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University Microfilms International A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor. Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600
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Dance development in a small community: Reading, Pennsylvania, 1850—1950
Weber, Jody Marie, M.A.
The American University, 1992
Copyright ©1992 by Weber, Jody Marie. All rights reserved.
UMI 300 N. ZeebRd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106
DANCE DEVELOPMENT IN A SMALL COMMUNITY-
READING, PENNSYLVANIA 1850-1950
by
Jody M. Weber
submitted to the
Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences
of the American University
in Partial Fulfillment of
the Requirements for the Degree of
Master of Arts
in
Dance
Signatures of Committee:
Chair &](2.ifrt ______
Dean (of the College 9 S l Date
1992
The American University 733/
Washington, D.C. 20016
CHI AMERICAN TJNlVERSm ETBM ff © COPYRIGHT by
JODY M. WEBER
1992
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED DANCE DEVELOPMENT IN A SMALL COMMUNITY-
READING, PENNSYLVANIA 1850-1950 BY
Jody M. Weber
ABSTRACT
To fully understand our nation's theatrical dance history, it is imperative to understand the evolution of dance in small communities. It is also important to realize that dance in these communities was influenced by much more than
European dance forms. This look at the arrival and development of theatrical dance in Reading, Pennsylvania must include an analysis of preceding forms that affected and contributed to this community's tradition. Reading was chosen for its rich dance tradition and the availability of personal testimony and materials to document its development.
There are three main pre-existing forms that contributed to Reading's dance heritage; acrobatics, elocution, and social dance. A brief historical background of these elements combined with their specific association with
Reading, Pennsylvania will demonstrate how they became part of their community's dance tradition. As these forms weave into
Reading's theatrical dance heritage, differences between metropolitan dance and community dance will be clarified.
ii With special thanks to Todd Mulder
for his loving support, and to
Pearl Haines Horton and Bernice Weber for
their time and memories TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ...... ii
INTRODUCTION ...... 1
PART ONE
INFLUENTIAL FACTORS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THEATRICAL DANCE IN READING, PENNSYLVANIA Chapter
1. ELOCUTION: HISTORY AND IMPORTANCE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF DANCE IN THE READING COMMUNITY . 7
2. THE ASSOCIATION OF ACROBATICS AND DANCE IN READING, PENNSYLVANIA ...... 20
Reading's Acrobatic Tradition...... 22
3. DANCING MASTERS IN THE READING AREA: 1850-1910 . 24
PART TWO
METROPOLITAN DANCE INSTRUCTORS THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF PEARL HAINES' STYLE AND TECHNIQUE
4. THE VESTOFF-SEROVA RUSSIAN NORMAL SCHOOL OF D A N C E ...... 34
5. NED WAYBURN AND HIS INSTITUTES OF DANCING . . . 45
6. THEODORE KOSLOFF AND ALEXANDRA BALDINA IN LOS A N G E L E S...... 54
PART THREE PEARL HAINES CONTRIBUTIONS TO DANCE
7. PEARL HAINES AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF HER SCHOOL . 62
8. THE EMERGENCE OF HAINES' TOURING COMPANY; POLLY AND THE POLLY AN N S ...... 79
9. CONCLUSION...... 100
iv INTRODUCTION
American dance came of age in the 1930's when great artists such as Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, and George
Balanchine began to create works of art and new techniques of learning that were to have an enormous impact on dance all over the world. These artists made their home in New York
City and their work has been well documented.
The central question raised in this thesis relates to the kind of dance that was being seen, taught, and created in small communities from 1920 through 1940. The history of
American dance during this period is unimaginable without an analysis of what was happening on the grass roots level, and how this shaped America's emerging understanding and experience with dance as an art form. It is important to ask what techniques were taught in local schools and where small town dance teachers were trained. The types of performances that teachers, students, and local residents were able to access within their community has an important impact on that community's understanding of dance.
Part of the difficulty of exploring dance history in small communities is the lack of materials to properly analyze and document the local dance heritage. The author has been
1 able to gain access to the personal archives of Pearl Haines
Horton who was an active and pioneering dance educator in
Reading, Pennsylvania. Ms. Haines continues to be a vital member of.the Reading community at the age of ninety-three. Her contributions as a dance instructor and choreographer were essential to the development of theatrical dance in Reading.
At the turn of the twentieth century, theatrical dance was almost completely unavailable in small rural communities.
The performing arts that were available seem peripheral to dance. As a member of the Reading community Haines became involved with the popular forms of social dance, and elocution. She was also influenced by Reading's active acrobatic heritage. Haines brought her unusual performing background into the art of dance when she opened her first school in 1915.
From the beginning of her school, Haines wanted to further her dance education. She continued her training in
New York and Los Angeles during the summers. In 1927 she formed a performing group called Polly and the Pollyanns which traveled throughout the East coast until 1940. Haines' school remained open until 1966. After the death of her husband she taught for one of her former dancers until 1976. Haines retired after over sixty years of teaching, performing, and choreographing for her community. Pearl Haines' dedication to the development of her art form deeply influenced the ideals of the public and Reading's current dance instruction and performances. Dance is a complex art form. It has never attained the widespread accessibility that theater and music have achieved through technology. It is not a part of the daily experience of most Americans, and is still taught through a hands-on relationship between student and teacher. Years of careful, rigorous study are needed to develop an understanding of the art form. The channels through which dance passed in the early twentieth century created conditions that allowed for enormous modifications in the technique. Teachers routinely closed their schools in the summer so that they could study dance in urban centers. Many metropolitan dance instructors offered special seminars for these teachers. Enormous amounts of information were exchanged in relatively short periods of time. It was also quite common for large urban dance schools to sell dancing instructions, choreography, and music. This implied that the art of dance could be fully understood through mail order lessons. When these factors are combined with the influences such as elocution and acrobatics, the development of dance in small communities is quite unique.
In addition to the factors influencing the development of dance technique, presenters take a different shape in rural settings. Dance was an active part of the Grandstand shows in county and state fairs. The enormous popularity of fairs in the first half of the twentieth century allowed dance to be seen by communities that may not have had access to a theater or dancing school. This places dance companies like the Polly
Anns in a powerful position to shape and influence the dance experiences of many rural areas.
