DANCING DAYS REVIEWED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21912, 22 September 1934, Page 6 (Supplement)

DANCING DAYS REVIEWED

THE VOGUE OF CABARETS • YOUTHFUL VIEWPOINTS

BY JOSEPHINE BLIGH

Were a magician to approach a number of women and offer them the opportunity of living over again any period of their lives, it is quite probable that the majority would choose those few joyous, care-free years between schooldays and wifehood when existence was measured not from hour to hour or from week to week, but from dance to dance. In reality, it is a wonderful period in retrospect, and few can look back upon it without feeling again a little of its ecstasy and that state of perpetual anticipation which it constituted. It is this remembrance which causes a mother to sacrifice so much in order that her daughters may have the opportunity of enjoying those years to the full, and which makes her face light up with reflected happiness as she listens to an account of the previous evening's party. Nowadays, however, it would more than often be an account of an evening at the cabaret. Very seldom would she have the opportunity, while listening to the young girl's narrative, of recapturing the thrill of the dance as she knew it. For in her day the dances were for the most part private ones, each possessing an individuality which varied according to the skill of the hostess, her facilities for entertaining, and her judicious choice of guest,s. Cabarets Fast and Present The cabaret did not exist then in New Zealand. It was generally looked upon as a den of iniquity belonging to less pure countries, and it was not until well after its arrival that it was admitted to be both harmless and delightful. Its gradual encroachment on and final replacement of the private dance has lately been a subject of much discussion, the contention being that it has resulted in sadness and disappointment for many. For few youths can afford the>, luxury of the preliminary dinner, the cab&ret and the, taxis which together usually constitute an evening's dancing to-day; and it is a common complaint that this expense keeps many girls at home who otherwise might be " tripping the light fantastic toe" and displaying to envious eyes the new and becoming frock hanging bo tantalisingly in the wordrobe. To a certain extent the position is alleviated by fond parents who, realising the difficulties created by the times and having their daughters' happiness at heart, often provide the wherewithal and thus give them, the opportunity of enjoyment which they, would otherwise miss. • , . The Snell ol the Private Dance In the days of the private dance the expense of the season's gaiety was shouldered 1 almost entirely by. a" few hostesses, and they with daughters and sons, to entertain aqd be entertained gladly sacrificed their time and energy for ,the cause. Proper invitations were usually issued, then for days beforehand a great deial of thought and labour was given to the preparations. The fact that all this was . taken rather much for granted, and was accepted without a great , deal of gratitude by many, was possibly one of the nails in the coffin of the private dance, and these whose fun was provided by others with so little expense to themselves might perhaps compare their lot with that of the youth of and realise their good fortune. . But this is not thp only reason for the passing of the private dance. Since before anything a dance asks for the spaciousness and facilities provided by the type of home so necessary to the last generation, the . wholesale conversion of large houses into, flats or board-ing-houses has helped considerably. Moreover, the hostess has realised the benefits of making use of the cabaret for her entertaining. The surroundings, floor and music are ideal, and without any labour, worry or upset of the house she finds tha,t a party of young people can be entertained excellently. Will It Be Revived? 'But what of the personal element ? Will this finally turn the scales against the cabaret ? In spite of the fact that the room is often rather small and the music not quite so perfect, many r of the present-day youth would welcome a revival of the private dance. The they say, is too " cut and dried." It. fails to provide sufficient opportunities for the meeting of new blood and thuß lacks that characteristic atmosphere of speculation and hopeful anticipation. ~ , This means, in other words, that as a matrimonial agency the private dance is more efficient than the cabaret, and if this is so, has it not a fair chance of returning, once more to popularity r