THE "TANGO" DANCE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1943, 29 December 1913, Page 5

THE "TANGO" DANCE.

A PAPAL EDICT.

CRUSADE ORDERED;

r,y Telegraph—Press Association— Copyright (Ree. December 29, 0.20 a.m.) London, December 28. Tho special correspondent of tho "Daily Chronicle" at Home states that the Vatican has instructed tho clergy to initiate a crusade against the

'"JJjngo" dance, us offensive to purity, and to every right-minded person. Although all great pulpit orators have fulminated against the dance it is flow almost universal in the galons of Borne.

The Tango craze may be exaggerated by report—at some of the'largest balls the idlowanccol' Tangoes has been smallest— but it has clearly 'made a stir in tho dancing world comparable only to those cause on their introduction by the polka and the waltz, observes the "Times," in a special article. J[. Kicliepin has recently warned us not to despise the 'l'ango for its lowly origin. Jiost dances, ho reminds us, start among tho folk before they reach tho ballroom. It may be added that by now reputable teachers of dancing have-' eliminated from the Tango any traces of vulgarity which it once possessed, and have thus done much to legitimise its success. This has been partly due, no doubt, to novelty, as was tho success of the waltz and tho polka. Youth, too, may not be averse from a danco which gives an excuse for keeping to a single partner for a whole evening. It should be possible, however, to discern more special reasons l'or the popularity of the 'lango. We may fairly ask, then, to what sentiment o p our time tho Tango responds. It is certain, for one thing, that it has only becmio as popular as it is because dancing in general has become more popular. This may be laid to tho credit of the Russian dancers. It is due to Pavlova, who has succeeded in convincing the general public that dancing is true poetry, and to Jlordkin and others, who have persuaded them that a male dancer does not necessarily—as Southey thought—deserve to be ham-strung for effieniiuacy. Tills revived interest in stage dancing is one of the reasons why people aro anxious to perform in the ballrom a dance like the Modern Tango, which is really adapted to the theatre. A more general reason, however, can be adduced to explain this vogue of an elaborate figure dance. The old dances were, we venture to say, more pleasing to the performers than to the onlookers. Tho iileasureto l>c found in watching a pair of exquisite waltzers is strictly limited in duration. This is reoognised on the stage, where waltzes aro always diversified, by steps unknown at balls. ' Tango dancers,, on the other hand, come upon the floor intending—in no unworthy spirit— to "show off." And they are welcome at a moment when fancy dress balls have' become at once more frequent and more ornate. The rage for the Tango is, in fact, part of our new sense of pageantry. The later days of the waltz in' London were days which saw few pomps except the Lord Mayor's Show. Mucli has changed since then. The last two reigns have given us a revival of Royal ceremonial. The long series of historical pageants in provincial towns has left its influence behind it. At the present moment feminine apparel has a note of exotic fantasy. while the staid yellow and brown brick of our streets is being daily replaced bv Babylonian palaces with majestic columns. Tho dances of .a spectacular nee must likewise catch the eye. That is the sccret of the Tango.