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7
The Russian Dancers,
Who Are Now the
Prize Matinee Idols and
Even Eclipse the Opera
Tenors in Feminine
Esteem
T HAS been many a long day since
a man could acquire the reputation
of being either beautiful or graceful
and avoid the popular belief that his was
an effeminacy beneath contempt.
But it has happened in London.
A whole group of men, dancers at
that, -all at once became the idols of the
female population, and they have been far
worse besieged by their adorers than the
most famous of women dancers have been.
Even the madness of admiration which,
in times past, seems to have risen to the
stage of blind adoration vouchsafed to
the tenors of grand opera and to the musi
cians who can wring ecstasy from violin or
piano has been surpassed by the frenzy of
longing on the- part of the women to be
near to the wonderful exponents of the
dances from the icy north.
Society has turned to them as the res
cuers from spinsterhood of daughters
whose charms and dowries have failed to
catch the necessary male. Not that Eng
land's high-born maids were being flung at
the heads cf the dancers. By no meant.
The girls tiere flung at the dancers' feet,
so that instruction in dancing might give
them an accomplishment certain . to bring
other men to theirs.
In the dance itself, as hitherto indulged
in by its votaries of the ballroom, the most
exciting changes ure impending, and if the
suddenly aroused partisans of the old lacka
daisical methods should be defeated it's
peculiarly hard to prophesy jusf now the
whole world of fashionable folk may find
itself .whirling and leaping, as though the
dancing madness of the Middle Ages had
seized on humanity again.
AND all becauas aome few good -took ln( young
Russians hava been pirouetting on their toea
outalda of their own special territory, by gra,--
cloua permlaalon of tha czar.
Americana know aome, If not all of them, very
well, both by eight and reputation. Already their im
portance, In popular esteem, has grown to tha level
where their actions, their opinions, their llftle, Jealoua
bickerings. have an International Importance equal to
that of prlncea.
Michael Mordkln ahd Anna Pavlova had been spat
ting. It vraa easy to comprehend what the 'spat wai
about; the unprecedented rise to superior Importance
of a man dancer, when, all dancing history of modern
tlmee has doomed tha mala to the rola of a pi ere tnua
cular supernumerary, was enough to make any distin
guished artiste wild with rage and able to find about
two million reasons why aha couldn't set along
with him.
Which of the two millions was taking them further .
apart while their professional triumphs war Weeping
them in apparently fond embraces doesn't matter. But
tha consequence does. Peace had been patched up by
t management aa passionately fond of money aa tba
ondon public had become of. the dancera. They re
sumed their Joint performance. Part of it was a Whirl
of Pavlova's, held fast by tha Apollo-like Mordkln,
that resembled a boy's spinning top. centrifugal forces .
Included. Bhe looked like some fair, ethereal creature
that dreams are made of; the flitting butterflies were
groas beside her. It waa her instant of supreme glory,
and for . that instant tha ascending atar of Mordkla
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was all but veiled, a motionless foil for Pavlova's
brilliant feet
Well, that waa precisely the Instant tha faithless
Mordkln selected to let go of her.- Centrifugal force
whirled the fairy form of Pavlova far out and dropped
her hard, very hard. She aat down so hard that the
house shook, and the whole audience realised. In cruel
grins, that the belle of the Russian dancera. was com
posed of the most prosaic and solid flesh and bone.
If that had happened to a princess, about the same
sort of an announcement would have traveled over the
world to set aristocracy agog; with the dancera It
traveled Just as far, to set all classes agrln.
Mordkln. who has a wife of his own endowed with
the delicate loveliness one sees In aome charming
Frenchwomen, lived this summer In very modest lodg
ings in Bloomsbury, where he was constantly under
siege from English society women, who implored him
to teach their daughters the art be ao admirably ex
presses In his graceful peraon.
EIGHT YEARS OF PRACTICE
It must have amused his mocking spirit to hear
them, cajoling, assure htm they are confident his
genius could transform their awkward squads of girls
Into beings of fiery suppleness, when he recalled the
long and harsh ordeal of apprenticeship a real Russian
dancer must serve at the Imperial School for Dancing
In Bt Peteraburg, under M. Tokln, the merciless
director.
Bight years Is the term that Is required for turning
out a qualified performer, and he muat be a cherub to
begin with. The labor of training la an exercise of
the heaviest order, resulting in an athlete beside whom
the ordinary gymnast is simply so much raw material.
Tet the dance Is only half of the leason to be learned.
Those young students, are training to be actors as
well as dancers, In so far as facial expreaslon can
reveal the sentiments typified In every step snd pose.
