The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 16, 1902, Page 6

The Waltz and Two-Step Are Now to Have Rivals in Their Race for Public Favor--Freakish Dances That Are the Direct Out- come of the “Florodora” Craze--New Combina- tions of Old Dances-- Novel Fancy Dances. ook askance at danc- Even the most churchgoers no longer frown amusement, if the rs are graceful and the steps ney or too high. come when it keeps an women busy evolving omething striking days? ames would have ng to perdition dances would take cy that the styles looked forward to shions in clothes. Such year. z held swa: that when the pt the standards more picturesque came 1g. Pretty fig- are the dis- so binations iing about this sud- steps much remem- a compe- hard fur know only the old as back as st dreadful give-away there is one thing more than another it unless there are + nor entirely forget for they are not to the past. That could for they have won established place. appear to old dancers stinctly in the back- new dances have prece- two- ep, legat never be nts almost as soon these new poses are nor difficult to them, girl who swaggers feet of silk sweeping the as ot new e average h twe ficor seem something new and more than diffics Perhaps the most popular of all the new ones the unique dance. Everybody “Florodora” crazy, then the dance it- the whole or in bits as the fancy willed. This “Un was suggested by the amous turn. If you re- w the sextet left the stage you ]| know exactly what the first position ers his partner his arm, 8 few steps after the fash- n of the six. It looks easy, but it is not. If you think it is whistle the music and try it. There is & kink in it that defies the first attempt at mastery. Time and time sgain the same little hitch occurs until one is ready to give up and shout “I don’'t want to dance the nasty thing Anyway.” And then it comes all in an instant, end you wonder how yeu could ever have id enough not to have caught on | For when once mas- tered it is the most simple thing imagin- able. After the first few steps the couple sep- erate and dance from each other and over their ghoulders give“the pretty little salute so commonly known as the — aw THE SUNDAY 'CALL. 7%~ Posiriont @ srv vaerirya “Florodora nod.” And when this nod is given by a particularly fetching girl it works havoc with the heart strings of the partner. The turn is the difficult part. The par- ticipants dance toward each other, join hands and the man turns the girl under his arm exactly as is done in some of the games that children play. The two-step is then added, and after several steps the same positions are gone over and over aga The dance is then conquered, and it only remains to keep it up and to do it cefully. While the “Florodora nod” is some- thing not so very w, it is something very catchy and in ly fascinating. The “Twentieth Century Gavotte” fis also the old and the new. It is the olé military schottische and the rollicking five-step. The dancers take the first posi- tion that suggests the kick, and after several steps in the fashion of the grand march they change to the second, which is exactly like the pose taken by children in playing “Lordon Bridge.” With this the side step seems to be taken, although it is difficult to find out exactly what it is The dance finishes in the ordinary waltz position, and the five-step again adds vivaeity to it. Now that the waltz and two-step are on the wane the really old dances that have been practically forgotten are picking up their heads and wondering héw much chance they would have if they tried it again Probably the gavotte will be in- strumental in bringing the five-step into popularity Another fancy pretty was taken from the Spanish. It is called the “Vienna Waltz.” The numer- ous mannerisms and customs that have come into beng with our new possessions are all there. It is distinctly the bolero movement and the waltz. The dancers 2l How io Forecast the Ieaiher HE ordinary person makes no dis- tinction between one cloud and an- ome meteorolo- hey are divided into four dis- tinct groups; the heaped up cumu- lus; the delicate, feathery, curling little clouds, named cirrus, so high as to be frozen into minute needles of ice; the wide-spreading sheets of cloud named stratus, which, seldom more than a mile above the earth, often come down fo en- velop us in fogs of mist; and the dark, un- mistakable nimbus, very soon causing the water that left the earth as vapor to be restored as rain. The clouds owe their different forms to different physical states of the atmos- phere, to which are aiso due the aerial currents, which often flow in directions other than the currents or winds preyail- ing close to the earth. In weather forecasting mo clouds are worthy of such attention as the clirus clouds, which attain a greater elevation than any others, averaging in summer a height of five or six miles above the earth. Their sudden appearance