THE AUTHOR 

Monsieur Maurice is without question one of the most wonderful dancers of modern times. With
his equally talented partner, Miss Florence Walton (the stage name still used by his wife),
he has literally danced his way around the globe. They introduced in London and in New York the
famous Tango Teas which soon became an established craze. He is the most popular dancing instructor
society ever engaged. Most of the four hundred who took up the latest dances took private instructions
from him. In this series of articles Maurice takes up the Tango, the Brazilian Maxixe, the Hesitation
waltz, the one-step and various other modern dances. 

The Publishers . CONTENTS 

The Author , IV. 

The Tango , 5 

The Walk, 14 

The Corte, or "The Five," 14 

The Single Three, 15 

The Fan, or Eight Crossing, 16 

The Scissors, or Double Crossing, 17 

The Half-Moon, or Media Luna, 18 

The Passo, or Passing, 18 

The Evantaille, 19 

The Brazilian Maxixe , 19 

The Maurice Walk , 32 

Nights of Gladness Waltz , 45 

La Habanera , 57 THE TANGO AND OTHER DANCES BY MAURICE I 

The Tango is the national dance of the Argentine. To my mind it is one of the most beautiful dances
ever devised. As it is danced in its native land and as I have tried to reproduce it, it is as different
from the so-called Tango usually seen on the stage and in public and private ball-rooms as night
is from day. 

When it was first introduced into this country the Tango aroused a storm of protest. It was said
that it was the most suggestive and immoral dance ever presented in public, and in the way it
was danced it probably was. Properly danced, however, the Tango is no more suggestive nor immoral
from any viewpoint than the most dainty old fashioned waltz. 

Indeed, if the dancer wished to dance in a suggestive manner, the old fashioned waltz presents
just as available a medium as the modern tango. To condemn the dance for the fault of the dancer
is manifestly unfair, and yet that is precisely what has been done in the case of the Tango. 

Through its own beauty, however, the tango is destined to survive all the unjust criticism
which has been leveled against it, and when it comes to be properly understood, as I hope it soon
will be, it will, I venture to predict, be as much respected as the waltz, which our grandmothers
used to dance with so much grace. 

No dance offers a wider scope to the dancer than the Tango; there are at least twenty authentic
figures which may properly find a place in the dance although there are but eight generally
used in its native land. These eight figures, which I shall describe in detail, give all the
opportunity for variety which the most energetic dancer might demand, and it is just as well
to confine one's attention to them instead of trying to master the almost endless variety of
steps which have been grafted into the dance. 

With these basic eight figures at one's command one could dance the tango all right providing
one's endurance lasted without the slightest idea of monotony, for there is no established
order in which the figures follow each other. It is this freedom of arrangement, added to the
liberal number of figures which go to make up the dance, that accounts principally for its fascination
and popularity. Eight different couples might dance to the same music and each of them be doing
a different figure at any given moment. Of what other dance might this be said? 

Before I take up in detail the eight different figures in the tango let me correct a few popular
misapprehensions concerning the dance. 

In the first place. It is neither proper nor pleasing to play the tango as fast as it is commonly
played by orchestras in public or private bald rooms. As it is commonly danced I can hardly blame
the orchestra or the dancers themselves for that matter for wanting to get it over as quickly
as possible, for the tango cannot be danced properly to the galloping music usually heard.

Then again the suggestive action of Tango dancers which have aroused so much discussion would
be quite out of the question if Tango dancers would remember that in no figure of the dance is
it necessary for the gentleman to get into closer proximity to his partner than three or four
inches. Hugging may be a perfectly permissible undertaking, but it forms no part of the tango
when danced properly. 

On the other hand, it is never permissible to break away from your partner in the tango. With
very few exceptions, the graceful relative positions assumed at the beginning of the dance
are maintained all through it. 

The shoulders should never be moved in the tango. Although many dancers seem to have the idea
that the shoulder movements characteristic of the turkey-trot are an essential part of every
modern dance, they are certainly entirely out of place in the tango and mar its beauty. 