Dance in rural communities has developed with influences that differ greatly from those affecting urban areas. To truly begin to understand the dance sentiments of this country, we must begin to unravel the development of dance in our own communities. This thesis will begin this exploration with the dance history of Reading, Pennsylvania between 1850 and 1950. PART ONE
INFLUENTIAL FACTORS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THEATRICAL
DANCE IN READING, PENNSYLVANIA 6-
Reading, Pennsylvania's dance heritage was influenced by elocution, acrobatics, and its local dancing masters.
Through the contributions of Pearl Haines, these factors became part of Reading's dance tradition. As Haines expanded her dance education to include theatrical forms from metropolitan areas, she incorporated elocution, acrobatics, and social dance ideas into her school and performing company.
An analysis of the history and evolution of these forms, as they relate to Reading, will begin to disclose the unique development of dance in this community. CHAPTER 1
ELOCUTION: HISTORY AND IMPORTANCE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT
OF DANCE IN THE READING COMMUNITY
Elocution originates from Latin and means literally "to speak out".1 The term developed in England during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when the English language was gaining importance in Europe. As a reaction to this movement, interest grew in defining and perfecting the language. There was sudden growth and support in creating dictionaries and refining oral pronunciations. The elocutionists were part of this movement.
After 1750 interest expanded from definition and pronunciation to include delivery and presentation. These new elements were the result of renewed interest in the English theater. By the late eighteenth century the elocutionists, working closely with lexicographers, had developed a system of phonetic spelling that isolated syllables and accents to accompany definitions in dictionaries.2 It became quite
•jean L. McKechnie (ed.), Webster's Deluxe Unabridged Dictionary (New York: Dorset and Baber, 1979), 589.
2Karl R. Wallace (ed.), The History of Speech Education in America (New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts Inc., 1954), 107.
7 advantageous in business as well as society to be able to adapt the oral delivery of the stage to conversational speech.
John Walker and Thomas Sheridan were two key figures in elocution in England during the eighteenth century.
Sheridan"s definition of the term remained true to the work of the elocutionists for over one hundred years:
A just delivery [Sheridan says] consists in a distinct articulation of words, pronounced in proper tones, suitably varied to the sense, and the emotions of the mind; with due observation of accent; of emphasis, in its several gradations; of rests or pauses of the voice, in proper place and well measured degrees of time; and the whole accompanied by expressive looks, and significant gesture."3
This verbose definition is paradigmatic of the elocutionists' style and interests. The elocutionists were concerned about developing persuasive and graceful speakers, but their claim to originality was their attention to the physiological phenomenon of the spoken voice. The elocutionary movement became involved with the science of vocal production. Practitioners were interested in the nature of pronunciation and production of the voice, and in delivery, which they considered an art form.
There were four main elements to master in the study of elocution in eighteenth-century England; bodily action, voice management, pronunciation, and vocal production.4
3Ibid., 108.
4Ibid., 110-111. Bodily action was associated with visual communication of the physical body. It is generally akin to what is currently considered body language. Detailed attention was paid to facial expression, manner, attitude, and movements of the arms and legs. Elocutionists were trained in gesture and complex actions that communicated passion. The most common issues that were communicated through the body were grace and force.
Voice management was the study of the vocal instrument in order to develop as much control and force as possible.
The elocutionists strove to develop skills of vocal buoyancy, control, flexibility, responsiveness, definition of accent, and emphasis. In addition to precise control of pitch, pause, rhythm, and tone were explored.
Pronunciation of the English language was developed through the elocutionary movement. There was an interest in standardizing phonation as a stabilizing force in the language. Sheridan's dictionary printed in 1780 was the first to respell words phonetically to further the language.5
Vocal production was the final study of the elocutionists. This particular area dealt with the actual physical formation of the words. This was the most definitive aspect of the elocutionary movement during its early development in England. Before the elocutionists' interest in this element of speech, there was little known about the
5Ibid., 111. 10 actual mechanism involved in speech production. Speech therapy did not exist, and science had done little more than visually explore the dissected vocal organs. Elocutionists identified the particular sounds that were associated with the
English language and studied the manner in which they were produced. They also began to explore the physical impediments that could inhibit vocal production. As a surge of written information became available in England, interest also grew in
America. Americans began to study the form, eventually adopting and adapting it into their own culture.
The elocutionary movement in the United States paralleled that of England until the nineteenth century. An
American named Dr. James Rush introduced more detailed scientific examinations of vocal reproduction in his 1827 book entitled "The Philosophy of the Human Voice.11 Rush's title page continues "... embracing its physiological history; together with a system of principles, by which criticism in the art of elocution may be rendered intelligible, and instruction definite and comprehensive".6 Rush's book gives a detailed account of various aspects of vocal production and control, including elementary sound formation, pitch, intonation, and the drift of the voice ( insinuating questions, commands, etc.). Each of these elements is broken into its smallest component and analyzed. Dr. Rush concludes
6James Rush M.D., The Philosophy of the Human Voice. (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott and Co., 1879), title page. 11 by examining ways in which elocution can be taught and faults in the voice that may be addressed by the instructor. For example, Rush emphasizes the necessity to pronounce the thirty-five basic elements of the English language. He then addresses issues of time and their meanings related to these elements. For instance, if the element "s" is prolonged in speech, as in "ssssstop", Rush considers it an offensive sign of contempt.7
During the nineteenth century the elocutionary movement was pushed forward by an expansion in American theater. This expansion was made possible by a relaxation in Puritan ethics, and an increased popularity in public readings and lectures.
Americans were considering the history of their young nation as heroic and romantic in relation to the final exploration of their frontier.8 Elocution helped lecturers and speakers to reflect this attitude in their oral presentations. Although
John Walker and Thomas Sheridan were studied by Rush and other early American elocutionists, interest turned continuously away from England after the passing of its dominance, and began focusing on American research.
Between 1821 and 1850 there was a great deal of study and writing on the subject of elocution in the United States.
Ebenezer Porter, James Barber, Meritt Caldwell, and William
Russell all wrote textbooks during this period that were
7Ibid., 488. 8Wallace, 179. 12 utilized for college courses in elocution. These courses were often offered in conjunction with composition at prestigious institutions such as Harvard, Yale, and Amherst.9 Elocution was considered an important part of becoming a persuasive speaker and therefore valuable to all learned men and women. Ebenezer Porter was one of the most popularly read writers on elocution. He was a minister and professor at
Andover Seminary. Porter emphasized the feelings associated with proper elocution. He acknowledged the importance of diction, inflection, stress, and timing, but felt that lack of emotion was the worst offense of oral addresses. Porter, like his predecessors, continued to work with the anatomy and physiology of the vocal mechanism. He divided his study of elocution into five parts; articulation, inflection, accent and emphasis, modulation, and action.10 He also considered proper use of the vocal instrument to be an important promoter of good health with the claim that it developed the strength of the lungs.
