WOMAN’S WORLD

Southland Times, Issue 19172, 16 February 1924, Page 15

WOMAN’S WORLD

GRACEFUL DANCING THE SECRET OF POISE. 1 The secret of dancing lies in the way the I dancer carries herself. Here are some j hints which may assist the amateur to obtain a good carriage. Keep your head and shoulders back ancj ' retain your balance just as though you were i dancing alone. The temptation is to lean ■ forward on your partner and allow yourself to be propelled along by him. Many girls make this mistake —that is why they seem “heavy.” The graceful dancer moVes backward with splendid poise. She carries herself with head and shoulders balanced. She takes her direction from .her partner--but not her motive power. You can take longer steps when you move alone; you can glide back. It is difficult to glide over the polished floor when you are not balanced, resulting in steps that are just a little too short, and trodden-on toes. Notice the gracefulness of a stage dancer when taking long backward steps. She leans actually a little backwards in order to balance herself. You never see a trained exponent of dancing attempting to glide with long steps backwards while leaning forward. Lean forward while going forward and backward while going backward. When your feet are brought up together in a fox-trot step your body is upright, maintaining your balance. Exaggeration, of course, is to be avoided.. It is little more than a tilt of the head that supplies all the backward inclination required. Spectators notice nothing except that you appear graceful and poised. Your partner only notices that you are dancing lightly. “Balanced loads are light loads” is an old maxim and may be ap plied to dancing.