THE HUMILIATION OF THE BALLROOM.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 568, 24 July 1909, Page 11

THE HUMILIATION OF THE BALLROOM.

SALVATION: ARMY..NOTES PERSONAL AND. OTHERWISE. New Salvation Afmy barracks are being erected at Marton, in place of those that were burned down. It is the practice of the Army to prooure all labour and material for -such contracts in the district, but to, send their, own foreman to superintend the work.- '■"■■r '',! ' All the officers of the 'Wellington division (which./, embraces'. . Carterton,- Masterton, Petorie, Levin, Wellington, and South Wellington),;' including, the officers of 'social institutions,'. and'of the: provincial, staff, met onj Thursday afternoon at an officers' council/.'.over which Knight presided.''"ln tho evening a united: soldiers' an'd council waslield. ! . • :LioutenaritiColoiiel Knight will 'spend tKe week-end in town, . On I'ridayjfnext. he will leave with Orames, ,to hold meetings, along the Main Trunk 'line, .visiting Ta'ihape, Masterton, . Taumaruaui', and Raetihi. ' "V; - r . :V. , ; Lieutenant Hilda Mack, of Apiti, left'yesterday on a visit to South Australia. r 'Mrs. Colonel Knight, and Mrs. Adjutant Newbold leave to-day to • hold meetings at Napier,-Hustings, and Dannovirko. ' : Staff-Captain Oraines leav-ss this '• morning' for-Levin, returning on Tuesday next. ; . Mrs. [Brigadier. Glover will, go to Eltbam next week to conduct a speoial rescue meeting.. She will also pay a visit to Inglewood. : Brigadier Glover left yesterday morning on. a tour of the Auckland province. He will be absent for some weeks.-; •' Captain Bessie Clemmens, formerly of Duhedin, hut lately statiorfed at Bathnrst, Nr^' : South Wales, arrived by tho Moana fronp -Sydney on Wednesday, and is to be l.inarri'ccl to-morrow to Captain Harry Adams.

ANOTHER LETTER. . Yet another letter dealing with this subject—"tho humiliation ■of the ballroom"— has- readied "Dominica," and this is by & writer who claims to have had much experience of dances —twenty-two was her last season's record. The letter is too long to publish in full, but interesting extracts are given. - In reply to the statement of the Sydney writer, I would say that-I' went to twentytwo dances last year, aid . never noticed a great preponderance of girls at any of them. This year I have been, to nine, and there was one where the men were short, and I did notice 'some. of. the girls not hiding themselves (unless it were beneatih tho light of . a chandelier), but the fault of it all was due to the inesperienco of the managers.. As to tie; othor dances, 'at one there were seventeen men over and at another seven.

As to "Debutante," let mo tell her that she has made'a mistake. Of course there is no necessity for her to hide herself quite inthe background. It would appear to the men that she did not consider them good, enough to dance with her, but the most experienced dancers like to reconnoitre a little before they choose thoir partners, and any man who is worthy theiname will not value a bird that falls into his hand, 'but will rather, go and shoot at' one., As a matter of fact, a,girl who dances or talks well chooses her partners as much as they do her. It,iß a mutual reoojmrtion of competency in the lino demanded, and no girl in. her senses would consent to be patronised by, her partners, any more than..she should act inconsiderately towards them. Even distinctions of social position and wealth are often, buried for the time being, in deference to the requirements of the hour. The trouble is that so few (even; among those who occasionally go to dances) seem to really understand the art. . Would a girl,who is a novice at tennis expect .ail 'expert to.play with her.in a.match, or would a man who is a novice at , football, expect to be-put in tho first team ?' They would be laugned at. But this is precisely the case when a man or a girl begins danc-

ing. They need proper teaching and enough class practice to prevent them being like a ton weight on their partners' arms ; then they may bo termed fairly good dancers. But ,who are these compared to a couple who cannot only waltz and chnssez, but who can "reverse" without even nearly Bumping anyone else, until thoy cannot feel the floor; (the tips only of tlieir toes touohing it), and cannot see the roof through the dazzle, of lights and speed? Chronic worries and small annoyances are blotted out; one is only aware of light and warmth and motion—briefly ( of the very joy of life, the intoxication of being. But more than this people need to learn. They must learn to dress carefully, suitably, and beoomingly. This is where the men score. Even if a man doesn't wear everything which he might wear, he hasn't taken, great pains in dressing, ■ he 1 doesn't look very much worse than he usually looks, or than other men look, because his dress is always the same. But a girl—ye gods!. If she dances in a heavy, dress that makes her' face red and her foot tired; if her decorations are put on 1 in the wrong place or inartistically, so as to make her. appear ill-propor-tioned, or if the colours sno wears do not blend; or if she has not learnt that most important thing of all—to "dross her hair"— she offends a sensitive eye. Now we oome the third difficulty, the conversational one, which is not the worst, but the most insuperable of all. because no matter how, well one' may.be able to talk, if the other cinnot do bo it is hopeless. A fourth reason why a girl does not always have a. good time at dances is perhaps not her fault, but that of her mother, father, and older friends. Why do they not cultivate the acquaintance of pajple who "have eons? One moots girls who know only'girls, and are sadly in need of somo experience cif masculine society, and one meets a mob, of boys who aro like a.horde of untamed barbarians in their, manners and speech. I think every man and woman who aspires to be anything should have , at , some time or at/her some experience, in the 'ballroom, and learn to study different tvpes of: beings and overcome the gauckerie Tram cammb deal ■wiih- asrik

ward situaAioa. Besides, Vha light and ,'Me oolour and the music. make a gold-coloured memory, to brighten one's {existence on tho greyest day of the longest life. The writer concludes -bjp-. (juotiag, a few: instances of %e way that girls have disocntTaged partners who have been good but not perfect dancers, and with a few hints to men as to the consideration which they should show to : ;their partners ai a daJioe.