During the latter part of the nineteenth century the teachings of Francois Delsarte gained popularity in the United
States. Delsarte was a Frenchman whose father died when he was six years old. His mother moved the family to Paris in hopes of finding work. She died shortly after arriving, leaving Francois an orphan. Delsarte was a natural musician
9Ibid., 179.
10Ibid. , 182-183. 13 with an excellent voice, but his hopes for a singing career were destroyed when his voice was ruined with poor training. Delsarte dedicated his life to "formulating the laws of expression".11 He traveled all over Europe studying the vocal qualities, attitudes, and gestures of people. He paid detailed attention to the movement and behavior of men and women in response to a variety a emotional stimuli. Eventually, he began to notice certain consistencies which he molded into laws, and began giving lectures and lessons on this material. His popularity in Europe was enormous between
1839-1859 , although it decreased during the last ten years of his life.
It was at the very end of his life that an American named Steele MacKaye arrived in Paris to study acting. MacKaye sought out Delsarte and studied intensely with him between October 1869 and July 1870.12 MacKaye had a natural affinity with Delsarte's teachings and became a co-teacher after only a few short months. MacKaye developed and received
Delsarte's approval of a system of exercises designed to help students understand Delsarte's methods of gesture. He called these exercises "Harmonic Gymnastics".13 It was during this period that an American journalist heard a lecture by MacKaye
nTed Shawn, Every Little Movement (New York: Dance Horizons, 1963.) 15.
12Wallace, 207.
13Shawn, 18. 14 and Delsarte. The reporter, Francis Durivage, wrote an article which was published in the Atlantic Monthly in May of
1871.14 This was the first article printed about Delsarte in the United States.
The Franco-Prussian War intervened in Delsarte's association with MacKaye, sending him back to his birthplace in Solesmes, France, and MacKaye back to Boston. MacKaye immediately began giving lectures on Delsarte's philosophies while trying to save enough money to bring Delsarte to the
United States. MacKaye's first presentation was in Boston on March 21, 1871.15 On April 21 of that year he presented the same lecture at Harvard.16 Unfortunately, due to poor health and the harshness of the war environment, Delsarte died befote
MacKaye was able to bring him to the United States.
Although the full body of Delsarte's philosophies are peripheral to elocution, it appears that the elocutionists made use of certain Delsartian principles without embracing the whole of his theories and practices. Ted Shawn comments on the elocutionist's adoption of certain Delsartian ideas in
Every Little Movement:
... the majority [of students] grabbed a smattering, and went out to cash in [on Delsarte] by teaching "decomposing" exercises and to invent "statue posing" and to apply badly and falsely the laws of gesture to "elocution" which was then the rage. Before
14Ibid., 18.
15Wallace, 207.
16Ibid. , 207. 15
the days of movies and radio, to say nothing of television, there was much more in the way of living entertainment provided by each community for its own audiences, and endless programs of "recitations" were given all over the land. Of the Many so-called "Delsarte" books that appeared, many of them are collections of selections for such elocutionary readings, some with directions for the proper gestures to be used, and illustrated with pictures of men and women in the costume of the period (not an aesthetically beautiful period!) in poses representing (falsely and ridiculously) every human emotion.17
Although Shawn had a great deal of contempt for what the elocutionist's choose to do aesthetically with portions of
Delsarte's work, elocutionists had been linking gesture and expression to oral presentation for nearly two hundred years! In 1872 Boston University included the first school of oratory in higher education.18 The University was co educational and produced the next generation of speech educators. Lewis Baxter Monroe was the first head of the
Boston School of Oratory. He had been a pupil of Steele
MacKaye and was noted for his interpretive readings throughout
New England. While Monroe died shortly after receiving the position at Boston University, he was noted for being highly influential in the field of elocution. Monroe not only brought portions of Delsartian theory to elocution, but also initiated the practical use of imagery to heighten elocutionary techniques. Monroe's students went on to open
17Shawn, 18-19.
18Wallace, 302. 16 five major schools that continued the elocutionary tradition in America.19
The main developments in elocution in the latter part of the nineteenth century related to an adaptation of selected Delsartian theories and the accentuation of the mental cause of expression ( the development of the imagination). Most of the schools that taught elocution between 1870 and 1920 agreed on one general goal: that voice education should help to develop the character and enrich the personality of the student. They felt that studying literature and learning correct vocal articulation and flexibility was the key to freeing individual expression and creativity.
This is a general outline of the history and training of the elocutionary movement in metropolitan areas of the
United States, but how was this art being taught and presented in small communities during the early twentieth century? Who were its teachers and who were its students? As with most information of this kind, it was passed through many educators before arriving at the small community school. Its elements were subjected to second and third generations of personal interpretation.
In Reading, Pennsylvania during the first half of the twentieth century, elocution lessons were available through
Miss Grace Faust. Faust's personal training and history are no longer available, but her legacy of over thirty years of
19Ibid. , 303-307. 17 teaching in the Reading community reveals generations of students who remember her work. Although there were many books available to Faust, she used only verbal examples and direct manipulation with her students.20 She taught pronunciation, vocal articulation including voice projection, and accompanying gesture. Miss Faust's school did not concern itself with aspects of elocution related to public speech, focusing entirely on expressive speech. She called her school
"Miss Faust's Refined School of Stage Arts".21 Her clientele were primarily young women and children.22 Although Faust's school did teach dance, many of her early performances were held in local churches where dancing was prohibited.23 During the early 1930's Faust used her elocution students to present minstrel shows performed in blackface at local theaters.
Gloria Weber, who began studying with Faust in 1929 at the age of five, remembers participating in the shows as a child:
"In those days this was considered entertainment in the community. There wasn't much in the way of advertisements, only the [local] paper and word of mouth, but we always had a pretty good audience. We would put on minstrel shows where everyone would go in black face. We all studied elocution and were able to memorize pages and pages of material. I was always
20Annette Marth, interview by Jody Weber, December 14, 1991.
21Ibid.