Another general misapprehension is as to the position of the arms. Many tango dancers dance
with the gentleman's left arm and the lady's right arm outstretched. This is wrong. Both the
gentleman's arm and the lady's arm should be bent at the elbow, the lady's more so than her partner's.
The gentleman's arm is bent horizontally and the lady's perpendicularly. That is to say, the
lady's right forearm is practically upright. 

The gentleman's right arm should rest on the lady's back and with the palms and fingers pressed
on the lady's back he should indicate just how he intends to map out the dance, for, as I have pointed
out, the tango dancer is his own master with respect to the order in which the various figures
are to follow each other. 

It is for this reason that it is almost impossible for a gentleman to dance the tango with a lady
with whom he has never rehearsed it, unless, of course, both are familiar with the names of the
various figures and the gentleman announces in due time to his partner just which figure he
intends to execute. 

While, as I have explained, there is no set or standard order in which the various figures ought
to be danced, the order I follow in instructing my pupils is as follows: First, The Walk; Two,
the Corte, which is the principal step of the tango and is sometimes referred to as the "Five";
Three, the single three; Four, the Fan, or eight crossing; Five, the Scissors or Double Crossing;
Six, the half-moon, or Media Luna; Seven, the Passo, or passing; and Eight, the Evantaille.

The novice might well adhere to this order until he has grown quite proficient. Indeed, if the
tango is ever standardized, which I hope it won't be, because that would deprive it of much of
its beauty and possibilities, the order I have given above would perhaps be the best that might
be devised, as it gives a maximum of variety and the transition from one figure into another
is most simple. 

I shall now describe the eight figures in detail giving the steps as made by the gentleman, the
lady's steps are of course just the reverse to her partner's. THE EIGHT FIGURES No. 1 THE WALK

Holding his partner as I have previously explained the gentleman, starting with the right
foot, walks four or eight steps backward, counting four or eight bars of the music as the case
may be. From the walk the dancers go naturally into the corte, the next step. No. 2 THE CORTE,
OR "THE FIVE" 

This is the principal step of the tango. Starting with his right foot, the gentleman brings
it slowly back of his left, then brings the left foot even with the right and then brings it back
to its original position. Then, bringing the left foot back of the right, he bends the right
knee slowly. This bending of the knee constitutes the fifth step of the figure. At the end of
the figure the lady should continue the forward movement which she started when her partner
executed the fourth step. The couple repeat this figure five times slowly with the music, and
then with the left foot the gentleman leads his partner into the next step. No. 3 THE SINGLE THREE

In this figure the gentleman advances instead of retiring. His left foot advances about two
feet, and then he crosses over it with his right, and then the left is brought around the side
of the right and the two are brought together. While this figure consists in reality of four
steps, the third and fourth are combined, with respect to the music, being made quickly so as
not to lose a beat. The hands are kept in the same position throughout this figure as at the start.
The Single Three should be executed four times, and is followed by the Fan. No. 4 THE FAN OR EIGHT
CROSSING 

Starting with the left foot, which is slightly advanced, the gentleman crosses over it with
his right and then pivots on the right foot, brings the left about two feet back of the right foot.
Then bring the right foot back of the left and cross over the right, then pivot and bring the right
over the left, then the right back of the left to the original position. In executing this figure,
the couple describe a complete circle, or fan, the girl walking into the man's step, and he walking
into hers. The gentleman's right foot is always brought in in crossing. This figure should
be executed twice, and is followed by the scissors. No. 5 THE SCISSORS, OR DOUBLE CROSSING 

This figure may be started with either the left or right, depending upon the direction in which
the gentleman wishes to carry his partner. Assuming it is started with the left, this is crossed
over with the right and then the gentleman pivots on the left foot without moving from the spot
on which he was standing and faces to the left. Then cross the right over the left and pivot again.
Bring the feet together at the end of this step and then go into the Media Luna, or Half-Moon.
No. 6 THE HALF-MOON OR MEDIA LUNA 

Make a large step forward with the right foot, and then another with the left, then bring the
right to the heel of the left with a smart tap, then bring the left back, follow it with the right,
then make a little slide of the left foot in front of the right. This figure consists of six steps,
three forwards and three backwards, and should describe a half-moon. Then lose a bar of music
and go into the corte. From the corte the transition to el passo is simple. No. 7 THE-PASSO, OR
PASSING 

