A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE CAKE WALK WANTED.

Otago Witness, Issue 2661, 15 March 1905, Page 71

A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE CAKE WALK WANTED.

Hostesses who pin their faith to dancing, and who are as eager to discover some n-evr thing as the most blase of ancient Athenians, have been racking their brains to find some substitute for the now played-out cake-walk. The English ormolu youth and the "br.d" of eighteen alike prefer some dauce which entail? plenty of movement and excitement ; for them the ototely mazurka and the old-world minuet have little charm. Lndy Warwick, who tried to revive these graceful dances during her season at Brook House last year, could r;ot succeed in ma kino them popular among the younger .generation, and whether the "Caprice"' dancing which, has been seen 1 his winter in one or two smart ballrooms will catch on to any great extent, is doubtful. It was invented in America, and is a variation of the skirt dance ; but instead of voluminous and 'comparatively short f-kirts. its exponents wear an ordinary dinner dress. It consists of a series of postures and slow and quick movements, of- retreats and advances, made by the lady from or towards her partner as she uses the fan. nirror, or parasol in her hands. The idea is quaint and picturesque, and would have earned the commendation of Mi Turvej drop. The dancer never hops, skips, or kicks, and must never lift her train from the ground except m one side. The Mosquito Parade, which also hails from across the Atlantic, promises . to be a featmMJ of the winter season, and is a combination of the waltz, step dancing, j a id the old-fashioned polonaise. The ! most popular dance that ever fascinated ! society was the polka, which was the craze of the moment in the. early forties This dance was introduced by Queen Victoria at a ball given at Buckingham Palace in honour of the Fiench King. The Queen stepped sc gracefully with Louis Philippe that a rush was mad<? the next day to learn the new dance. And for months afterwards smart CJirrinjres lined the road in front of the fashionable dancing schools.