22Gloria Heckman Weber, interview by Jody Weber, December 14,1991.
23Ibid. 18
what they called the "interlocker" [sic] which meant that my job was to set up all the jokes. I would stand in the middle and someone would shake a tambourine after each joke. Later on it wasn't considered appropriate any more and we stopped doing the minstrel shows.24
Faust wrote out in longhand all the material she taught her students. Costumes were sometimes employed to denote the period or mood of the readings. Dancing was kept fairly separate in the beginning.
Annette Marth began elocution lessons because her mother saw a performance at their church and thought it might cure her daughter's shyness. Marth began lessons with Miss
Faust in the late 1940's.25 In addition to the gestures and articulations, Marth remembers incorporating dance. Most of the work she did with Faust were comic monologues. She remembers exploring the stereotypes of various cultures such as Italians, Polish, or Pennsylvania Dutch. Although Faust's performance material seem to have evolved, she still wrote all of her students' monologues and taught through mimicry. By the time Marth had joined Faust's school, a speech therapist by the name of Annetta Cole was co-teaching. This seems to maintain the ideals of the older schools of elocution which combined their work with the science of vocal production.
Both Weber and Marth remember the gestural work as tiresome and meaningless. They felt that it was unnatural
^Ibid.
25Annette Marth, interview by Jody Weber, December 14,1991. 19 and contrived. Their elocutionary training did allow them to use their voices clearly and project so that they could be heard in difficult situations.
Although Faust did not incorporate textbooks into her teaching methods she did travel to New York to further her own personal training in the summer. There is no record of where Faust gained her elocutionary knowledge, but she was in charge of dramatics and elocution at Schuylkill and Albright
Colleges.26 Faust's dance training is easier to trace. She spent summers in New York studying with Ned Wayburn and Tack
Manning. She studied ballet with Michel Folkine, Albertina
Rausch, Sonia Serova and Veronine Vestoff.27
Grace Faust's School of Dramatic Arts is exemplary of how two art forms with a minimal relationship can be intermingled in a small community. Faust, originally an elocutionist, incorporated dance into her school and performances. Many local dance teachers were trained in elocution as children and incorporated it into their dancing schools as adults. Pearl Haines studied elocution before she became involved with dance. When she developed her school and performing company, elocution became a natural part of her dance performances. The assimilation of elocutionary forms into dance became an important aspect of Reading's unique dance heritage.
26Ibid.
27Ibid. CHAPTER 2
THE ASSOCIATION OF ACROBATICS AND DANCE
IN READING, PENNSYLVANIA
Although the association of dance and acrobatics may seem peripheral at first, the two have a historical connection. In the Italian Circus tradition "riders", those equestrians who performed tricks and acrobatics on horseback, based their training on the technique and posturing of the
Italian Classical Ballet.28 Through the circus tradition in the United States, acrobatics was linked to our earliest
American theatrical dancers.
One of the first American-born theatrical dancers of acclaim was John Durang.29 He gained fame as a performer in the late 1790's. Durang was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which was considered part of the frontier in the eighteenth century. He became famous for his dancing renditions of the
Hornpipe and the Allemande.30 In 1794 he starred as the male
28Harry De Muth, "Why Acrobatic Dancing?" Dance Magazine (December 1929): 43.
29Richard Kraus and Sarah Chapman, History of the Dance in Art and Education (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall Inc, 1969), 93.
30Ibid, 93.
20 21
lead in one of the first American ballets entitled "La Foret
Noire" which was seen at the New Chestnut Street Theatre in
Philadelphia.31 John Durang, however, was not just an ordinary dancer. He was a circus performer of exceptional talent.
John Bill Rickets was an equestrian of high calibre.32
He handled a show in Philadelphia which included equestrian stunts, acrobatics, and rope walkers.33 In 1795 Durang joined as a clown, acrobat, and dancer in Ricket's Circus.34 Durang performed with Rickets for many years and was given top billing as star of the show. Although Durang died in 1822, he left a detailed memoir of the early circus life.35
I ventured through the storm as I knew my presence was necessary to be at the Circus. I arrived late in the afternoon and we performed that night. The roof of the circus leaked, and was very wet. In riding the Tailor, the horses legs slipped from under him and he fell flat on his side with my leg under him. I escaped the misfortune of breaking it, but my knee swelled very much, after which I danced a hornpipe to show the people that I was not hurt-yet the next day I was laid up for three days.35
31Ibid, 93.
32John Culhane, The American Circus (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1990), 4.
33Ibid, 4.
34Ibid, 5.
35Ibid, 6.
36Ibid, 6. 22
Readina/s Acrobatic Tradition
The circus/acrobatic tradition in Reading had a firm base due to the contributions of Harry Luken (Lueken). Luken was an acrobat and showman who originated the "cast" act.37
This is a kind of acrobatics that used muscle power rather than the trapeze to "cast" a performer into aerial stunts. In
1907 he adopted his protege, Roy Latshaw, after the death of
Latshaw's mother.38 At that time Luken was operating a circus which combined acrobatics and animal acts. His circus toured the United States for two years.39 Harry Luken maintained a gymnasium in Reading that became famous for training four-man acrobatic teams. His performing group, called "The Four
Lukens", toured fairs and vaudeville houses until the beginning of World War I.40 In 1917 Harry Luken and his wife were killed in an automobile accident. Luken's adopted son
Roy took over management of the gymnasium and performing group, and he re-opened the circus. Roy Luken's Circus traveled by private train with a wild animal and acrobatic show. The circus folded when the animals were stolen in
Mexico. 41 Luken's Gym in Reading remained a popular training
37"Leroy Luken's Retirement Ends Adventurous Career." The Reading Eagle. 9 March 1958, unpaged.
38Ibid.
39Ibid.
40Ibid.
41Ibid. 23 ground for acrobatic groups. It spawned high paid quartets such as "The Four Bards" and "The Four Aces". Acrobatics were such a part of the Reading community that performers often tried acts out on the knowledgeable Reading audiences before taking them on the road.
The strength of the acrobatic tradition in Reading made its infiltration and acceptance into the dance form possible. Acrobatics eventually waned as an independent form, but has remained an integral part of Reading's current dance training. CHAPTER 3 DANCING MASTERS IN THE READING AREA: 1850-1910
By the beginning of the nineteenth century social dance had gained wide acceptance and popularity in the United
States. Dancing was a common pastime at dinners, parties, fairs, and sporting events. Reading, Pennsylvania had a rich variety of social dance activities in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Dancing Masters traveled a circuit of communities and boasted of large and lucrative businesses.
