By JOSEPHINE BRADLEY .sx NOW that all the annual talk about .sx " new dances " is dying down once again , we arc all feeling in a justly chastened mood realizing as we must do " how utterly bankrupt ( mentally !sx ) and bereft of ideas all the ( lancing masters in the country are .sx " The author of the effusion we have quoted who signed himself as a " special dancing correspent " has with almost Latin gallantry apparently decided to heap the various omissions and sins of the whole dancing profession on to the shoulders of the men and omitted the various charming ladies who have deservedly built up big schools and reputations in the world of ballroom dancing .sx Who knows though perhaps our " special dancing correspent " had never heard of them !sx There was one thing about that article that I did like though I fancy myself enormously as a dancing master .sx I always thought I was only a teacher but I'm not , I'm a master see ?sx Determining to do nothing by halves , I went yesterday to Briggs and ordered an extremely long walking-stick with which to tap my pupils on various portions of their anatomy which are not behaving themselves properly .sx Let us leave this new dance question then and look at the dances we have got and see if they are still worth dancing .sx They arc :sx Quick-step .sx Waltz .sx Midway .sx and .sx Slow Fox-trot .sx Tango .sx Blues .sx The little thing we have drawn round the tango is meant to be a memorial tablet with the title of this article on the reverse side because we think that the tango is in danger of being gradually eliminated as an English ( lance .sx People , especially the older generation , complain bitterly of monotony in the ball-room to-day .sx Eternal fox-trots with an occasional waltz make up the evening's programme .sx In the tango we have a case of a dance with a beautiful distinctive rhythm all its own that is utterly neglected as far as the west end restaurants are concerned , at any rate .sx In the palais one must admit the tango is played regularly , not many in the course of an evening perhaps , but it is certainly a feature of the programme .sx The ubiquitous Savoy alone keeps the flag flying and they go to the expense of importing a special tango band from Paris,and WELLESLEY-SMITH .sx but as far as the other places are concerned , we do not think that we can even remember having heard two tangos played in one evening .sx One hears that they are not wanted , that the English do not understand and cannot dance to tango rhythm .sx That is nonsense but , like a lot of nonsense , it has a grain of truth at the bottom .sx The reason for the non-popularity of the tango in the last few years lies not in the rhythm but in the type of tunes that have been played .sx The tango is an Argentine ( lance later adopted by the French , and the majority of the tunes played by the various tango bands both Argentine and French are monotonous in the extreme .sx Tango music ought to be beautiful but mostly isn't .sx After listening to a good many of the new records made by the most famous tango bands in the world , we have come to rather a bolshevik conclusion we don't like them .sx We think most of them are harsh , monotonous , rather jerky and utterly with-out melody .sx We may be an unmusical race , but one thing we do like in our songs and dance tunes is a good melody .sx How much more attractive any tune is with a distinctive melody running through it .sx We remember a bar or two after hearing it the first time , we hum it , it is gone again and we look forward eagerly to hearing it again and dancing to it at the first opportunity .sx As we remarked in a previous article some months ago , the country that does produce attractive tango music is Germany .sx It is soft , melodious and usually very romantic and it makes people get up and dance .sx An example of the type of music we mean is a number from Wonder Bar called " Tell me I'm forgiven .sx " This is a tango ( composed by a German ) and incidentally one of the most attractive melodies heard for years .sx Another one to which we were introduced the other day is called " L'heure Bleue .sx " The fault of the tango's present non-popularity , however , does not lie entirely with the music .sx We have been inclined to make this dance into rather a bogey man , until we are all rather frightened of it .sx It is something very special and difficult , entirely different from all the other dances .sx Why ?sx The truth of the matter is the tango is not more difficult , in fact not as difficult , as our other dances , but instead of adopting it and altering it to suit ourselves as we have done with the fox-trot and waltz , we have .sx taken it bodily and kept it all foreign and special , whispering to each other " It must be exactly so and so and thus and thus .sx " A year or two ago some people were fond of remarking that competitions had revived dancing .sx They had standardised it so much that it had became uninteresting .sx Competitors were afraid to show any originality at all .sx That remark is certainly not justified now .sx Much more license has appeared the last year or so .sx Variations are creeping from the dance in which they originate into others .sx New steps are seen every month .sx Although , however , new and attractive variations appear in the tango , still this slight air of secrecy and " taboo " hangsround it .sx You can do a certain movement in the waltz or the foxtrot or both if you like but not in the tango on your life , it simply isn't done .sx These remarks apply not to the expert but to the man in the street .sx If we can remove his slight feeling of uneasy fear that he will look ridiculous if he attempts the tango and give him music that really appeals to him we shall have gone a long way to-wards popularizing it again .sx We hope that this article will meet the eye of some of our English