DANCING

Waipa Post, Volume 44, Issue 3181, 24 May 1932, Page 7

DANCING

THE MODERN TREND. The dancing season has begun, and much time and energy, and money, will be expended upon this innocent pastime. ' Innocent pastime it is, despite the attempts of some people to get shocked about some new phase of modern dancing. It provides excellent exercise,! and it gives an occasion for expressing the sense of rhythm which is possessed by very many of us. There are, of course, various kinds of dancing. The Bali, or Siamese dancer, sits down and carries out intricate movements with his arms. The Hawaiian belle finds that the traditions of her race dictate that dancing shall include a lot of hip movement, which must have taken many generations to have brought to its present state of perfection. The weaving motion of the arms, wrists, and even the fingers, which accompanies the body movements also is the result of long training, and an attempt to reach a standard, set by racial ideals, widely differing from our own. The African Negro, transplanted to America, appears to have provided the motif for much music of modern concoction, and this is chiefly allied to the Negro development of dancing. The progressive quality of the dancing in a modern ballroom partakes of all of these more highly-developed forms of terpsichorean art. There is the attempt to roll the hips, possibly an unconscious attempt, that is probably the Hawaiian influence; then there is discernible with some dancers a decided desire to sit down, the anatomy being bent outwards, away from the partner. More floor space is required by this " squatter " dancer than is needed by those who adopt the upright posture, but that is not an argument against the posterior pose. This, is the influence of the Bali and Siamese, only the European custom of dancing on one's feet has intervened, the legs, it might be said, have been interposed between the dancer and the floor. Were these people to walk in the same way as they dance, small boys possessing pins would find themselves overcome by their sense of humour. The Negro and Dervish element of modern dancing is preserved by that ancient and honourable institution "The Lancers." The Lancers had originally to do with courtly grace, with baskets, chain and rose figures with decorous bowing and stately piocession, reminiscent of the days of the Minuet. But having advanced beyond the culture and quality of Eighteenth Cnetury Europe to the refinements of the Sahara and the Great Karroo, the Lancers is now danced by demonstrating a series of wild rushes, the stamping of feet, individual and concerted attacks upon females, to show that the caveman spirit is not dead, and sundry yells and screams just to keep the excitement at the proper barbarian pitch. Anybody witnessing the Lancers being danced a la modern would pity those those past generations of originators of the war-dance, because they, the originators, despite their red-blooded business, failed to get the kick out of their stamping and ravings that a more civilised, a more cultured, and a more refined age can get out of the Lancers. v Despite, or shall it be said, because of all of these elements, dancing is a joyous business. It interprets the spirit of the times which may be called with due respect for the feelings of some gentlemen in Auckland and Wellington gaols, the smash and grab spirit, and while dancing interprets the spirit of the age, and it remains a jolly affair of such a mixture of primitive qualities no valid exception can be taken to it. At the present time missiles, such as bricks, metal nuts and bolts, and batons duly weighted, have not yet made their appearance in the dance halls, so perhaps the'dancing masters are hardly to be credited with being up-to-date; but they are entei'prising fellows, and innovations can be expected. They have tamed even the saxophone to their use, so there is no telling what they can do when they face up to a problem in all seriousness. It is quite possible that an entirely new dance will be evolved. If it is a very free affair they might call it "The Lambton," or "The Auckland." It would be jolly, wouldn't it?