Many dancing masters adopted the title of "professor" which demonstrated their esteem in the community rather than their academic standing. Most dance instructors were musicians by trade acquiring their dancing skills through "natural talents".42 At the turn of the nineteenth century a dancing lesson cost between $3.00 and $6.00, depending on the instructor, for twenty to twenty-four classes.43
One of Reading's earliest documented dancing masters was Frank Stouch. Stouch was born in 1809 and had a background that was fairly typical among dancing masters
42"Dancing in Olden Times," The Reading Eagle. 20 October 1889.
43"The Art of Dancing in Reading in Olden Times," The Reading Eagle. 25 March 1906.
24 25 during the nineteenth century.44 Stouch was a cabinetmaker by trade and began his apprenticeship in Reading at the age of eighteen.45 He proved to have natural talent in his trade and soon wished to advance his skill in a larger city. In 1830 he traveled to Philadelphia where he apprenticed himself to a larger, more refined shop.46 Stouch had always been considered a good dancer in Reading, and when he found that his talents rivaled those of the Philadelphians, he decided to become a dancing master. When Fanny Elssler appeared in
Philadelphia, Stouch decided to put his natural talents to the test. He claims that he went to see Fanny Elssler, a famous
European dancer, perform in Philadelphia.47 After the performance he went backstage to demonstrate his dancing skills to her and her partner. Stouch reported that Elssler was impressed with his talent and gave him tips that were quite beneficial to his career.48
Stouch established his first dancing school in
Lancaster. As his reputation increased, he created schools in
^George M. Meiser, "Frank Stouch, Dancemaster," The Reading Eagle. 1 March 1978, unpaged.
45Ibid, unpaged.
46Ibid, unpaged.
47Ellsler performed in Philadelphia in 1840 for the first time. The source that places Stouch at the performance names her partner as "Marten, a famous Parisian dancer" however her actual partner during this visit was James Silvain. Although the story is possible, it may have been devised for publicity.
48 Ibid, unpaged. 26
Reading, Allentown, Easton, Pottsville, Norristown,
Phoenixville, Pottstown, Lebanon, Philadelphia, and Carlisle. Stouch claims to have had as many as four hundred pupils at any given time.49 Although it is unclear whether Stouch had assistants in his large and widespread business, it is suggested by advertisements that he traveled from town to town offering classes for two to four weeks at a time. His classes were usually offered in local dance halls and balls, and dances would follow his stay in a particular community. He offered lessons in cotillions, waltzes, reels, polkas, mazurkas, hornpipes, quadrilles, and novelty steps.50
It appears that Stouch's business was quite lucrative.
By 1876 he owned six homes basing himself and a young wife in
Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania.51 At the age of eighty-four he performed at the Chicago World Fair.52 His career lasted over sixty years, during which he taught an estimated 22,000 people to dance.53
Stouch's career is typical among dancing masters of the area in that his natural gifts drew him into the field rather than any specific "dance" training. His itinerant business which led him to at least twelve different communities was
49 Ibid, unpaged.
50 Ibid, unpaged.
51 Ibid, unpaged.
52 Ibid, unpaged.
53 Ibid, unpaged. 27 common during the nineteenth century. Stouch did not lack competition in his field. There were many other dancing masters advertising during the same period, including P. Guigon, Charles Souville, John Fahrbach, G. Harel Gundry, and
Professor William Drexel.54
These dancing masters offered a wide variety of dance lessons; Polkas, mazurkas, cotillions, waltzes, reels, and hornpipes. Although these dances were designed to be executed at social events, they were also theatrical performances.
The Polka in its simplest form consists of hop-step- close-step. It is done in 2/4 meter to a lively, uneven rhythm. The Polka originated as a peasant dance in
Czechoslovakia and reached the United States in the mid- nineteenth century.55 The Polka had attained considerable popularity in Europe where it was danced by many of the most popular stage dancers such as Carlotta Grisi, Jules Perrot, and Fanny Cerrito.56 It had a much more difficult beginning in the United States where the "close" hold necessary for the dance was considered too intimate to be seen in public.57
Although it had many opponents, the polka was eventually
54 "The Art of Dancing in Reading in Olden Times," The Reading Eagle. 25 March 1906.
55 Richard M. Stephenson and Joseph Iaccarino, The Complete Book of Ballroom Dancing (New York: Doubleday and Co., 1980) 15-16.
56 A. H. Franks, Social Dance.(London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1963), 136.
57 Ibid., 157. 28 regarded by the majority of Americans as acceptable and wholesome.
Basing their instruction on a sound basis of the dances that had traveled across the Atlantic from Europe, [dancing masters] now began to graft into their instruction certain movements, rhythms, and styles which developed from the national or regional character of the people. Although diehards continued to protest right through to the close of the century, by that time the inborn desire of the people to dance, coupled with the pioneering spirit of the teachers, and a number of educationalists who saw the benefits of dance, ....had ensured that the dance was thoroughly and firmly established.58
The Waltz suffered similar problems when it was introduced in the United States. The close hold in which the man's arm encircled the woman's back was considered scandalous by many religious leaders. These rigid moral codes were unable to slow the popularity of either the polka or the waltz.
The Mazurka originated in Poland and quickly found its way into Germany and then France. 59 The basic steps of the
Mazurka are step-cut(the foot behind)-hop. It is danced to a strong 3/4 time with the accent on the second count. The
Mazurka was usually danced by four to eight couples, and invention during the dance was possible by those who knew the steps well.60
58 Ibid., 158.
59 Franks, 151.
60 Ibid., 152. 29
The Cotillion has an interesting history which reveals the origin of its name. "Cotillion" is the French term for petticoat. The lively turning that was part of the dance unveiled the decorative petticoats worn by the women in eighteenth-century France.61 The Cotillion had nearly one hundred figures described by dancing masters shortly after its institution. The Cotillion developed during the nineteenth century to include popular parlor games into its figures.62
The English tell the story of how the Hornpipe was first danced. The story tells of a sailing ship stuck in the doldrums of the southern Atlantic. With nothing to do for weeks at a time, the sailors invented a dance to the music of the hornpipe. The dance originally contained movements that developed from the actual work done by sailors at sea. When they returned to England they spread the dance throughout the coastal regions.63 Whether or not this story is true, the hornpipe became a dance in which rhythms were stomped out by the feet.64 The hornpipe developed many variations and was often used as a demonstration of virtuosity. John Durang, one of the first popular American dancers, was known for his execution of hornpipes in the late eighteenth century. There