in a clear sky is generally a signal of foul weather, espe- clally when their streamers have an up- ward tendency, for thie indicates that the clouds are falling. After heavy rains, on the other hand, the formation of these clouds is often a sign of improvement. When cirrus clouds appear in summer, the assumption is that rain will appear in two or three days. They are seldom seen in winter, and never for long. When cir- rus clouds assume the form of stratuss at any altitude of four or five miles, their persistence is an almost certain sign of rainy weather. If, on the contrary, they remain of small size, and quickly disap- pear, no change is to be apprehended. Among the most significant of the cir- rus formation of clouds is that delicate white vell called cirro-pallium, which is gradually drawn across the sky. This, with its accompahying lunar and solar halos, almost certainly foretells rain and bad weather for the next day. Cumulus clouds vary enormously in size, but o long as they remain of mod- erate dimensions, in fine weather, they in- dicate a continuance of brightness. But when, in hot weather, they grow excep- tionally large, they give warning of storms, with high temperature—and with great certainty when they assume a dome-like shape. The ordinary stratus, the fog of the sky, is common in all geasons, but is generally observed in the mornifg or evening. It causes fine rain, seldom of very long du- ration. None can mistake the nimbus forma- tions, those dark, heavy-looking masses, with clearly defined outlines, the certain precursors of immediate rain. They may attain the size of immense mountains of vapor, the base less than a mile above the ground and the summit as high as five miles. Some nimbus clouds have been calculated to contain as much as 200 cubic miles of vapori—Pearson’s Magazine, ance that is more than, (1’20 eenn \ eavorre = MOST DIFEIC LT POS/vr0M 1N stand almost back to back, and in this position take several steps backward. Gradually they face more and.more side- ways and finally finish by waltzing in or- dinary position. The german has a quick second also, and that is the old-fashioned lancers. ne funny old dance that invariably reminds us all of country dances, where the lone, lorn fiddler saws out the tune and shrieks 207 cenTurYy GAVOTTE 257 PoSITION IN VIENNA WALTZ madly, “First couple down the center” and *“‘All hands round.” These new lancers have a name, and it is quite as fancy as the dance itself. ‘While the Worcester lanciers are all new, [N the sets/ are formed in tr v wn the ordinary ones and it is danced to the ordinary musiec. Many of the ldeas have been borrowed from the figures of the german. Sleigh- bells and driving figures, where the many colored ribbons are used, are the prettiest and are the gayest looking. But whether the lancers will be as popular as the german remains to be seen. The same partner must suffice through- out the dance. There is none of that de- lightful running away with another fel- low's girl. There is no chance for flirta- tion and no chance to dance half the evening away with some chosen one in an- other set. And again there are no favors, which has gone a long way toward mak- ing the german the pretty sight that it is. But nevertheless the lancers are com- ing in to take its place. Many of the invitations that have been issued to dancing parties lately have had “assembly” instead of “german” in the corner. That plainly shows that the round dances are coming into favor again and {hat the german has lost soms of its sud- den popularity. A pretty dance, but not on the fancy or- der, Is the three-step. It is a regular half and half affair, just between the two-step by Prolfesror Hinman FPhetes by The 4 (7 /”EIIM’_'IA % and the five-step. Another one not um~ like it is the redowa. It has been danced for several sons with more or less success, but it promises to be a leader of the really new The Wanbausee is another new dance. The gentlemen commence with their left foot and the ladies with their right one. Then there are two steps taken forward. The gentleman places his left hand on his hip and places his right around the lady’s waist. Then two gliding steps are taken with the right foot and two with the left. This is repeated over once again and finally they break into a waltz. It is pretty, but I fancy will not be as popular as some others. The stage has been re- sponsible for the new dances coming in to a certain extent. A graceful dancer is al- ways duly admired. The parlor dance was introduced as a novelty—and from that has come the desire to make the pallroom seem a little more pleturesque. Girls see how wonderfully graceful and charming a pretty dancer is and they straightway make up their minds to ac- complish that feat or die in the attempt. For soclety girls are sver after something new and when they find something that presents both grace and amusement it is a combination hard to beat.