DANCING TIME

Otago Witness, Issue 3768, 1 June 1926, Page 78

DANCING TIME

(Copyright.—For the Witness.)

VI. Whatever may be affirmed to the contrary, there can be no doubt that it is London which sets the pace for British dancing, just as I’aris takes the lead in France, and New York in America. London lias already issued its edict about the Charleston. Now it is getting busy with the tango. In all the fashionable ballrooms this dreamy and languorous creation is being exhibited. •Still, this is no proof that we shall all dance it. It was said that we should all dance the blues. But we didn’t. What London says, however, is of importance, because during the last few years it has demonstrated to the world that in ballroom dancing, at any rate, it has an unsurpassed supremacy. All the big championships have been held m London, where the ordinary take-it-or-leave-it fox-trot, which you and 1 perform, is brought by the professionals to the level of a line art. And so with the other ballroom dances. TAKING IT SERIOUSLY.

London, in fact, takes its dancing seriously, and that is why it dances so well. Just a hint of a new tango in Paris, and off dash the teachers to examine it, feel its pulse, take its temperature, and determine its fitness for general service over here. Now I suggest to those who wish to gain the maximum of enjoyment for this winter’s dancing that some of this enthusiasm would help them a great deal. What I may term the agony dance is by no means a thing of the past. Everywhere we see couples scooping wildly at the open turn, attempting to do things with their four feet which couldn’t be done with less than six, and finally declaring that they are bored with the whole business. And why? Because, In two words, they don’t know how to dance! Take your dancing seriously at the beginning of the season, and you will be astonished at the pleasurable thrill which smooth, polished, effortless dancing can bring you. THIS YEAR’S WALTZ. We now come to a consideration of the waltz and. tango. In the opinion of Miss Barbara Miles, the brilliant teacher at the Mostyn Hotel, where so many of our finest dancers have been trained, the only chance of note in this year’s waltz is in the reintroduction of some hesitation steps. Apart from this, we have the natural -turn, the reverse turn, and the change, but as these are identical with last year’s waltz, with which most dancers are already familiar, I prefer to concentrate attention on the dance as a whole, rather than on individual steps. Now the waltz consists primarily of turning movements, and whether you can turn successfully or not depends largely on your mastery of balance. Watch a really clever (lancing couple doing a waltz, and their movement is an absolute echo of the beat. The dream quality of the waltz results from the perfect fusion of the rhythm with the turn, and this requires long practice and sound technique. Watch your step. It should not be a fraction out. The perfect couple move as if they were one person, ami as the tendency of a revolving movement is centrifugal (i.e., outwards from the pivoting point), it is obvious that the nicest poise and harmony of footwork must he attained. The waltz is an incomparable dance when it

WALTZ AND TANGO.

THE MASTERY OF BALANCE. SOME DON’TS FOR BEGINNERS. iiy ALEC. STANTON. (Author of •‘lSallroom Dancing and flow to Enjoy It.”)

is done well. If it is not done well it is exactly like hard work. COMMON SENSE ABOUT THE * TANGO. There have always been a few (lancers who declared that a really good tango was their idea of paradise. But there have never been a great many. And this is because we prefer something bright and “peppy” to something slow and beautiful. Another thing which lias scared dancers against the tango is the extraordinary set of terms we have used to describe it. What is a (lemi-vuelta, they say? What is this pompous business with the promenade? Who wants to promenade to Spanisli music that gives you the creeps? I confess there is some justice in these objections, but on the other, hand dancers have failed lamentably to give the dance a run for their money. More important than this technical' fuss, is the spirit of the dance (which is an anglicised model of the French original). Now the spirit of the English tango, with its grave, graceful mood and slow tempo, is just the contrast we want to the bubbling high jinks of the fox-trot and one step. The great problem of our dance programmes is their want of variety. Here we have a 1925 tango with four or (if you like) five perfectly simple steps to get us out of the difficulty. It is up to every dancer to give it a chance. If the" tango has failed hitherto it is not simply because our orchestras are so hopeless with the music; it is largely because (lancers have not even tried it to see what it is like.

Now the tango is what, for want of a better term, we may call a “hip” dance. All the movement comes from tiie hips. It is essential, therefore, that tlie partners should move together with absolute precision. A ragged tam»o is a monstrosity. To avoid this you must not lie afraid to use a tighter iiohl. The position of the man's right hand is changed. Where he placed it high up on his partner’s shoulder in the fox trot, for tiie tango it should drop to the waistline, otherwise he will weaken his control.

NEED FOR LESSONS. Although we have advanced considerably during the past few years in our knowledge of dancing (another point in favour of a tango revival) the dance is essentially one requiring expert tuition. Ihe number of lessons necessary for a fairly good dancer is six, and for a dancer who has never tried it, twelve. So much for the English tango. The Continental tango is a more lurid affair, and there has always been opposition to it on this side. Jt is, of course, a spectacular dance, more sinuous and exaggerated, it may be seen in a still more advanced stage in the Argentine where, of course, it originated. I will conclude with a few useful “don’ts.” These apply not only to tip tango, but to all the ballroom * dances.. Don’t look at your feet: it makes them feel embarrassed. Don’t clutch your partner as if lie or she were falling overboard. Don’t lmnch or sway the shoulders. Don’t mix the steps of one dance with those of another —a very common failing. And, finally, don’t give up the tango after your first lesson because you can’t do it as well as Rudolph Valentino.