61 Ibid., 88-89.
62 Ibid., 146.
63 Beth Tolman and Ralph Page, The Country Dance Book.(New York: A.S. Barnes and Company, 1937) 119-120.
64 George S. Emmerson, A Social History of Scottish Dance.(Montreal, McGill-Queens University Press, 1972) 157. 30 were also variations of the Hornpipe that could be executed by six to eight couples which did not require the strength and practice of the "theatrical" Hornpipes.65
The Reel was originally a Scottish term that retained a double meaning. It was used as a general word for social dances of the countryside while simultaneously referring to a simple zig-zag figure.66 The Virginia Reel became one of the most popular versions of this dance in the United States. The
Reel was an energetic line dance which could be danced by six or more couples at a time.
Professor William Drexel was a dancing master in
Reading in the early 1900's. Drexel's dancing school was similar to Stouch's in many ways; however, certain new elements contributed to the theatrical dance tradition that would develop from one of his students, Pearl Haines.
He was trained as a musician and was an accomplished violinist. Although advertisements for his dancing school can be found in the local newspaper, most accounts of his life relate to his musical talents. He is often pictured as part of an orchestra and played frequently for local theaters.
Drexel's advertisements offer classes grouped into "adults" and "children" with a note that private lessons are
65 Tolman and Page, 121-126.
66 Emmerson, 151. 31 available.67 He always accompanied his students on the violin. Lessons cost $.25 and included instruction in dances such as the Hornpipe and the march.
Although the same dances were taught every year, Drexel did begin the tradition of presenting a performance at the end of the year. There were no costumes for this performance, but the participants dressed up in their finest clothing for the occasion. This tradition became popular as an entertainment in Reading and became an important promotional aspect of dancing schools. Although Drexel did travel within a small circuit of communities, his business became a permanent part of Reading by the early twentieth century. Year-end performances allowed him to demonstrate the talents of his students to family and community members. In addition to the previously noted social dances, Drexel advertised lessons in hoop, rope, and fancy dances. Although there is little information on the specifics of these dances, they hint at the development of more theatrical dance.
Pearl Haines studied dance with William Drexel. Her early experiences at his school became the basis on which she built her fifty year dance career. Although Haines continued her dance education in New York and Los Angeles, she perpetuated many of the dance traditions that Drexel began.
67 Advertisement, The Reading Eagle. 24 September 1916, 10. PART TWO METROPOLITAN DANCE INSTRUCTORS THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THE
DEVELOPMENT OF PEARL HAINES' STYLE AND TECHNIQUE 33
Pearl Haines spent summers in New York City from the beginning of her career as a dance teacher. She spent most of her summers studying with Veronine Vestoff, Sonia Serova, and
Ned Wayburn. These influential instructors exposed Haines to the basic techniques of ballet, tap, and ethnic dance. They also provided a meeting place for dance teachers from other small communities. The information and experience that Haines gained through her summer training, brought new forms of dance to Reading, Pennsylvania.
In addition to her work in New York, Haines also had the opportunity to travel to Los Angeles where she studied with Theodore Kosloff. Kosloff gave Haines a deeper understanding of ballet technique, and introduced her to pointework for the first time.
These instructors shaped Haines understanding of theatrical dance styles. An understanding of their background will uncover the techniques and philosophies that
Haines encountered while traveling in Metropolitan areas. CHAPTER 4
THE VESTOFF-SEROVA RUSSIAN NORMAL SCHOOL OF DANCE
The Vestoff-Serova Russian Normal School of Dance was an important contributor to the development and training of community dance teachers. The New York school offered a voluminous mail order business and summer conventions for teachers in addition to a full array of weekly classes.68 The school was not only significant as a center of dance knowledge, but also as a summer meeting ground for community dance teachers.
Veronine Vestoff was born in Russia, where he studied dance under his father Edward Vestoff. He was a well-known and accomplished dancer who partnered Europe's great ballerinas such as Marie Taglioni, Carlotta Grisi, and Fanny
Elssler.69 In 1910 Vestoff joined Pavlova's company in
London.70 In 1911 the company came to the United States and performed at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.71
68 Ann Bar zel, "European Dance Teachers in the U.S." Dance Index 3 (April-May-June 1944): 81.
69 Ibid, 81.
70 Ibid, 81.
71 Paul Magriel, ed., Niiinski. Pavlova. Duncan (New York: Da Capo Press, 1977), 13.
34 35
Vestoff stayed in New York and taught at the Gilbert School where he was listed under the name "Charles Veronine West."72 By 1916 Vestoff was teaching in San Francisco where he met
Sonia Serova. Serova received her training at the Wordsworth
School in London.73 In 1917 Serova and Vestoff returned to
New York and established a school as husband and wife.74
Vestoff and Serova seemed to know from the beginning of their enterprise that supplying materials for out-of-town dance instructors was big business. By the early 1920's they were self-publishing a variety of dances, which included music, for their mail order business. In 1926 Vestoff published the Academie De Danse, a series of lessons designed to train the dancer/teacher through the mail. This book included advice and descriptions for establishing a school.75
The introduction to Academie De Danse was written by novelist and playwright George H. Gibbs. He wrote of the advantages of becoming a dance teacher; high pay, independence, and fame, and encouraged the student to write
Mr. Vestoff directly with any questions concerning the lessons in Academie De Danse. Vestoff's lessons began with a series
72 Barzel, 81.
73 Ibid, 81.
74 Ibid, 81.
75 Veronine Vestoff, Academie De Danse (New York: Veronine Vestoff Inc., 1926) Dance Collection, Library and Museum of Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, New York Public Library (hereafter cited as Dance Collection, NYPL.) 36 of introductory chapters designed to get the novice off to a good start and continued with a discussion of the relationship * between music and dance.
Vestoff believed that dance could not function independently. He felt that dance must be supported by sound, and should function as an interpreter of the moods of music.76
Dance needed to be fully supported by music. After clarifying the music/dance relationship, he described the basic meters;
4/4, 2/4, 3/4, and 6/8. Vestoff also enclosed an index of musical terminology, such as "allegro" or "andante," to be referred to by the teacher when necessary. At the close of this lesson he recommended specific music that could be purchased for the dance class if an accompanist was not possible. This music could be bought through his school if it was unavailable to the teacher. An advertisement priced such music between $.60 and $1.50.