Standing with the left foot back of right, turn left at right angles to right, bend the knee slowly
with the time of the music, bring the right foot over across the left, bending again. Continue
this for eight steps. Cross the right foot over the left and alongside of it, and turn in that
position. The lady walks with the music, while the man turns completely around and ends figure
with the corte. No. 8 THE EVANTAILLE 

Advance the left foot and then bring right in front of left and bend both knees half way. Pivot
on right and bring the left foot to the side of the right at right angles. THE BRAZILIAN MAXIXE
II 

The Brazilian Maxixe can be danced to any two-step, whereas the tango can be danced only to tango
music. 

The maxixe is peculiarly adapted to the American temperament. It is full of snap and life, while
the tango is slow and languorous. 

But the maxixe proves popular because of its very beauty. It is a series of picture figures.
Although the new dances have been freely condemned by critics who continually refer to the
greater simplicity and grace of the old-fashioned forms, this criticism cannot fairly be
made with reference to the maxixe. One will have to go back to the end of the eighteenth century
to find as picturesque a dance as this national dance of Brazil. The maxixe has much in common
with the dainty minuet of that mixed period. 

Although the maxixe is not difficult to learn, it requires a good deal of strength to execute.
It is not a dance for obese people, although if conscientiously practiced by them it might prove
a valuable reducing medium. 

As the tango is the national dance of the Argentine Republic, so the maxixe is the national dance
of Brazil. There the children on the street are seen executing its graceful numbers, and its
influence is seen in the graceful carriage of the people. 

The maxixe is splendid physical exercise for the waist and hips, and in fact, there is hardly
a muscle in the body which is not splendidly developed in the inveterate maxixe dancer. 

I have not found the slightest trouble in teaching the maxixe to children of five or six and I
don't believe there is a more charming dance for children than this South American composition
affords. 

When it was introduced in Paris in the winter of 1912 and 1913 it met with instant approval, and
when Miss Walton and I presented it in New York for the first time, in the spring of 1913, it was
likewise received with the greatest enthusiasm. 

The fact that it can be danced to any two step music will be a strong factor in popularizing it.

Now let me describe the dance in detail. FIRST FIGURE 

For the first figure, the gentleman places his right hand around his partner's waist just as
far as he possibly can, she facing him. His left hand and her right are outstretched-in the manner
in which many dancers improperly outstretch them for the tango. 

The gentleman's left foot is far advanced, resting on the heel with the tip of the foot raised.
The left knee is bent. His body is bent forward in a veritable crouch. The position of the gentleman
for this step might be described as a lunge. It is important to remember that his right arm should
encircle his partner's waist just as far as he can possibly make it go. 

The first step brings the right foot up to the left and the second advances the left foot again.
The figure consists of eight two-steps, the gentleman advancing all the time. SECOND FIGURE

The second figure comprises another eight two-steps, only the steps are somewhat longer than
those used in the ordinary two-step, and with each step the gentleman sways his body from the
waistline alternately right and left. The figure is danced in a circle. The lady also sways
her body, but not quite as much as her partner. This swaying of the body is one of the characteristic
features of the maxixe. THIRD FIGURE 

The position of the third figure is altogether novel. With his left foot forward as in the first
figure, although it now rests flatfooted instead of on the heel, the gentleman stands with
his arms outstretched as if he were driving a horse which was trying to pull away from him and
nearly succeeding. His reins are the hands of his partner, who stands facing him and assumes
a similar position. 

In time with the music, the couple then go through eight steps as in the first figure, the lady
retiring, the gentleman advancing. FOURTH FIGURE 

The fourth figure is one of the most picturesque movements of the dance. The lady stands with
her hands resting on her chest and the gentleman stands close behind her, his arms encircling
her and his hands grasping hers. In time with the music they two-step to the left for eight beats
of the music, the gentleman slowly bringing his partner's hands down, out and then up over her
head until they touch with palms together as far above her head as she can raise them. In this
way their hands describe a complete circle or wheel, the hands reaching their highest position
with the finish of the eighth beat. Then eight more steps are taken to the right and the hands
are brought slowly down again to theft original position, the lady's hands resting on her chest
at the end of the eighth beat. 

