A TREAT IN STORE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 12 September 1907, Page 3

A TREAT IN STORE.

"LIVING WHIST AND KIRMESS." Wandering down Gill street the other day our reporter noticed a number of gaily-dressed young people u,bout the Drill Hall, 'tripping the light fantastic' as though gathered from all parts of the globe. There was music coming from the hall, so the "News" man stepped inside. It was found to be a practice afternoon of the great "Living Whist and Kirmess" to be presented under the direction of Professor O. O. Sheets in aid of the Recreation Sports Ground funds, on four nights, from the 24th inst. At the moment the Professor was busy with the "May Drill," redolent of Old England, presented at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in London by a thousand children. The movements of the "babies"—for they are all \Ve"e mites in this particular item—carry the Englishwoman back to England, and make the colonial wonder what it is like to be a rural child in the "Old Countree," enjoying their meadow pastimes in the spring and summer days. By a peculiar coincidence the next country represented in the practice was that of our little brow'n allies the Japs, and about fifty little New Plymouth girls, very prettily executed a Japanese court dance. The kimonos and fans, the graceful swing and the obeisances and the curtsies are all truly presented, as though before the Mikado himself, and it would seem that the Emperor's tastes, in regard to little lady friends, are much the same as those of his eminent Western cousins. The "Navaho," . or North American Indians' dance, came next. Here was the Yankee coon making love to his dusky little Indian maiden of the forests. The song and dance, are very funny and amusing. A whiff of the briny, and we are. on board one of the old British ships of the line. All ; the movements of the old seaman, now passed into oblivion by the great strides in modern shipbuilding, are sljown in song and dance and action. At the time represented, the British jack-tars had whilst they played to keep an eye skinned for the enemy on the horizon, and all this is shown in the figure before ns. "The land o' th' leal, the bills and the heather,' we think- as the forty Heiland lassies, in the full Scottish costume, come tripping out from the corners singing "Loch Lomond," and, move into the steps of the old original Highland Fling, sword-dance, Sheauntreus, and Scotch reel. It is quite a treat in this part of the Dominion to see any Scotch national dance executed by even one skilled performer, but when so many of them can perform the many varied steps to such perfection and in perfect unison—aye, "mon, it's gran'.' To sunny Spain, the land of llowers and luscious fruits, travel our thoughts with the "Espanola," or Spanish court dance as presented at the wedding of the present King of Spain to the English Prin- , cess Ena. Here we have Spanish court life in all its poetry of music and motion and costume. Now we journey over the Pyrenees to France, where the stately court minuet of the fifteenth century is presented,—contrasting pleasantly with the more rythmic movements of the daughters of Spain. It is not a long step to Italy, sunny Italy, but the climate has changed, and the century. We see the rapid, difficult and graceful movement of the tambonrina dance of the Italian court, a sister dance of the eastanet, two of Italy's oldest court dances. Now to Austria. The serpentine dance, or dance of the Austrian royalty, comes on the boards. Nothing more graceful or pretty has perhaps ever been thought of by those who have planned the best of our national movements, and on this occasion it is danced by about forty young ladies. To represent Ireland we have the old original Irish court dance, over SOO years old, one of the few surviving relics of Irish monarchy. And back to old England, where the Rose March or March of the Royal Hussars is presented by fully sixty of the young ladies of New Plymouth. This is perhaps "the" spectacular item of the. display. This fancy drill is in nse in all the' English military schools at the present day, and in Canada. The movements are simple, but graceful. But the work of the rose-decorated hoops, their swaying, inter-lacing, waving, and swinging and arching, is a treat to see. A unique and ambitious production is the "Living Whist." This is purely a j military effect. Fifty-two ; vsons are I dressed to represent the din rent cards in the pack. There arc al-n four heralds to play the game, four pages for trains, and one court jester, making ' sixty-one in all. The living cards are ' shuffled, dealt, and played. This is all done by fancy marching, tableaux, 1 and deportment. Then follows the Eng- • | lish court minuet, danced by the Eng- ' j lish sovereigns and nobility and the Bri- ' I tish generals, as late as the days of the ' Iron Duke. This is perhaps the pret--1 | liest minuet of them all, and it has the • | advantage of being Home-grown. A ' beautiful set scene gives us the gipsy

camp so dear to our story-writers. "The gipsy countess" is sung with all the accompaniment of the tent and out-door fire-place, and the general appearance of tlie camp of the nomad tribes. About a score of gaily-dressed young gipsies take part in the dancing around the camp-fire. About fifty little nigger boys and white girls performed the Ninth American cakeivnlk singing "Coon, Conn, Coon" as they entered and left the stage. Tlie view of this practice left not the slightest doubt that the entertainment is going to be about the biggest airl best thing over staged in the New Plymouth Theatre.