In the second chapter Vestoff described the kind of studio equipment that the potential dance teacher would need in order to open a dancing school. A large, well-ventilated space was suggested which must not have carpeting on the floor. A barre, four feet long and one and one-half inches in diameter, should be attached to the wall midway between the hip and the shoulder. This barre should be approximately three inches from the wall. If at all possible a mirror should be mounted on the wall directly across form the barre.
76 Ibid., III. 37
This appendix outlined appropriate practice attire and stressed the importance of soft ballet shoes.
Vestoff reminded the student that after every four lessons he would send a test to analyze their progress. Before beginning the first movement lesson, he wrote,"..Be easy, soft, and graceful in your movements (and) do not stand still."77
The first lesson taught the use of the arms, the five basic positions of the feet, and described stretches designed to increase turn-out. Descriptions and illustrations of eight
"Greek Poses" were included. This seems to have some relationship to the bare-footed expressive style that Isadora
Duncan had made popular a decade earlier. All of the lessons in Vestoff's book included sheet music with the appropriate accompaniment. Because of the popularity of "toe" dancing during the 1920's and 1930's, Vestoff had to address this issue in his very first lesson. He discussed the difficulty of this aspect of dancing, and encouraged his students to wait until they had developed the strength and technique to support pointe work.
Through over forty lessons Vestoff taught the art of ballet. Although his descriptions and terminology seem fairly accurate, he did substitute certain terminology with names that he may have made-up himself. The pique was continuously called a "perch". "Sinking" was used interchangeably with
77 Ibid, VII. 38 plie, and "slide" often replaced chasse. Wide acceptance of these terms in areas such as Reading illustrate the significance of the Vestoff-Serova School on community teachers.
Beginning and intermediate lessons in tap dance, and acrobatics were found in the pages of the Academie De Danse.
In lesson thirty-six professional use of Vestoff's training was clarified. He discussed the importance of practicing and perfecting each of the previous lessons.78 Vestoff emphasized the significance of using personality to develop style and showmanship.
Veronine Vestoff did not copyright any of the dances that he published. Sonia Serova, however, copyrighted nearly every dance that she choreographed. She may have influenced
Vestoff when he wrote the Academie De Danse, since it is one of the few items that he did copyright. Vestoff not only did not copyright his own material, he openly encouraged his students to "steal" dances from others. In the Academie De
Danse he told his pupils to take notes at any performances they saw so that they would be able to recreate the dances for their students.
Vestoff was clearly as interested in helping his students gain monetary success as he was in passing on the art of dance. He encouraged his fledgling dance teachers to give
78 Ibid, lesson 36, 1. 39 private lessons because they were quite lucrative.79 He never distinguished students for skill or talent. The teacher
should supply and encourage private lessons for any student who was willing to pay. As a guide for his teachers, or perhaps as an advertisement for his school, Vestoff listed the courses that his school offers accompanied by their current prices.
The Special Artist Course, designed for teachers, cost
$125.00 per month and was offered in July and August each year. The cost included: three ballet classes per week, one class in interpretive dance, one character class, one acrobatic class, one make-up class, and one private class per week with the following instructors: Veronine Vestoff, Sonia
Serova, the associate teacher, and the acrobatic teacher.80 This description was part of the Academie De Danse, but previous advertisements listed a wider range of classes. A
1920 advertisement offered national and folk, character, ballet, pantomime, oriental dances, ballroom, toe, nature and interpretive work, and dances of yesteryear.
Vestoff included ideas on how the local dance teacher could get free advertisement for the dancing school. He detailed the importance of having recitals which would always please the parents and would invariably get attention in the local newspaper. Sending a talented student to perform for
79 Ibid, lesson 36, 1.
80 Ibid, lesson 36, 5. 40
free at local meetings or community events was another way for the studio to get attention.81
The Vestoff-Serova School's recital was quite an
enormous event. Between fifty and sixty dancers took part in
a program listing over twenty-five dances.82 The names of the
pieces inspire images of the kind of specialty dances that
were popular during this period; "Oriental", "Little Maids of Nagasaki", "A Little Bit of Italy", and "A Holiday in Russia" among others.83
Many of the dances that Vestoff and Serova published
were similar to these specialty numbers, and alluded to
various cultures without necessarily being accurate in any
traditional sense. Two examples are the "Persian Slave Danee"
which instructed performers to wear a veil and walk in a "cat
like" manner,84 and the "Danse Orientale" which suggested that
the performers wear black bobbed wigs and chiffon pants.85
Vestoff-Serova published other types of dances including those
that were interpretive in nature. "The Life of a Rose"
81 Ibid, lesson 36, 5.
82 Programs from the Vestoff-Serova School, 5 May 1928, Dance Collection, NYPL.
83 Ibid.
84 Description for Persian Slave Dance, circa 1922-1926, Dance Collection, NYPL.
85 description of the "Danse Orientale", circa 1922, Dance Collection, NYPL. 41 epitomizes this kind of dance.86 The dancers were instructed in generalities which were laced with strong emotional descriptions; open your petals to the sun in a "slow" and
"lazy", fashion, "blow a kiss to the shower."87 In the
"Dresden China Gavotte" the movement description was followed by this note:
The success of this dance lies in the piquancy and gallantry of its rendering. Every time the lady moves she carries her stick just to clear the floor, placing it every time poses or points her foot. The gentleman should look at her constantly.88
Other dances such as the "Loves of Pierrot" were quite detailed and technical. This dance was choreographed by Sonia
Serova and included a complicated and extensive set design.89
It was choreographed for twelve female "loves" and one male
Pierrot. Fourteen diagrams describe the set and the spacial relationships between the dancers.90 Clearly there were an enormous amount of variables involved with mail order dances.
The number and skill of the dancers, the knowledge and interpretation of the teacher, and the size of the performance
86 description of "The Life of a Rose", C1922-1926, Dance Collection, NYPL.
87 description of "the Life of a Rose", C1922-1926, Dance Collection, NYPL.
88 description of the "Dresden China Gavotte", C1922- 1926, Dance Collection, NYPL.