Once again the wheel is described as the couple two-step to the left and at the end of the eighth
beat the gentleman turns his partner completely around until she faces him, his right hand
still holding her left in the air and his left hand holding her right behind her back. In this
position they dance eight large two-steps. FIFTH FIGURE 

With the gentleman's right hand still in the air clasping his partner's left and his left hand
clasping her right behind her back, the couple facing each other, seven more two-steps are
danced in a circle and with the last of them the lady is left at the gentleman's right side and
the rather strenuous kneeling-step is executed six times. 

At the end of this figure, the lady turns round so that her back is to her partner and she is standing
in front of him with her two hands outstretched to the side. The gentleman standing at the lady's
back similarly stretches out his hands and clasps hers. SIXTH FIGURE 

The couple dances eight two-steps as in the fourth figure, only they move to the right. As the
fight foot moves, the right arms go down and the left arms UP and with the movement of the left
foot the left arms go down and the right arms up in regular see-saw fashion. 

At the end of the eighth step the lady faces her partner with arms still out-stretched and four
more bars are danced. SEVENTH FIGURE 

The partners now face each other and assume the position used for the corte of the tango. 

Starting with his right foot the gentleman brings it slowly back to his left, then brings the
left foot even with the right and then brings it to its original position. Then, bringing the
left foot back of the right, he bends the right knee slowly. This bending of the knee constitutes
the fifth step of the figure. 

This step may be repeated four times, at the end of which the lady stands with her back to the gentleman's
face and his right arm around her waist and they dance five big two-steps. EIGHTH FIGURE 

The dance may be completed with a repetition of the principal figure of the dance, the fifth.

While there is really no set order in which these various figures must be danced, any more than
there is in the case of the tango, I insist upon my pupils following the arrangement as here outlined.

When the maxixe dancer becomes proficient, however, there is no reason why he may not vary the
order to suit himself. Every figure throughout the dance is danced to two-step time, and it
is a simple matter to pass from one figure to another, provided both partners know just which
figure is to follow. THE MAURICE WALK III 

The Maurice Walk-an eccentric variation of the one-step-is a simple dance. 

Yet it is effective. It is one of the most popular of the new dances to syncopated rhythm. 

Properly danced, the one-step in its various presentations is beautiful. 

Unfortunately, like its sister dances-the Tango, the Maxixe, and the Hesitation Waltz-the
One-step has been abused sadly. 

In dancing all these new dances to syncopated rhythms, the point to remember is that bodily
contact between the partners must be avoided . 

And this avoidance is easy. 

Bear in mind that in all the dips, and the swirls, and the kicks, the partners use alternate feet.

For instance, when the man dips with his left knee, the girl dips with her right. When the man
dips with his right knee, the girl dips with her left. 

This sounds confusing. In practice it is exceedingly simple. Further, it is the wholesome
and natural method of procedure. 

All the way through, the steps of the Maurice Walk, or of any other One-step, are as facile as
is the music. They are really instinctive steps-catchy, quick, spontaneous. 

The "Maurice Walk" or any other variation of the One-step, is danced to One-step music. A two-step
that is good and rippling, with strongly accented time, may be used if the orchestra plays it
fast enough. I know of one dancing teacher whose advertisement reads, "I teach the One-step-Good
on any Turkey-Trot." And this is practically true. 

The "Maurice Walk," as Miss Walton and I dance it, began life as the "Florence and Maurice Walk,"
a One-step variation. My wife and I created the eccentricities of it to fit a certain dance music
written for us by our accompanist for the past several years, Sylvester Belmont. 

Later we shortened both the dance and the name, the better to adapt it to ball-room dancing.

In all of our demonstrations, whether at a Le Dansant or a soiree, it has remained one of our best
numbers. 

Anybody can dance it and dance it easily. There is perhaps but one of the figures that would be
out of place in a ball-room. This is an interpolated step in the middle of the dance, later called
Figure Eleven. 

