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| A PERFORMER OF THE DANCE DU VENTRE - "We have
here a close and trying study of a posture-dancer of the theatre in
the Street of Cairo. The Western eye was but a moment in
determining, at the World's Fair, that time has wrought as great a
change in the dance as in the alphabet. Whereas, men began by
reading from right to left, they now mostly read from left to right;
and whereas, dancing began by movement of the body rather than the
lower limbs, it has now developed into the Western performance. When
Western officials came to gaze on her rendition of the act by which
John the Baptist lost his head, they were sorely perplexed. This
dance was undoubtedly the style in Cairo, where our own Western Black
Crook amazons would be instantly suppressed. Notwithstanding the
indignation of the Board of Lady Mangers, the danse du ventre
proceeded, and though thousands went to see it, they did not go
often, for the music was too irritating. Described in brief, the
woman moved her shoulders and body rhythmically to the sharp beats of
the tambour."
DANCING GIRL FROM THE HUNGARIAN CHANTANT - "The change
from a study of the Cairo girl and her frightful tambours to Listz's
music and Western beauty and grace, is the greatest that could be
furnished by feminine youth. Only Darwin could expatiate impartially
on these variations of taste in the human kind. The Hungarian Cafe
Chantant was at the west end of the Plaisance, on the south side,
near the Bedouins." |