It waa. of course, farcical to think that ha could meta
morphose an ungatnly girl into a sylph of airy light
nets; but tha immense fees that were thrust upon him
to accomplish the Impossible brooked no resistance.
He took some puplla ahd' did the best he. could.
Meanwhile, whenever ha made hia exit from the
theater, great throngs of beauty-mad women awaited
his appearance end olmnst mobbed him In their eager
ness to be near the Ideal of male grace and strength.
-
I GUESS my kite and ball and bat
Will have to do without me,
For school's begun and I must go ;
. But thry can think about me.
We've had a fine old time this year.
That we will all remember.
But this vacation was so short
Prom June just till September.
, This goin' back to school again
Would be a great deal better
If 'twasn't for the startin' in
And stoppin' your forgetter
' So sudden-like and painful that
It almost makes ypu holler.
It seems as if for one week more
I'd almost giye a dollar.
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The performances were studied by thousands, rather
than admired. Here and there In fashionable circle!
the "Russian waits," a tempestuous performance that
calls for all the awlft agility the most nimble dancer
can command, began to be a favorite number.
In the United States the fame of the Ruaslan waits
promptly flared aa .far as Newport. Mrs. Pembroke
Jones let it be known that aa aoon as Mordkln cams
over he should demonstrate the steps at her Newport
residence, Sherman Lodge. Everybody rose to the
tiptoe of anticipation.
But whether the tiptoes of practice and nothing
abort of them win serve the terrific new waits win
be felt la yet a little doubtful. While London's delight
in it was just beginning to be noteworthy. Queen Mary
let it be known that for all dancing functions at which
she was present the undignified romps to which so
ciety has been addicted of lata must be omitted. Mord
kln and the Russian waits were not referred to; ignor
ing both of them, while condemning In general tha
class to which they belonged, was the most effective
reproof.
Her majesty's dictum Is not, however, quite, so final
as Queen Victoria's used to be, and EngliOh social
pleaaures hava loosened up amazingly since American
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There msy be some place, somewheres, that
The boys just have vacation,
Without thia goin' back to school
To spoil anticipation.
I wisht I knew where that place was ;
You bet I'd go and find it.
When I get big but what's the use!
By that time I won't mind it.
They say some fellers like to go
To school and mind the teachers;
But-mebbe that's just like p says,
That folks is all queer creatures.
And people can't be quite the same
As even their own brothers. ,
So when some fellers don't like school,
It's mebbe fine for others.
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high spirits became a factor over there. In the United
States the humble submission to British standarda of
conduct, which prevailed years ago, Is just as liable
to be laughed at aa It Is to be considered seriously. So
the Russian waits stands a good chance of having at
least one season of sweeping popularity here.
Mordkln is only one of the men whose grace has
enthralled femininity abroad. It would be a mistake
to say that Pavlova and the other Women dancers of
tha new Russian Invasion are entirely eclipsed by tha
man. They are not, Mrs. Asqulth, wife of the prim
minister of Great Britain, has set quite a social vogue
for Pavlova, and Catrlna Geltzer, the Kusaian ballerina
who appeared in "The Dance Dream," jne of tha coro
nation ballets over there, has been creating a sensa
tion all her own.
But her partner, M. Tlchorniroff, has steadily ad
vanced in popularity. He teems to have. In common
with the other men dancera who come out of Russia, a
physical beauty that Is Irresistible to women and an
obvious strength, underneath the supple grace of his
movements, which compels the respect of the men.
The truly dominant new star of this brilliant little
group Is, however, M. N'ylnsky, a dancer who figured
In the sensational ballet of "Scheherazade" at Coyent
Garden. For him the waiting throngs have an eager
nesa of welcome that arguts something more than
love of the artistic and beautiful. The influence of
sex seems to radiate from him and bring his enthusi
asts to him in abject shoals. Nor are the common run
of people alone In their extravagant devotion to him.
He figures as the most popular drawing card at pri
vate entertainments, especially for fashionable women
who, two or three years ago, would have resented as
an affront the intimation, that they could possibly
devote an evening to a function simply because a man
dancer happened to be engaged by the hostess at iibOO
per dance.
The ballet in which he appears is universally rec
ognised aa the limit to which erotic dancing can go.
When It cornea to the harem scene, where the beauti
ful odalisques riot with the stalwart Ethiopians they
have admitted to the forbidden walls, audiences have
fairly gasped at the nbondon of the dancing and nwaif
In shocked apprehension the climax. It Is harmless'
enough; but Hie -nntish stage has never had such a
pace of passion set for It.