The man supports the girl with his arm around her waist. She flexes her body in a semi-circle,
simultaneously touching the floor with her heels and with her head. This position is maintained
for scarcely a single beat of the music. Its charm lies in the speed and dexterity with which
it is done. 

But to begin with the dance, step by step. 

True to its name the "Maurice Walk" starts with a walk. 

This is a simple toe and heel step, (Figure One). This is the first step almost that a child learns
in its first dancing lesson. This step runs through sixteen bars of music. Gradually it verges
into a skipping step (Figure two). This is the same little skip with which a child hurries to
school. For a few bars this skip continues-for how long is practically within the discrimination
of the dancer. Then at a heavy accentuation of the time begins the "dip" (Figure Three). The
"dip" consists in a series of genuflections on alternate knees. Any one who has ever seen a child
drop on one knee in reverence will know how this dip is made. Four times to four bars of music come
these dips. Remember they are made on alternate knees. The man begins with his right knee, the
girl with her left. The man dips with his left knee, the girl with her right. The man dips with
his right knee again, and the girl with her left. The man dips with his left knee and the girl with
her right. Rising on a beat of the music, they skip again for eight bars (Figure Four). On the
swing of the last bar they whirl into a big turn, dipping in the middle (Figure Five). The turn
and the dip last for one beat of the music. In this turn the man pivots himself with his right foot
flat on the floor. The girl faces him. He clasps both her hands. But while he is semi-stationary,
she is dipping in a turn. This might be described well by considering the man the center of the
circle with the girl by her turnings, forming the circumference, while their clasped hands
and out-stretched arms make the diameters. 

Rising from this they do the grapevine (Figure Six). The grapevine step is alternate and continuous
crossings of the feet. Left over right, fight over left, back and front, they go. This step persists
in the retreat and the advance. 

After several bars of this the two stand facing (Figure Seven). The girl puts her right hand,
palm out-turned at the back of her waist. The man stands so that his right hand clasps hers. He
turns her squarely around so that she is directly in front of him. 

For the next eight bars the girl walks in a wheel around the man (Figure Eight). Her arm is around
his neck. But her body is so far distant from his that this figure is alluring and picturesque,
and not in the least suggestive. 

The next figure (Figure Nine) introduces the cake-walk step. The man at the end of the eighth
bar reaches out his hands, clasps the girl's and draws her towards him in a simple old-fashioned
cake-walk step. As she advances he retreats. When she has come to within ten inches of him they
outstretch their arms and go for the next four bars in the cake-walk step (Figure Ten). Here
is where the interpolated figure comes. It lasts for just one bar (Figure Eleven). With a skip
the girl bends backwards to the floor. Her body is flexed. Simultaneously her heels and her
head touch the floor, but she is supported around the waist by the man's left arm. He bends from
the waist holding her right arm outstretched. 

She skips to her feet (Figure Twelve), assisted by her partner, and for from eight to sixteen
bars the same skipping step that marked the second figure of the dance is resumed. 

Then comes the second characteristic step of the dance (Figure Thirteen). This is made up of
two hops and a glide sidewise. It alternates, being done first with the right foot and then with
the left. And this is the one figure in the dance where the partners use simultaneous feet. Begin
with the man's right foot and the girl's right foot, two hops and a glide. Alternate with the
man's left foot and the girl's left foot-two hops and a glide. This step continues for eight
bars. They then revert (Figure Fourteen) to the "dip," and swirl, or Third Figure, for eight
bars. The skipping step, or Figure Two, is then resumed until the end of the music (Figure Fifteen).
The only change is in the position of the dancers. For now, while the man's right arm rests very
lightly and only half-way about the girl's waist, her arm is all the way around his neck. The
left arms of both hang loosely at their sides. Their hands are unclasped. "NIGHTS OF GLADNESS"
WALTZ IV 

To begin the Blights of Gladness Waltz the girl and the man assume the conventional waltz position.
For sixteen bars of the music they do the regulation, old-fashioned waltz step. It includes
of course the usual reverse. This is known as Figure One . 

