La Meri

Southland Times, Issue 22969, 15 August 1936, Page 9

La Meri

A “I’m generally a very bright and cheery pei'son, but now I feel tired until I dance, then it will be different,”

said La Meri just before her performance last evening to The Southland Times. It was no wonder that this celebrated international dancer was not feeling at her best, for apart from extensive travelling in the last nineteen days she has given eighteen performances. Such is the life of a famous dancer who is at the demand of her public. . , , On meeting La Men one is struck by her magnetic personality and a manner at once easy but controlled. She is petite, but gives an impression of concealed strength and her lovely wide grey eyes are set in regular features. Her immaculate glossy black hair is worn parted in the middle and knotted at the nape of her neck. “I think I am the only concert artist who works so hard,” La Meri continued. “Usually such artists give a concert one day and rest for the next two days. If I were not in love with my work, I would give it up immediately, but there would be nothing to compensate for it. I have so much exercise, diet is unnecessary, but plenty of rest is most important.”

La Meri, naturally, is an athlete and is fond of all outdoor sports, especially those on the water. She is an accomplished equestrienne and swimmer and is a straight shot. She has practically no time for sport, except on her very rare holidays which are spent in Italy with her husband, Signor Guido Carreras. Her -wonderful collection of costumes, collected from all over the world, and valued at £7OOO, is the constant care of La Meri. “That rather sticky proverb A stitch in time . . .’, means a great deal to me,” she said. “After each performance there are repairs to make. Laura Mollica, my assistant dancer, helps me with the sewing, but even so there is much to do, for each costume is authentic and some are rare and their style and colour must not be changed. La Meri is deeply interested in the dances of the Maori race. On her return to the North Island she intends to spend some days in Rotorua studying the dances, their origin and meaning. She has made several inquiries about Maori dances, but so far has had little success. “I have never seen anything like them in the world,” she said. “I am interested to find out where they come from. I will learn them—-I have been given a poi to practice with—and will take them to places like Vienna where the people in the audiences are dancers themselves and go to the theatre to learn more.”