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Poverty Bay Standard, Volume II, Issue 153, 28 March 1874, Page 2

“Cameo” in the Weekly News thus criticizes the Parisian Troupe of dancers now performing in Auckland : “ And, by the way, talking of the French girls and their masculine compatriots, it seems they are, or profess to be rather, ballet dancers—La Troupe Purisienne, if you please. By all the powers of Terpsichore — thoiT light-heeled, nimble-footed goddess— not one of all your eight sisters in Olympus ever witnessed such utter disregard of the poetry of motion as that Paris troupe ‘ displayed-in the theatre on Wednesday night. Even if a performance should have a soupfon of “ naughty,” one may tolerate it—if it is “ nice,” at least, that is human nature, cloak it as we may, and mind I’m not defending it. Lottie’s pretty contortions on the trapeze, and her wonuerful play of limb, were tolerated, although one’s innate modesty was at first sliocked by the intertwinings which the performers displayed ; but I suppose, people first endured, then pitied, then enjoyed, to alter the poet’s line. But in the case of this troop of indecent “ dancists," why it was all endurance. Men whose modesty is an unknown and imponderable quantity even professed to be ashamed that they were present. lam myself indifferent modest, and not much of a theatre-goer, but 1 went for an hour ami saw this gay Parisian quartette of feminine dancers. 1 am thankful 1 did uot take to the ballet any lady friend—such ns Murian-Lina-May. With confusion of face I sat (yes, I sat it out ; just to see how fur they would go, don't you know ?) and witnessed bad dancing, unbecoming posturing, indecent arranging of scanty drapery, offensive leg display, and, in short, an amount of suggested nastiness which, God-forbid, uny honest man's daughter should ever behold—ay, or son either. I'm not straight-laced nor prudish in my way, “ on the contrary quite the reverse but this business was offensive because the immodesty of the posturing was unrelieved by an gracefulness of dancing, while numerous mistakes occurred, and more than once a performer fell on the stage, as if that evidence were wanted to show- how little they could render their art attractive. Let us have no more of it. The ballet was once the expression of high dramatic passion. It flourished in Italy three centuries ago, but it was not till towards the close of the eighteenth century that women took part in it. Since then it has become unfaithful to its loftier artistic nature and meaning. Somebody has said somewhere that it has degenerated into mere feats of physical agility, “ tasteless displays of artificial dexterity, ungainly distortions of the body, and balancing in attitudes frequently indelicate.” I quote from memory, ar.d cannot name the source ; but in the case of this performance it was not intermittent indelicacy, it was chronic. “ Mary, some claretfor we must “ sweeten our imagination ” with some wine and water ; if only to wash the nauseous taste from the mouth.