On the last bar of this sixteen bars begins Figure Two . The man swings the girl to his left side,
Hand in hand they take four plain walking steps forward. Both begin on the right foot. These
four steps go simply, right, left, right, left . 

This swing and the four steps take up two bars of the music. 

The next two bars mark Figure Three . The couple balance to the time on alternate feet beginning
with the right foot. The time is accentuated by pausing with the left foot raised in a backward
quarter circle-the natural and instinctive swing to the rhythm. 

Now for Figure Four . With a skip the girl shifts her balance to her left foot. She brings her right
foot forward and up, describing an ascending semi-circle backwards . She balances an instant
on her left foot with her right foot in the air. She again resumes the simple skipping step that
is the bridge between figures in many of the new dances. With two short skips she should manage
to bring her right foot back even with, and directly beside, the left foot, and also to turn her
body round. She then takes four retreating glides with her right foot. This same figure is then
repeated with the left foot. The whole figure with both right and left feet should take up only
twelve bars of music. The man dances this figure exactly as does the girl. Its finish should
leave them standing side by side with hands clasped. 

Now begins Figure Five . Starting with the right foot they advance for eight bars of music in
the lattice step. This ends on the left foot. The lattice step is merely the simple crossing
of the ankles of alternate feet in a quick advance. 

In Figure Six the man swirls the girl in front of him with a skip for one bar of the music. 

Figure Seven is more complicated. They advance with four glides of the right foot. Then with
four glides of the left foot. These alternate glides take up eight bars of the music. The girl
is always in the position assumed in Figure Six . She is slightly in advance of the man-their
hands are clasped. 

The plain old-fashioned waltz with which the dance started makes up Figure Eight . This runs
for eight bars. 

In Figure Nine is the prettiest part of the waltz. This is the now famous "Back to Back Waltz."
With the only point of contact the backs of the heads and the hands clasped with outstretched
arms, the couple waltz, literally back to back, for eight bars. The old-fashioned waltz step
is used for this. It is simple in step, but the knack of it is difficult to master-at least most
of my pupils seem to find it rather so. So don't be discouraged if at first the swing of it evades
you. 

On the ninth bar they whirl and bring themselves again vis-a-vis. This is Figure Ten . 

In Figure Eleven they waltz face to face, but with folded arms, for eight bars. 

A plain walk, the same as Figure Three, but for three steps only, makes Figure Twelve . This takes
up one bar of the music. 

In Figure Thirteen we have " The Bend ." This differs slightly from the " Dip " of the "Maurice
Walk," already explained in that dance. The man pauses as in that figure. The girl genuflects
on her left knee. This takes up four bars of the music. 

On the fifth bar after the start of " The Bend " the girl regains her feet. This makes Figure Fourteen
. 

It paves the way for Figure Fifteen , which takes up four bars of music. In this they whirl vis-a-vis
in a semi-circle together until they have brought themselves still facing each other, but
each facing in the opposite direction from which the commencement of the figure found them.
The natural following of the rhythm of music is the best guide for this. 

In Figure Sixteen the plain waltz step is resumed for eight bars. Again the couple should be
at least eight inches apart. Their hands should be clasped and their arms outstretched. 

On the eighth bar count of this figure comes Figure Seventeen . This is a repetition of the "Bend,"
or Figure Thirteen. The "Bend" is done twice here and on alternate knees. 

On the completion of this follows Figure Eighteen . It is the "side to side Waltz." The start
of this finds the girl directly in front of the man. She waltzes forward. He waltzes forward,
too, as if in pursuit, but at the close of each bar of music he swirls her from side to side. This
finds her on alternate bars of the music waltzing on his right or on his left side and slightly
in front of him. 

