IS GOOD DANCING BAD FORM?

Shannon News, 30 March 1926, Page 4

IS GOOD DANCING BAD FORM?

*i_ Much of the dancing seen in fashionable places is casual rather than good in the strict sense. That dancing is changing for the better in the same gradual way that lawn tennis changed is the interesting theory put forward Miss Katie Smith in "The Art of Dancing." "To sit up night after night or, even -worse, morning after morning, and to spend long hours in hot and overcrowded rooms, is a test of'the survival of the fittest.' The habit of 'turning night into day' is usually accompanied v by heavy meals and heady drinks, which are the prim r ary objects. For this reason all possible space is devoted to tables, and the dance floor is so small and crowded that any free movement is difficult, and dancing is out of the question. 'Pottering round' is the only possibility, and this means fatigue instead of healthy and beneficial exercise. ... "There was a time when lawn tennis was a feeble game played by tightly-corseted Victorian ladies and by somewhat effeminate youths, The game consisted op short sequences of 'scoops' to vocal accompaniment of 'oo!' from the ladies and 'Jolly good —that —what!' from the effeminate youths. All this has changed now. Tennis tournaments have done their good work and lawn tennis has become a vigorous and scientific game demanding stamina, regular and hard practice, and obedience to the laws of health. It is. not 'bad form' to play lawn tennis well nowadays.

"A similar change in ballroom dancing is needed, and there is every indication that it has already begun. Competitions have phanged the standard of dancing, which has never been so high as at the present time. . . In lawn tennis language it is 'Wimbledon' in the place of 'Victorian Pat-ball.' Constant effort is needed if dancing is to benefit health. Effort to reach back and control the movement brings into play body muscles which are not in general use but are of great valine in physical training. 'Lazy dancing is as valueless from the point of view of beneficial exerciso as an evening spent in an armchair."