Nylnekl lacks Utterly the lofty type of beauty that
characterises Mordkln, whose chlreled features and
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curling hair might belong to some boy favorite of old
Rome or to the original of some Grecian atatuagf
Hermes. , t. ,,
The Nylnsky type is delicate enough, but sens uSt.
wim me grosser leatures ana tne naming eyes popu-
fierily tropical, and his dancing bears out the promUe
of his looks. -
The enormous vogue that has attended tha appear
ance or tnese men oancers seems, tnus lar, to nave
daunted rather than inspired them with the vanities,!
of singers and actors suddenly taken up by society. ; ,
They haven't acquired the self-satisfied alrsi of the
ramous tenor wno imagines ne own, mu """
hearts. They are rather like poor working men. with, ,
nfrftta nt HffM mennnmv n4 hard common sense. Who
drop Into fortune. It seems so unreal to them that
they won't let a penny slip. They live modestly and
hoard all their earnings, for such great Incomes a
they are receiving now, between their salaries ar.4
their fees, will amount In a short time to Independent
fortunes In Russia.
That Is one reason why they are preserving the
reapect that Is paid to them as men, and perhaps lt:ls
another reason why they remain the idols of the
women, for it leaves them beyond possession.
Doesn't Speak as He Passes
Himself By &
TjP NEAR Tidloute there is a man who has Ujjd
I alone for twenty years. His house clings to'tho
side of Knob Hill at Its steepest and most un
inviting place. His name Is James, but any on wh
happens to know him and speaks to him at all fl.l
mm "jimmy." , "
Jimmy got Into the habit of talking to himself;
, years ago, soon after his wife died. He has entertained
himself in a conversational way since then wltHaUt .
Interruption until yesterday. 1 esterday Jfhimy f ell stt
with himself. It seems, over sone trifling matter,"o
aouot, ana an colloquial relations aprupuj -At
least that was the inference drawn by Dan)
Hopkins, who happened to meet Jimmy on the read
t ... . nt :,.
Hello! Jimmy!" yelled Hopkins, "how are yen
today r
I uon t Know, replied jimmy, wiin a iraoe oi irri
tatlon in his voice. "I ain't on sneakln' terms wit
nieeself Jlst now J .
What Would the Next Row Bc?5
wwKNXIS PLINN had cleaned out the tows' asil
I B ' . MAK.lnva iMhll.. Vf a Bt
KLICi 0 11 W FT a, JUlt.lLM, 1,1 W W ,..1 u, .vwvw u, v '
-a' orlal day exercises and other doings for ats
teen years without making a single complaint .tAS
last he fancied he had a kick, coming, and he watt
into the mayor's office to register It. ;la.
"What is it. Dennis." asked the mayor, aa Denftls
meekly entered. , ' f ' ,
"it s aDOut tne nan. yer nonor. i ne nye aiano up m .
the rear, they do, an' they chew an' they spit durln' fpo
lntlre performance. An' not a wor-rud would Ot say,
yer honor, but the varmints they will spit all overlbe
-legs of the chairs in the back' row. and on the plao
'where the chairs do be fastened to the Dure, an' hard,
work It Is for a man of me age to stoop down an'
scrub'' It off. There's a favor til would ask or vee
honor this mornln' In resplct to It.",'' -,.!,'.
"What Is that. Dennis " U
"Indade, Ol would ask yer honor for permission an
authority to do away wit' the back row of seats
lntolrely. Nobody lolkes to sit In the back row any
how. yer honor, an sinseless It Is to have It I the halt
at all, at all." . . . -; u ' , .
Poor, Indeed
A TAX collector in a Pennsylvania county return?
an assessment of $10,000 against a Mr. Miser for
bonds believed to be owned by him and not list
for taxation. Mr. Miser appealed to the county eom '
misaloners to vacate the assessment, alleging that 'to
poaaessed no such bonds, Mr. Miter was subjected to a
vigorous examination as to the taxable property .he
owned, but he disclosed very little if any, in conclo1
ing the hearing tha chairman of the board of oommla.
sionera remarked: ,
"We are convinced, Mr, Miser, that the assesser
made a mistake In assessing you for tha bonds, and w
have concluded to cancel your entire tax return, as we
are satisfied from your testimony befurs this boar4
that you not only do not own tha bonds la question,
but that you do not even own up." ,
An Attack oirFather ,
SIX-TEAR-OLD Ethel, in her little cot in the ne
room, was disturbed one morning by the snorlinf
of her father, who did admit that he sner 1
When he Jay on hia back, Ethel sat up In bid.
"Mamma." she cried, "can't you make papa aloft '
: hia Bosaf i.:.. .