This may run for from eight to sixteen bars. It runs into the final figure of the waltz, Figure
Nineteen . Now Figure Nineteen is the "Bend" of Figure Seventeen and Figure Thirteen. Technically
it is called the "Bend with a Break." The Bend may be any interpolated step that gives a swirl
to the genuflection. My wife, Miss Walton, dances it as a curtsey or a skip. That is the best way
I can describe it. I dance it by throwing her off her balance and yet poising her again before
she falls by a lunge of my body that gives her a chance to regain her equilibrium gracefully.
This I never have been able to teach successfully. You might call it a personal mannerism, or
an extemporaneous step. I know that I do it-I know that my wife does it. This is the best explanation
I can give. I have never seen any one who could copy it, even after watching us time after time.
This is not egotism-it is simply a "tricky" step that comes from a knack at interpreting rhythm.
Read that last bar according to your own lights is the best instruction I can give to devotees
of the "Nights of Gladness Waltz." LA HABANERA V And Some Comments on the New Dances 

This lesson presents a set of figures and graceful movements which constitute a modified version
of Carmen's famous dance, but especially designed for the ballroom and drawing-room . 

La Habanera is another tropical importation into the dance family. It is a modified version
of the Carmen's famous dance of allurement. 

One point I have tried to make clear in my presentation of these dances to syncopated rhythm
in all of my teaching and in all of the demonstrations by my wife and myself; That is, that they
are especially intended for use in the ballroom and drawing-room. 

They do not demand the familiarity of one partner in order to dance correctly, nor such complete
abandonment to their rhythms as is necessary in the stage forms of these same dances. 

The new steps are essentially the same. It is in their various adaptations to differing environments
that they vary. 

There are a number of people who even yet may find cause for criticism in some of the new dances.
To these I can only say that the older order of the dances is passing away. There never will be
a dance more beautiful than the perfect waltz-the waltz as they dance it in Vienna. 

But it is the old tale of new times, new people, new customs. The new music crept in and caught
the popular ear, the new dance steps had to follow. Ballroom dancing was dead practically.
The onslaught of the syncopated rhythms gave it life. 

The newest steps are practically kindergarten steps. Any child can do them. 

The "kick" in the maxixe has been disliked by some spectators. 

The kick is very hard to do. The girl must lift herself from the floor to a certain extent. It is
rather dangerous to depend on the frequently awkward drawing-room partner. But the kick is
not actually necessary to the maxixe. While it is the kick that makes the maxixe it is a variation
from the motif of this dance. It is the peculiarly Brazilian characteristic, yet the maxixe
has numerous figures and the kick can be left out. As I have stipulated ever since I first gave
a lesson in this dance there is the maxixe with the kick and without it. 

In my demonstration I give it. That is because I wish to show the dance in its entirety. In my lessons
i teach it. That is because I engage to teach the maxixe. But that kick is a great deal like cream
and sugar in tea-you may dispense with it, or dispense it, just as you desire. 

One word, though, I must say in defense of the new syncopations again and again. That is this-you
can eliminate physical contact from them almost entirely if you so desire. Their frequent
change of figures. and their speedy tempo insist upon a constant alertness and a concentration
of mind that keep the thoughts as busied as with a problem. 

My contention is that the new dances are what dances were intended to be-healthful exercises.
The dreamy sensuousness of the waltz, the riotousness of the late polkas and the schottisches
and the undue haste and the foreshortened grace of the two-step are done away with. 

Dancing has come in for a certain caliber of criticism ever since dancing began. Like original
sin in man, there is a subtlety to all dancing that must be reckoned with, watched for and guarded
against. 

But I maintain, and this heartily, thai the new dances with their bracing, crisp measures,
their insistent action and their whirlwind rate of speed are the nearest approach to childhood
games that have ever penetrated adult ballrooms in the guise of amusement. 

"The new dances are the most healthful form of indoor exercise that I know," said Jean de Reszke,
who has been one of the best friends that I have ever made, and is an enthusiast about them. As
a "reducer" he says he knows of none better. 

Now just a final word about the waltz. It is the most graceful and artistic dance there is. The
person who can waltz can be taught any dance. There are many who are called "dancers." To my mind
a person who would be called a dancer must first show me that he or she can waltz. The waltz is the
key-stone to all dances. The dances that are now the present vogue are very pretty. They are
easily learned. Almost anybody can do them. But glance around among your acquaintances and
count how many there are who can show you the graceful swing of the real waltz. 

