MODERN DANCING

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 201, 18 April 1932, Page 3

MODERN DANCING

Edna M.

Williams,

NOT UNDERSTOOD HAS GRACE AND CHARM ALL OF ITSf OWN. STEPS SHOULD BE LEARNED.

(By

Well"

Known Sydney Teacher of Dancing.) Dancing is more often than not regarded as purely a careless pastime. It is a constant regret to me to observe on every hand how imperfectly understood are the delightful dances of to-day. The pity of it is that ti is "so easy to do a few steps" and that these few L steps not only suffice sSl many people, but are far too often faulty and monotonous, thus becoming tiring, exaspe- _ rating, and even injurious to the health. Dancing is an Art. It is bound indissolubly with its sister art, musie, rhythm of movement and harmony of sound being a united combination. It has been well termed "the kaelidoscope of rhythm," and it is the cultivation of this rhythmical motion where lies the art. The human form is capable of exhibiting the very perfection of grace. In true dancing, worthy to be called an art ,all kinds of graces and beautiful movements are set before the artistic vision with refinement and simplicity. Dancing is by far the most natural of all arts. The poetry of it, its mental and emotional part, comes without premeditation. According to one eminent authority, dancing is always accompanied with exhilaration of the mind, and when thus indulged in is most b'eneficial and healthful. The verdict of one of the greatest educationists of the present day, Stanley Hall, he a man of enlightenment, is that "Dancing is imperatively needed to poise to the nerves, schooling to the ; emotions, strength'to the will, and to harmonise the feelings and the intellect with the body which supports | them." 'j Wonderful Unison. The movements of well trained | dancers on a ballroom floor produce a wonderful unison — fused as it were 8 into a single purpose, and thus accomplishing social unification. '* "All our most advanced civilisation," Grosse says, "is based on dancing; it is the dance that socialised || Man." Take a span of the centuries II from the birth of civilisation when '• Plato stated that "a good education | consisted in knowing how to sing and .. dance well." jjji We hold in trust a great heritage. II Dancing and music are sister arts. •I Our body movements and footwork I must express music. "J Just as a pianist fingers the keyboard, and us'es the soft and loud pedals for expression, so a dancer must step lightly and heavily, sometimes using the toes and sometimes the heels. The knees must be used relaxed with some steps and straightened with others. Short,* medium, and long steps must all he used at certain times, and it is in the combination of these movements that our new steps and dances originate, just as it is in the combination of notes and expression of tone we . obtain new harmonie*. j U ' Deportment is undobutedly the most vital and important phase of the dance. The body must dance from the head to the toes. So many people think that dancing is merely footwork and their main aim is to learri one new step after anotber, absolutely neglecting their deportment, thus having an ugly and bad "style" on the floor. Proper Carriage. It is imperative that we must learn how to stand and walk correctly before we can learn to dance correctly. To cultivate a "good style" on the floor should be the aim of every dancer. The body must be held erect, chest expanded, shoulders squared, head poised straight on top of the body (not drooping forward). The weight evenly carried on both feet and knees must be straightened. A lady's right heel must be placed touching the inner instep. The gentleman merely reverses the feet position and has his left foot to the front. This is the correct standing position for the lady and gentleman and must be mastered separately before attempting to dance.

Having accomplished this, we must learn how to stand in the correct general ballroom dancing posit'on with a partner. Weight must be placed on lady's retreating foot and gentleman's advancing foot; this is. of course, reversed when the gentleman is walking backward. All forward or backward steps must be taken straight, '"so that the feet almost touch when passing. The lady's head- must be held looking out to her right and the gentleman's head must be held just slightly turned to his left.

Not only is dancing an art. a social necessity, and a health-giver, but it can be used for the development of the body. A thorough knowledge of anatomy is a fundamen|tal essential in the equipment of any teacher of dancing. Ballroom dancing, studied as an art, to repeat the words of Stanley Hall, "is imperatively needed to give poise to the nerves, schooling to the emotions, strength to the will, and to "harmonise the feelings and the intellect with the body which suports them."