|ALL who regard dancing seriously, and there is nothing which should be
regarded more seriously than an art that is to give pleasure, must be
glad that they have lived in a century which has witnessed a very
fine and sincere endeavor to restore the dance to some of its primal
nobility. There is much in the results of this endeavor to criticize,
there are a few things to deplore, but in any refusal to recognize the
magnitude of what has been accomplished, there is probably some pique
that it has been the nation which Europe still views as barbarously
ingenuous in matters of art which has reformed the ballet on such
refined and spiritual lines.
I dislike the word "reformed," however. Reformations are generally
tiresome. _Transformations_ are far better! Saint Francis transformed,
Luther reformed; and the Russians are with Saint Francis rather than
with Luther! To appreciate the change which has come over the Russian
Ballet we ought to know a little about its constitution. It is and has
always been subsidized by the state. The Russian government supports
schools of ballet, where from the age of eight children are given a long
and arduous training in the science of dancing, and from which they are
drafted into the imperial ballets at St. Petersburg, Moscow and Warsaw.
A dancer's first appearance is generally made at the age of sixteen, and
at thirty-six his or her career is over. The dancers are then retired on
a pension amounting to about one hundred and fifty pounds a year. It is
not my intention to give details of this training. They are written in
many books by experts. But I should like to say at this point that one
of the leading characteristics of the Russian system is the attention
given to male dancing.