DANCING WITH DEATH IN THE WINGS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 602, 2 March 1929, Page 18

DANCING WITH DEATH IN THE WINGS

No more sensational dancing act Was ever been presented to the public than that of Roseray and Capclla. Their turn involves the taking of hair-raising risks, yet Roseray is a dainty, petite girl. In the following story, which she told to a representative of the “World’s Pictorial News/’ she speaks of her dancing as though the risks she runs tcere the most ordinary things in the world. % HRILLS! Well, yes, I suppose there must always be a thrill in being whirled around at a dizzy speed while sup[Wa ported only by one foot around my partner’s neck, but the thrill is really subconscious, and I have never yet experienced the slightest feeling of what could be called Hear. Of course, there is always the possibility that something may go wrong, but I do not dwell on that, and we. devote so much time to practice and rehearsal of every new trick that the risk of accident is reduced to a minimum. There are, however, cases in which unforseen things occur, and against those it is impossible to guard. There was, for instance, the time in Chicago when my partner and I had to follow a troupe of dancing girls, whose costumes were lavishly decorated with glass ornaments. In the course of their turn, innumerable tiny fragments of glass were scattered over the dancing floor, and lay there unnoticed as we entered. In nearly all our dances 1 perform barefoot and barelegged, and I frequently had to be on the floor, so that by the time out turn was finished my feet and legs were cut in scores of places, and as I left the ballroom

there were cries of consternation from the onlookers, for my legs were simply streaming with blood. Speed of Movement At the Apollo Theatre, Chicago, in the early part of 1927, I had an accident which might easily have had very serious consequences, aud, indeed, if I had listened to the advice of i the doctor who attended me, I should have been a confirmed invalid for many months. We were doing the act to which I have referred, iu which, holding on , to my partner’s neck with one foot, I [ am whirled around very swiftly. j Everything had gone well until, for . j some reason which still remains a mystery, Capella stumbled, my bold was broken, and I shot headlong ’ across the dance floor. Even as I fell ’ I realised that I was in for something 3 serious, and I did all that I could in * that fraction of a second to minimise 5 the shock. Injured Leg j To avert the crash, however, was t impossible, and as I reached the floor „ I was conscious of acute pain in my '\ leg. aud just lay there iu a crumpled heap. Instant assistance was at haud, j and tenderly and carefully I was car- ' ried off to bed, and a doctor was sum- £ moned. Ha examined me minutely, aud his r face looked grave as he gave his L _ opinion. “You must stay in bed for at least three months,” he said, “and after that it will depend on the pro- “ gress you make whether you will be able to resume your dancing. Yoti \ have injured yourself seriously, and you must have absolute rest.” n (Continued on Page 19.)