South Bend News-Times, Volume 39, Number 8, South Bend, St. Joseph County, 8 January 1922 — Page 21
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Most-"Talked"-About New Steps Originated with College Students Among Wkom Are Seen tne Best
(and Worst)
Dancing,
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Hecause of Its Open Steps, the "Conversation" (at Left) Meets with the Heartiest Approval of Even the Most Punctilious of
Chaperones.
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The Most Distinctive Frnfiiro nf the
"Conversation Walk" (Above) Is the Very
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fyPx -r of Both Feet Without Lifting the Feet from the Floor.
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By Arthur Murray
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SUT of the half-dozen twists
ami glides that have flowered on the hardwooJ floors of America this season, two are conspicuously popular. They are the Conversation Walk and its elaborated and somewhat vulgarized companion, the Scandal Walk. Orthodox teachers of dancing
are racking the Conversation Walk. It i? a proper dance, they say, and a simple, loautiful dance aa well. Conservative dancers also prefer its well-contained and modest postures. But the craving for sensation makes the Scandal Walk a bit too tame lor rakUh dancers. They want something with a kick" to it. They want something that seems a mere fitting embodiment of those syncopated rhythms that daring jazz bands are making popular. So they take the Conversation Walk as a basi, add an extreme touch in the way of a long walking step and a motion of the head in the direction that the step Is taken and call it the Scandal Walk. The mechanism of the Scandal is the Famo as that of the Conversation. Any cno who can do the Conversation can do tho Scandal If he wants to. Like mot cf the dances which have the? American hall-mark on them, the Conversation was originated by college students. The reason why college student usually originate new steps is not dirTicuit to rind. They do more dancing than any ether section of society and they pay more attention to making their dancing finished and graceful. It is a part of thtir equipment to dance well. Uut innovations among college students are not always contained within the limits of good taste and beauty. Out cf a tense of the comic and for lack of taste, they often start step3
that are nothing but
ridiculous contortions. There ha? been a disposition among dancing professors to take away from college men the credit of originating the Conversation. But regardless of how it originated, it has received the sanction of the na
tional organization of teachers. The origin of the name is also in doubt. The name, however, should not be considered seriously, for while it is entirely possible for dancers to converse while doinif this step conversation is not essential. . And whether they talk or not, thev will certainly walk. The aim nnd end of this dance is the same as of any other. It is the creation of certain pleasurable emotions by means of rhythmic exercise of the body. It is not designed to promote conversation any more than the waltz, the two-step.
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Above This Is Not an Uncommon Step in the "Scandal Walk" and Is Indicative of the Bad Form of Which Many Dancers Are Guilty. At Right Fancy Steps, Executed in This Manner, Have Become E4remely Popular. At Least, This Part of the "Scandal Walk" Keeps the Chaperones from Falling Asleep
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the one-step or the fox trot. In fact, I might say in passing, that conversation mere often than not detracts from any dance. One is supposed to dance in time and it is not often possible for a person to dance purely by reflex action cf the n-.ind. He has to think about what he is doing. When he introduces a contrary and broken rhythm by starting a conversation, he tears the coordination of mind j.nd body to pieces and makes his dancing jerky. If he really wants to do the thing right, he should learn to converse in the fame rhythm as that of the dance. The Conversation, as I said, is recommended by dancing teachers as a simply learned, beautiful, rhythmic step. Th5 Scandal can easily be made into a horror. There will be many who will dance it, no doubt, but before the critics of modem dancing become too highly inflamed by the crude and vulgar, they should really try to nnd out what the majority of the danccrj are doing. Music can have a soothing: influence and bring out the finest qualities, or it may have just the opposite effect. Raucoufi sounding jazz will brir. out every atom of commonness in a person. If you would see how low one can be, let him danco for a few hours to noisy, barbaric jazz. A great deal of unbecoming dancing today 13
due to the fact that In a crovrded ballroom there are always a few who, for lack of better taste, feel compelled to show their savage instin:ts. Occasionally, however, indelicate movement 3 are due to an insufficient knowledge of dancing. Whatever the cause, there are always a number who give unsightly exhibitions in the ballroom, with the result that dancing, old as history, becorr.es the target for frequent attack1?. For instance. wT.en we so-3 a woman make her longsufl'ering husband dance with the professional waililo.ver and then we see him "plowing" over the dar.:e floor in the most agonizing manner, both looking like chi-?? mourners, can we call 1: dancing? But when two goo : dancers execute the new dances properly, gracefully anl without afl'ectation, di
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It Is No Longer Considered Poor Taste to Lift the Feet Slightly Off the Floor, if One Can Do It Gracefully but Not Conspicuously. (For those 77? 0 want to learn the new steps in the Conversation Walk, direction arc lierc gii'C7i, which, if carefully followed, will make easy the mastery of the new dance.) CONVERSATION WALK Danced to Fox Trot Music Throughout these steps the couple stand erect Man's Tart: Begin with left foot, walk forward 3 steps, L. It. L., count 1, 2, 8.
Step forward on right, turning i to left, count 4. Step forward on left, turning U to lsft, count T. Step back on right foot, turning i to left, count o Step forward on left foot, turning K to left, count 7. Draw up right foot (close) to left, weight on count 8. In doing this step you make a half
turn. To finish the turn and face the eame way you started, repeat the above step of (icrht counts. The lady does the counterpart. When the man begins with his left foot, the lady begin?, with her right. If the man walk forward, she walks backward. But in
. turning, the lady always turns to move in the same direction as the man. They both turn to the right of the line of direction in which they are going or they both t in to the left. The lady's part is usually de:erib "l in opposite language to the directions for the man, except when turning. You can readily understand that it would be impossible for tha man to turn one way and for the lady to turn another way. Botli must turn in the fame direction. Tap-Step in Conversation Walk First Part: Walk fonvard 3 steps, 1, 2, 3. Extend the right foot to the right side and tap with risrht, quickly shifting the weight to the left foot, 4. Second Part:
0 Begin with right foot, walk forward 3 steps, 1, 2. 3. Extend left foot to left and tap, then quicVIj shift weight to right, 4. Repeat first and second parts. Advanced Conversation Turn First Tart: Man begins with left, walks forward Ä sttp-l, Step forward on right, turn half-way to right, L Walk backward 2 eteps. L. It., 6, 6. Sto back left, turning Ji to righl, 7. Step forward right, turning: i. to right, S. Second Part: Walk forward 4 steps, begin with left, eotint, 1, 2, 3, 4. Step forward left, 5. Step back right, 6. Step fonvard left, 7. Closo right up to left foot, 8. Stop-Step Man's Tart: llesin with the left foot and walk forward I
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Do the Stop-Step by itepping back with ta left foot, 7. Step forward on right foot, 8. Repeat tb entire movement, begining with left foot. Double Stop-Step Left Turn Bin with left foot, walk forward 4 steps, 1 o 1 1 1, o, -i. Step forward left foot, 5, tumlrg1 4 to left. Step back on right, 6. Step back CS left, 7. Step fonvard on right, 8. Hop eat the entire movement of 8 counts. Lady's Part of Double Slop-Step n.-gin with right foot, and walk backwird 4 Eteps 1, 2, 3, 4. Step backward right foot, 5. Step forward left foof,"1j. Step fonvard right foot, 7. StL-p backward left foot, S. Repeat entire mover, ent of 8 counts. Double Stop-Step Right Turn Uegm w:ta left foot, walk forward 3 ittpi 1, 2, 3. Forward with right, turn Vi to riffht, 4 Sti p leuk on left, Ö. Step back on right, 6. Htep forward two steps, L. R., 7, 8.
aPf Feature Service, 1&5X.