composers like Noel Coward and Vivien Ellis , and that they will include a tango tune in the next musical show for which they are writing the music .sx THE ART OF TEACHING BALLROOM DANCING .sx BY EVE TYNEGATE -SMITH .sx Fellow , Examiner and Hon .sx Branch Sec .sx Imperial Soc. , Judge , World's , Star and other Championships .sx AN artist can be forced through circumstances to paint pot-boilers and thus achieve a competence , a small house in Hampstead , and sufficient money for modest material needs but a successful artist needs more .sx He must achieve contentment of mind , and in addition to satisfying his patrons he must satisfy himself that he has given of his best .sx Similarly , a teacher must know himself as being capable of imparting his knowledge in such a way as to obtain the best results from many different varieties of pupils ; otherwise , not only will there be unease in the teacher's mind , but material success will lag .sx Whether referring to the teaching of Latin or of Dancing , this is true .sx What must a teacher of Ballroom dancing know ?sx Naturally , her subject and her pupil .sx This is more necessary to-day than in the old days when the Dancing Master was a Mussolini and said exactly how and when and where the pupils mere marionettes were to move .sx Later , the Dancing Master was still largely able to control and dictate , owing to the prevalence of sequence dances .sx Nowadays , all that is changed .sx The band plays , and a heterogeneous mass of humanity sways , dips , sidles , crawls and bumps , while only here and there can one see , as diamonds flashing on a dark back-ground , the contented expression on the faces of a couple due to the girl knowing that her man can dance and she can follow .sx This untidy and uncomfortable dancing is both the fault of the profession and of the public .sx Since the great boom in dancing , when all and sundry danced , other amusements , from cross-words to skating , have become popular , because of the general trade depression and the high cost of West End dancing restaurants .sx Further , the average prospective dancer , hears and reads so much about the new dances , as the Baltimore ( my own crime !sx ) , Heebie Jeebies , Six-Eight , Black Bottom , Rhythm Step , etc. , and etc. , that he thinks there is too much to learn , quite ignoring the main fact that to-day we only have in the ballroom two main dances , firstly , the Fox-trot , and secondly , the Waltz , and possibly ( I say this hopefully ) some Tango .sx If we ignore the Tango , we find we have four forms of the Fox-trot , and the Waltz .sx The last-named is always popular , and the Fox-trot is divided into Blues , Slow , Midway and Quick , the basic movements of all four forms being similar , and all composed of slow and quick , quick , slow movements .sx Now , persuading an ordinary male to have lessons , so that he can be a source of enjoyment and not a hindrance to his partner , is like trying to get him to go to the dentist .sx He does not wish it , although it may do him good .sx Also , he watches well-known couples giving demonstrations , and because of late these demonstrations have been exhibitions in embryo , he shrugs and says , " I could not do that .sx " This brings me to one of the main principles of teaching which is , never to frighten the pupil by being too clever .sx Let us therefore consider teaching in general .sx Firstly , the pupil arrives , shy and self-conscious and not too anxious to learn at all .sx The teacher has to sense the pupil's mentality is he a copyist ?sx can he feel the rhythm ?sx what is his age ?sx can he learn technically or will it bore him ?sx where is he likely to dance ?sx Assume an intelligent man in the forties .sx A few words about the weather and London amusements " the Kit-Kat was crowded last night , " etc. Good enough he is placed .sx Start the music !sx He's a bit tense in the joints , balance all wrong , no sense of time .sx Now , the teacher knows and sees all this at once , but she must not depress her pupil by telling him so .sx The great thing is to give him confidence and awaken his interest .sx To do this I advise the teaching of a few simple basic movements , such as the Walk , Quarter Turn , and Right Pivot in the Quickstep , which will enable him to progress around the room .sx Then , before proceeding to more elaborate movements , in fact , and at the same time almost despite the pupil , you must help him to get better balance , better timing , and to relax his body .sx If your pupil should be one who has a good degree of confidence and is interested in the actual study of any subject or sport he takes up , you can teach him technically right from the start and give him an insight into the whys and wherefores .sx The great thing to remember is that at no time during the lesson must you allow your pupil to become bored , and he must always be made .sx to enjoy every minute of the half-hour , although the teacher keeps control no easy task !sx There are many different types of pupils , each requiring different handling and a different method , but with nearly all men pupils eventually the teacher hears , " Yes , I can do that with you , but last night Miss X , who is supposed to be a good dancer , fell all over my feet .sx " You have then gently to explain that a knowledge of steps is not sufficient unless he can indicate his wishes to his partner , and be " cave-mannish " enough to get them followed .sx This brings us to the woman pupil .sx The types vary here also , but chiefly we find those who suffer from a sort of inferiority complex and keep saying , " Oh , I can't dothat .sx " These have to be given confidence above all things .sx Then we find those who consider the learning of steps is enough , and others who always blame their partners .sx In all these cases the woman must be taught to follow the man .sx