be rather difficult to run two "stars" at a time, if • one was a planet and the other a comet, as %y there would be a difficulty in keeping up with them. (Laughter.). "■:■'■ The jury found ior plaintiff, and assessed :• the. damages at £1750. His lordship gave :"■ judgment accordingly, with costs.