CHARACTER IN DANCING.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5333, 10 August 1895, Page 3

CHARACTER IN DANCING.

A correspondent writes as follows in Modern Society on character in dancing :— " Yes, I can tell a person's character by the way in whic'a he or she dances," said a dancing master ;o me the other evening. We were standing at the door of a fashion-' able ballroom, watching the merry couples, tripping lightly past, and were conversing upon the various merits of the terpsichorean art. Fcr instance, a hare-brained man will dance ia a reckless manner, and a cool, calculating individual in a slow, cautious w ay. " Look, no w, at that gentleman/indicating a rather diminutive but thick-set young fellow, who waß Btalking rather than gliding round tha room. "Ue is a man of one axed idea, and argument is wasted upon kirn; for, in the face of everything, he will still cling to his own opinion. You can Bee that in the selfsatisfied, self-con£dant carriage of his head and body, as also in the solid, dogmatic way in which he plants each foot upon tho floor, as though emphasizing his opinions. " Take the lady he ia dancing with ; see how she holds her head and shoulders well thrown back, and how she turns the former slowly, and with a Bomewhat disdainful toss from side to Bide at every gyration. Without the shadow of a doubt she is as proui as Lucifer, and has got a temper and a will of her own. Pity help the pgrson who crosses that lady; she will fairly annihilate him, or her, ss the case may be, with stinging sarcasm. Notice with, what perfect ease and g.-ace yonder lady dances, and how with every fresh movement and attitude she contrives to display her figure to the beat advantage. The toBS of her head tells you she ia a coquette, and by no means averse to the most impudent flattery. " You may put lhat gentleman down as a wild, devil-may-care kind of individual. Notice bow recklessly he dances, careless of his partner's or other couples' comfort. It doesn't matter to him whether the music ia playing fast or blow ; he will go fast, and very fast; too, bumping into every one, and flying along as if the chief pleasure of dancing to him consisted in getting round the room , as quickly aa possible. There ib Mb very antithesis — the sedate man with the lady in blue. How seriously he takes it. He seems to look upon a waltz or schottische much in the light of a duty which it ia necessary to perform to* the beat of his capability. Watch how he raises or lowers his left arm ! to avoid striking another couple, and with what dexterity be steers his partner through a crush. That is a man who haa I 'all his hair on' in business affairs, and i who acts up to the motto ' Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well.' He will be good-humoured, an easy and accomplished conversationalist, and considerate for others." "How do you te}l a conceited man ? " 1 asTce'd. " r "Very easily. A conceited man ia almost invariably a poor dancer ; but, of' course, nothing on earth can ever make him believe so. He will always monopolize the best partners, and the top place in the square dances, besides having numerous littie affectations which makes it impossible to mistake him. But the most striking peculiarity of a conceited parson's Btyle of dancing is his habit of sticking his left arm bolt outright like a clothes-prop, a peculiarity striking in more senses than one, as other dancers in his immediate vicinity are apt to find. -I never yet, in all my experience as a dancing master, knew a single instance of a man who held his left arm in thi3 ungainly fashion that didn't think a great deal of himself. Teaching a man of this sort to dance," eaid my friend in conclusion, "I class among my chief woes. He will not try to learn, because he is imbued with the idea that he has merely to step upon a ballroom floor to be able to dance. I would sooner teach a dozen others than one such.'