HOW NOT TO BEHAVE AT A DANCE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17216, 6 December 1923, Page 9

HOW NOT TO BEHAVE AT A DANCE.

There is a certain type of pretty girl who can be a perfect nuisance at a dance. Perhaps the excitement and the music, the bright lights and_ the pretty dresses go to her head. Whatever the cause, she shows both indiscretion and lack of consideration, by calmly ignoring the rules of what is “ done and not done.” Marie Smith is young and pretty enough to look charming in the simplest frock. But she came to one small club in an elaborate, exceedingly decollete Paris gown that made the other girls feel like country cousins, and made her the conspicuous figure in the room. As she knew practically everyone in the room and is a good dancer, her programme was quickly full . . . but at the expense of hurting several men’s feelings. I happened to overhear her say to one man, “ No, I can’t spare you even one ”; then I heard her remark to the next man who arrived, and who, by the way, was scrawling his name on her programme, “ Fancy wasting a dance on a man who knows no foxtrot variations.” Her programme full, she sat indolently waiting for the dance to begin although she could easily have helped several of her girl friends to get fixed up by introducing the men she knew. When the music started, she and her partner proceeded to give what appeared to be an exhibition of fancy dancing. They glided and turned, ran forward and made sudden stops, causing numerous collisions and mishaps . . . all for the sake, presumably, of gratifying her taste for “ foxtrot variations.” Even between dances, she managed to be obtrusive; her voice was unnecessarily loud and her laughter echoed through the room; in fact she dominated the dance from start to finish. A dance is such a jolly thing that one wants everyone to enjoy it; but to enjoy it at the expense of other people’s comfort and pleasure is ... to say the least of it . . . very bad form. And the girl who attempts it will soon find herself unpopular with men and women alike.