notony
that ruled in their junior years, and contrast the dearth of then with
the abundance of now.

For really, whether in our multitude of revues or in our many musical
shows, the dance, the pose, the rhythm and the melody that enhance our
delight are all parts of the modern art of stage dancing. And it is of
this art that the writer seeks to tell the story in the present
volume.

Both the theatre and the dance have had their abundant historians. The
dance is ages older than the theatre. The time of the coming of the
dance to the theatre and their fitting union ever after has been
recorded. They have advanced together hand in hand through the years
since their first meeting and are closer companions at this hour than
ever before.

Stage dancing is no longer the haphazard stepping of feet to music
that it was in the beginning. From its earlier crude efforts it has
developed into a modern art, a profession of the first class, calling
for brain and ability at their very best, its devotees giving years of
labor to perfecting themselves in their chosen art.

[Illustration]

[Illustration: ONE VIEW OF GRAND BALL ROOM]

[Illustration: NED WAYBURN REVUE]

MODERN STAGE DANCING

Modern stage dancing differs from social or ballroom dancing in that
it is the kind of dancing that one can commercialize.

Most of the artistic and financial successes of the stage today are
built upon music and dancing. We find these two essential elements in
opera, revue, musical comedy, pantomime and vaudeville, while the
place of the dance in moving pictures may well be recognized. Should
the old-time minstrel show come back, as it is certain to do, there
will be added another name to the list of active entertainments that
call for a union of music and dancing to insure their prosperity.

The Follies, the Frolics, the Scandals, the Music Box, the Vanities,
the Passing Shows--by whatever name the modern revue is spread before
an eager public, the basis of its appeal is always the same. And when
the Junior Leagues--the various charity organizations and the social
and college clubs of our cities stage a performance that shall appeal
to the interest of their public, and consequently gather in the
shekels to their coffers, these amateur organizations turn naturally
to music and dance and spectacle as the mediums with the widest
appeal; an appeal to both the performer and the spectator.

Incidentally, let me say that the appeal of