THE LURE OF THE DANCE

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1891, 28 October 1913, Page 4

THE LURE OF THE DANCE

J SOME IMPRESSIONS; TBr Sylvius.] Now that wo havo gone to tho well and drunk deep, wo know. Ever so .'l' u P er ' lil P s ) because tho environment «inch surrounds our lives in this primitive little country has prerontcd any cultivation- of the iiner nuances of theatrical art in respect to dancing in particular.- The hamo of tho ballet has' been persistently used' in a sense likely' to confuse the public mind as to its true placo in art. Wo have been taught by Jogions of theatrical managers and press agents to regard the moaning of tho nord m its most limited sense, that i. a B P cc ! ;acl, l a r dance,- moro or less elaborate in steps, poses, and costumes. iJiit it has a broader and moro signifi-. cant mission than that of an incidental oanco to a pantomime or comic opera, luat has been clearly and moßt beautihiHy represented > "Lcs Sylphides" and the Coppelia" ballets, that aro being so artistically presented by Mdllo. Adelino Genec and her talented associates at tho Opera House. They take tho broader and infinitely moro poetic interpretation of the meaning of the word ballet, and infuse a deeper comprohension of artistic idea. Ono inelraceablo impression gathered from tlioir dagcing—and ono not very strictly observed as a rule—is their instinctive f. e . ns ® rhythm, which is as much tho lilc-bloocl of tho danco as it almust bo of music (bo it a li t 'B| 10 or » rag-timo ditty), it should not be understood that rhythm is hero confounded with tempo. It would be as gauche to danco to absolutely strict timo as for a musician to play a nocturne of Chopin in that mannor. Rhythm is almost an unexplamablo yet a vitally essential element in dancing. It can be best deS £ ii i as ai 'ti st '° insight, and is, or should be, exercised in tho samo manner as a great musician uses tho elastic tempo rubato to bring out all tho' delicate feeling tho work in hand inspires. ut is particularly exemplified in t Les Sylphides," which incorporates, as it were, the very spirit ot Chopin's harmonic poems. It will bo readily conceded, too, that every trace of vulgarity is entirely eliminated from the ballet proper as interpreted by Mdlles. Geneo and Halina Schmolz, and M. Volinin. Every action and poso is gilded with refinement and pootry in the freest and most delightful sense. It is not so many years ago that t-Q bo a member of tho corps do baljet hardly tended to raise the reputation of a porformer. That state of things was brought about by, a desiro on tho part of women to parado their physical charms, leaving any regafd for tho real art of the dance as a-secondary consideration, if it was considered seriously at all. How could such peoplo bo expected to enter into tho spirit of a Terpsichorean representation, say, of Liszt's "Preludes," which the genius of Anna Pavlova has jbeen presenting in a setting of wondeHullv suggestive sccnery, by Mr. Fokinfe, which depends to a great extent upon tho atmosphero created in conjunction with superlatively fino technic? Spectators will bo delighted to miss in tho dancers of the Geneo organisation quito a number of tlioso sido "touches" which have served so successfully to distract, tho attention from and vulgarise the character of tho dance, and to find in their placo a sincerity and graco that is balm to tho soul of tho artistic. Ellon Terry, an artistic soul, has been enormously impressed with tho art of the advanced Russian dancers, and believes that it will create a reaction in tho drama from tho ■ ultra realism of Ibsen and Shaw to tho idoal. "As an actress," sho exclaims in "M'Cluro's," "I saluto tho dancers with the reverence of a man for his ancestors.' Tho dancer is certainly tho paront of my own art, but he has other children. All arts of which tho special attribute is music descend from tho dancer." Tho great work of tlio Russian ballet, Ellon Terry continues, has been to do away with the degrading and vicious atmosphere that had surrounded tho ballet of tho old type. Sho explains: "Tho presenco of men in the ballet has an effect beyond the pleasure afforded by tho virile agility of their steps. It does away witli tho necessity for those feminino travesties of men known in our pantomimes as 'principal boys,' who introduce an element into ballet whioh at its best makes a disturbing demand on our capacity for illusion, and at its worst is a littlo degrading. What has made tho word 'ballet' a sort of synonym for vice if it is not the idea that it provides an opportunity for women to attract admirers —riot of their dancing but of their physical charm? I think that a mixed ballet has tho result of concentrating attention on tho art of tho danco rather than on the seductiveness ; of tho ' dancers. And the free and noble plas- : tic of tho male dancers in the Russian, ballet has influenced the plastic of tho women, making it far less sexual and ' far moro beautiful."