GENEE'S SOUVENIRS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1882, 16 October 1913, Page 7

GENEE'S SOUVENIRS.

Geneo has been, tho pioneer of her artt in Australia, and, like most pioneersj she has met with discouragement, sayS tho Sydney "Sun.") The publio has! been too slow to recognise that as an| nitist—and that is a person who caiy give visible or otihor expression to ab-j stract emotions—Goueo is as groat as Molba or Padcrewski. Anyono cad dance or sing or play a piano, but it isj only ono porsori- in millions who can; rise to the heights. Thcr<j will bo lioj clianco of seeing her again in Australia^ Tlio send-off which tho oompany re-! coived when leaving Sydney was ail ox« traordinary one. Tiio theatro was crowded with enthusiastic spectators,! most of whom, it is safo to say, haa been to seo tho performance spverafi times before. After every dance groan bunches of flowers were handed up tq tlio artists, and at tlio end of tho por-V formanco flowers rained upon tho stags till thoro was a carpet of them strotclw ing all along tho footlirfits. They_ wora thrown in small bundles and singly. Women in tho audienco who had floivors in tlioir hair or drosses snatched theuv out and tossed them on to tho stago. Geaiee and Voljnin, who had finished tho programme with tho Polka Comique, wero recalled a dozen times, naid nfi last Geneo had to speak. Sho said;: '"It is very difficult for a dancer to! mako a speech, becaußO she can't do it with hor foot. Thank you, all of you, for your kindness to my self and associates during our stay in Sydney. I ant Euro Monsieur _ Volinin would liko to say somothing if ho could. I want you to keep a tiny corner in yours hearts to remember mo." Tho speech was do. liverod in a voico as daint,y as a pirou-1 otto, and Monsiour Volinin, who did ' not understand it, smiled benevolently. Tlio spoctators still cheered, so then Geneo caino out with' an armful of hor old ballet slippers undo flung them into tho audienco, where there'was nearly a riot to get them.