Dancing Makes Lithe and Slender Bodies.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXX, Issue 8683, 7 January 1905, Page 3 (Supplement)

Dancing Makes Lithe and Slender Bodies.

The girls of Egvpt were noted for their lithe figures. The- pictures of Pharaoh's daughter show that young woman not as a robust Gibson girl, but as a slender maiden as supple as tiie bulrushes in which she wandered.

The -girls of those days never grew stout, and the women of middle age were as beautiful in figure as those in their teens. The- Egyptians took the stand tha,: fatproduced old age and that a slender woman need never look nor grow old. They (held that fat produced rheumatism, heaviness, stiffness and difficulty in moving about. They taught that it produced heaviness, sleepiness, and difficulty in breathing. They instructed their young that no greater misfortune couCd fail upon them than that of overweight. In their youth the Egyptian girls were taught to walk a great- deal. As the climate was warm they were made to live in the opem air. The games of the Egyptian girls were light ones, much resembling our games of pitch and toss and our ring games. They played ball, and one of their games was similar to lawn tennis. But more than playing ball, mere than the. pet games, more than walking, more than anything else, to keep the figure slender, did the Egyptian girls pTact-.se dancing. Dancing was with them not only an accomplishment, but a fine art, and many of them succeeded in making it a profession. The girls of that- time took up dancing in preference to singing, and they did it so exquisitely that the dancing girls ranked above those who acted. Indeed, they were the actresses of t'hat time. .So it will be seen that dancing Tanked very high in the estimation of the ancients. isot only is dancing a means of entertainment, but- by it a woman- can keep her beauty, restore her health and make herself attractive.

There -were many dances in ancient days, but all were characterised by tire same willowness of movement. All showed that certain swing -which -was a _ part of the dance of the ancients, but is little seen to-day. In the old dances the- body movements ■were the. most important. The steps of the figure -were learned and then came the movement of the hips, the swaying of the waist, the bending of the belt line and the swinging of the arms. One of the prettiest of the dances had the 'waist movement which is practised to-day in the gymnasium. The dancer bent forward again until her palms lay upon the floor again. It was a pretty movement and lent a great deal of grace to the dance.

Porom the old Greek dances can be gathered a few movements wliich will be of benefit to the woman who is trying to reduce her weight. They were specially adapted to the reduction of the hips, and they were designed to make the waist small and the 'body lithe. Before beginning these movements it- is necessary to learn" the attributes of grace. They are three in number: Slenderncss of body, suppleness of muscle, length of limb and (litheness.

To lengthen your limbs, if you are built oni a short scale, is not always easy. But there aTe stretching exercises these days which are very good indeed. If it is possible to increase the height this exercise will assist -. Stand erect with the clothing loosened. Lift bath arms over tho head. Touch the hands together. Sway to the riaht and to the left. The Greek girls did this daily to make themselves taller, and the woman of today who is half an inch too short can be pretty sure of Taising her stature in this manner.

Now ccmes the stooping exercise for reducing the size of the hips and abdomen. The woman who is a great deal too fat below the waist line should learn th:s stooping motion. Loosen your clothinsr. Stand erect, Take a deep breath and bend forward. Keep stooping until the palms of the hands touch the floor.

The first time you try this exercise you will strain the cords of your legs. But keep on trying. Every time you try it you will come nearer and nearer to touching the floor. Inside of two weeks your finger tips will touch. After that all will be easy, "iou wid soon be able to lay the palms of your hands flat upon the floor in front of you. This is the best known exercise for the reduction of the hips and abdomen. The girl who wants to have supple limbs can practice the hip exercise. She can bend over sideways from the waist line until her arms describe a perfect circle. She should do this first to the right and then to the left, And she should keep on practisinc it- until she can do it in a. very graceful "manner. This is the opening fio-ure of one of the prettiest dances in tne world,- and no girl who wants to he suppie should neglect "to practise it daily. But while she is taking_ daily exercises, the woman who is a little too heavy snould diet. The best dietary of all is tihe vegetarian, tout to practise it successfully one should know how and what to eat. •And one should eat often. A few tab. e vegetables, taken alone, will not support the stomach through the oTdea!s of the day, and the amateur vegetarian becomes very weak and nervous. It is a good thing for the beginner in vegetarianism to limit his diet to vegetables fruits and fish, with the white meat of chicken added. This will give variety. Potatoes, which were once supposed l-t he very fattening,- must be taken, dai.y. The best dinner "for the one who 's Teducinn- consists of boiled fish, baked potatoes "and spinach. Let- the faster eat all she. -wants, but drink nothing at all. It is not so much what you oat as what you drink in this race for leanness-