The Veil Dance v. the Cake Walk.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXI, Issue IX, 29 August 1903, Page 640

The Veil Dance v. the Cake Walk.

The charm of the veil dance—la danse d'l voile—has captivated society in Paris, and lovers of all that is truly beautiful and refined in the art of Terpsichore are beginning to rejoice an I take heart again. For a time it almost seemed as though grace and daintiness had been banished for ever from the land of the stately minuet and lighted tripped gavotte, for the negro cake-walk had invaded France, and its striking originality and fun had created a furore an <ng a people to whom above all Others, anything novel appeals, and who are apt to welcome a new attraction with open arms, regardless of the fine points of its merits.

On the stage first, and then in the drawing-rooms of the smartest circles of Paris, the dance born beneath the moonbeams and around the pine fires of the Southern plantations of America, with its bizarre costumes and grotesque antics, held supreme sway, to the complete abandonment of all others. In vain lovers of the aesthetic mourned and pointed out that expertness in the kek-vok” consisted in not only disregarding. but reversing every known law Of giece ami beauty; in vain the wits of a land of wits heaped fun upon it; not only Paris, but all France, seemed given over to the rampant spirit of the darky pastime, and negro melodies floated from drawing-rooms wherever a crowd of young people were gathered for a merrymaking, says the New York “Herald.” Surely, if slowly, the reaction came. The first novelty worn off, denunciations of the “danse desnegres,” as strong as the former praise. bad been enthusiastic. began to be heard on all sides; until to-day there is a fashionable campaign against cake-walking throughout Paris, and the veil dance, with its dainty witchery, is being substituted in its stead. It was just as the star of the cake-walk began to set that Allie. Nicloux, of the opera ballet, introduced the veil danee to enraptured audiences, its charms being doubly enhanced by contrast with the ungainliness of its predecessor.

It was then that Parisians seemed to realise how lacking in loveliness the cake-walk really was. The veil dance was greeted with a storm of eclat which worthily marked the restoration of beauty to her own, and since then the triump of this new idol of the hour has beer, uninterrupted. From the stage it has spread into the. ballroom, and lovely women who a few mouths before prided themselves on their ability to sway their shoulders and “cut the pigeon wing” in true darky fashion, now vie with each other in grace and poetry of motion, and form “angel -wings” with snowy, floating

draperies. “Without ddubt.” one enthusiastic admirer of this new dance remarks, “veil dancers will soon daintily glide and hit

in every home in France where formerly the cake-walkers stamped.”

The veil dance is the antithesis of the cake-walk. It is everything in beauty of step and motion, in graceful poise and moving figures bewildering in their loveliness. that the other is in grotesquely. The veil dancers float and glide about with light, negulous wings attached to th- sides or back of the corsage. These they wave up and down as they daintily advance or recede with light, tripping steps or manipulate so as to form beautiful and varied figures in wing and cloud effects. As in the cake-walk, much of the merit of the danee depends on the cleverness and originality of the dancer, who may make it stately with statuesque poses or romping and coquettish, as will best suit he-’ personality and display her charms. In the ballroom the veil dancer’s wings are worn with the regular evening gown, being fashioned of colour, material and design to harmonise with the costume for which they are intended. As much rivalry exists among the dancers as to the beauty and uniqueness of the wings worn as over the grace and variety of the steps and figures displayed. The wings may be of silk, with long ends, which are waved and handled like scarfs; but those of tulle, organdie, or sheer muslin are generally perferred. as they give a delightful transparent, gauzy effect and are more novel, if not so easy to manipulate prettily. Often the wings are bespangled with gold or silver, so that they scintillate and flash as the dancer moves back and forth waving them beneath the lights, producing an appearance of indescribable brilliancy. So far the veil dance has not been seen in this country, but without doubt it is destined to become popular in smart society here next season, where it will appeal to the originality and cleverness of the colonial girl, and will gain added charm from her interpretation.