When I went to Vienna, where the real waltzers of the world are I used to sit and watch for hours
the Vienese officers in their uniforms waltz; view them sliding and gliding by. Then I would
go home in front of a mirror and practice until I was tired. Then again the next night I would go
watch the officers again. Finally I got a vague idea of the real waltz. Then I practiced for a
year before I really considered that I could do it. The majority of men are ignorant of the proper
way in which to pose a woman for the waltz. This is one of the most important points. Here is the
way it is done in Vienna. 

You should hold the lady's right arm out straight and not bend it at the elbows, as so many men
do. You move only the arm in a species of wave motion. The bodies of both the man and the woman should
be kept straight. The man's right hand should rest lightly and almost at the center of the woman's
waist in the back. If there is any definite pressure it acts as a restraint and the woman is impeded
from freedom and grace of movement. You will find if you observe these cautions and take these
positions your waltzing will be much more easy and far more graceful. LA HABANERA 

This new dance creation of ours is quite different from any other dance we do. 

It is danced to a rather peculiar "Raggy" rhythm, with the syncopations much the same as the
rhythm in primitive Spanish music. 

Properly to do this dance one should get that particular piece of music written for me called
the "Maurice Walk." 

It is unlike any other walk that is being done. It has the versifications necessary for the figures
of "La Habanera." 

To start the dance you take the eight plain walking steps ( Figure One ). 

A quick "One, Two, Three" movement of the music follows. 

The interpretation of this is a decided marking of its accent. 

This is done with the shoulders and body in unison to a quick advance of alternating feet. ( Figure
Two .) You begin with the right foot. The movement is then right, left, right, left, right, left,
etc., through sixteen bars of music. The shoulders bend simultaneously. When the right foot
advances, the bend is with the right shoulder, slightly forward and sidewise. The left shoulder
bends as the left foot advances. 

For Figure Three the time is broken from "one, two, three" and you go into a two-step, starting
with the right foot, for one, two , and then with the left foot, one, two . 

This continues for eight bars of the music. 

Then comes Figure Four . For this you make a small skip and then go into a side step for sixteen
bars of music, sliding first on the right foot and then on the left foot. You repeat this twice.

For Figure Five you make a small circle, going right foot, one, two , left foot one, two , for eight
bars of music. 

In Figure Six the man folds his arms in front of him, putting his right arm over his left. The girl
folds her arms, right arm over left. Holding them right on a level with their chests they continue
the two-step time and make another circle for eight bars. 

For Figure Seven , with their arms still folded, the girl starts on the right foot and the man
on his left foot and they resume again the " one, two , three " time. They go right foot , one, two,
three, and then left foot , one, two, three, making a circle starting with the front and ending
in the front. They repeat this twice. At the end of the second circle they go into Figure Eight:

Figure Eight : This is a dip to the floor. The girl goes down on her right knee in a genuflection.
The man dips on his left. 

In Figure Nine they rise and resume again the one, two, three time for sixteen bars, making large
circles all around the room. 

Figure Ten is a large circle at the end of Figure Nine. This is one, two, three, on the left, with
the girl's left foot lifted in the back at the end of their third count. Then one, two, three,
on the right, with the girl's right foot lifted in the back at the end of the third count. 

Then, one, two, three, on the right with the girl's right foot lifted in the back at the end of
the third count. This continues for sixteen bars of music. 

At that point the music changes to a sort of cake-walk. This change in time makes possible Figure
Eleven . This is what is known as the "Eight step" in the Tango. If you will refer to my lesson on
the Tango you will find this plainly described, but you do it here to cake-walk time and you do
it twice. The knees are raised right up almost waist high, as was done in the old fashioned cake-walk.
The girl starts on her right foot , and the man on his left . You go right, left, right, left for
sixteen times. Finishing, the girl is on her left foot and the man is on his right foot . 

Figure Twelve finishes the dance. The couple do a plain cake-walk step, but the girl is on the
side of the man instead of facing him. On the two final bars of the music, the man turns the girl
squarely around deep curtesy in 

This dance is when danced once won its way with positive that if you will give up the idea of the
worked one step and want the La Habanera. 

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