89Sonia Serova. "The Loves of Pierrot" (New York: Vesloff- Serova School, 1926), Dance Collection, NYPL.
90Ibid, unpaged. 42 space are only a few of the possible problems involved in reconstructing a dance from text and diagrams.
In addition to Academie De Danse. Veronine Vestoff co authored Tumbling for Classwork which described basic acrobatic floorwork through advanced partnering skills.
Directions for teaching were combined with drawings to clearly describe tricks such as walkovers, backbends, cartwheels, and handstands. The "advanced stage acrobatic" section illustrated the difficult and spectacular lifts that were performed by male/female dance teams in the early twentieth century. Vestoff did not advocate the use of a mat or protective gear while learning these tricks, and instructions for spotting were almost non-existent.
Sonia Serova also produced written texts on dance training. She specialized in teaching and choreographing for children. In her book, Babvwork. she discussed her techniques for dealing with small children. Serova suggested opening and closing each "baby class" with a march. She had the children march forward in single file, then in two's, and finally in fours which placed them in a comfortable position to begin class.91 She suggested that the teacher introduce no more then two exercises per class. Serova advocated being strict and clear with the exercises and free with the dances.92 She
91Sonia Serova, BabvWork (New York: Vestoff-Serova School, undated), Dance Collection, NYPL.
92Ibid, 3. 43 included descriptions of the exercises she found most important for children; plies, releves, tendues, battements, por de bras, the curtsy, and the gallop.93 She mixed these exercises with interpretative dances that had titles such as
"Buttercups and Daisies", "Clown Dance", and "A Japanese
Baby."94 Serova discussed the beneficial nature of using nursery rhymes in dance class. She felt that the rhymes united stories that were interesting for the children with important rhythms, and could be shaped into wonderful dances.
"Babywork" was an extremely popular aspect of dance in community schools. The sweetness of the songs and the fanciful costumes were undoubtedly as important as the movement.
Sonia Serova did not confine herself to teaching
"babies" how to dance. She choreographed revues, supervised ice carnivals, and was the ballet mistress at the Strand
Theater in Brooklyn.95
The Vestoff-Serova School offered certification and always advertised the availability of mail order books and dances. Because of their special summer programming for teachers and the accessibility of written material, the
93Ibid, 4-18.
^Ibid, 32,39,53.
95"Sonia Serova Dies; Trained Many Dancers," New York Herald Tribune. 10 May 1943, Dance Collection, NYPL. 44
Vestoff-Serova School was highly influential in training the
local dance teacher and shaping her small town business.
Serova out-lived her husband's death in 1941 by only two years. Although Vestoff had encouraged potential dance teachers to join his "lucrative" profession, he had died poor.
It is unclear whether his failure to protect his work with copyrights contributed to his financial situation, or if his illness consumed all of his monetary resources. In his last years he had to appeal to dance organizations for money to pay his medical expenses.96
96"In Memorium," Dance Magazine. September 1941, 24, Dance Collection, NYPL. CHAPTER 5
NED WAYBURN AND HIS INSTITUTES OF DANCING
Ned Wayburn was born on March 30, 1874.97 He was not only a prolific director, but he also transformed American dance training and choreography in the twenties and thirties.
He directed over three hundred shows and two hundred acts during his career, each containing numerous dance routines.98
Wayburn choreographed individual and chorus specialties for vaudeville acts and Broadway shows. His school trained professional dancers and teachers, permanently influencing
American stage dance.
Ned Wayburn grew up in Chicago as Edward Claudius
Weyburn." He was educated at the Chicago Training School in mechanical drawing. Although he did go to work for his father's machinery company and was a draftsman for the 1893
Chicago World's Fair, he actively pursued his interest in the theater.100 During his years in the machine industry, he
"Barbara Naomi Cohen, "The Dance Direction of Ned Wayburn: Selected Topics in Musical Staging, 1901- 1923"(Ph.D. diss.,New York University, 1980), 13. 98Ibid, 2.
"ibid, 13.
100Ibid, 14.
45 46 worked as an usher and box office attendant in various Chicago theaters. At age twenty-one Wayburn decided to utilize his musical talent as a pianist for The Hart Conway School of
Acting (also known as the Chicago School of Elocution). The school offered a full curriculum of theatrical courses including acting, dance, fencing, gymnastics, and physical culture.101 In addition to his work as a pianist, Wayburn also became the assistant production stage manager for the
Conway School's performances.
In 1896 Wayburn left the Conway school and secured a vaudeville engagement as a pianist called "the man who invented ragtime.1,102 From 1897 to 1901 he performed in a variety of shows while becoming increasingly involved in production. His success in George Ade's The Night of the
Fourth (1901) launched his busy career which averaged ten shows per year.103 His work as a producer and choreographer created the necessity for a supply of trained dancers available at all times. He was able to meet this need by creating schools in New York and Chicago to train professional stage dancers.
The Ned Wayburn Institutes of Dancing were formed in
New York and Chicago. Wayburn billed his schools as the "king
101Ibid, 14.
102Ibid, 32.
103Ibid, 33. 47 opportunity to all who seek stage careers."104 This typical full- page ad claimed that his "modern methods" produced speedy results.
Years of training have given to Ned Wayburn a keen understanding which enables him to realize your individual ability at once, and to develop those qualities through his remarkable "Starmaking" methods...... Mr. Wayburn's motto is results- without needless waste of the pupil's money, energy, and time."105
Wayburn's schools broke down training into a few basic styles: "Modern Americanized Ballet", toe specialties, musical comedy dance, tap and stepping, and exhibition ballroom dancing.106
Wayburn claims to have invented an "Americanized" form of ballet which reduced the years of dedicated work formerly considered necessary to achieve technical skill. He claimed that a student of ballet at the Wayburn School could execute the technique by the end of one full year.107 He also said that the Wayburn School could produce a soloist in just a few short months!108 These claims could only be fulfilled if students carefully followed his plan. The ballet course must be preceded by two months of training in Ling Gymnastics (
•^Advertisement, The Dance Magazine. November 1929, 1.
105Ibid, 1.
106Cohen, "Wayburn," 39.
107Ibid, 47.
108Ned Wayburn, The Art of Stage Dancing (New York: The Ned Wayburn Studios of Stage Dancing Inc., 1925), 121, Dance Collection, NYPL. 48 called the foundation course), and consisted of three hours of class per day. These courses were taught by European ballet instructors, most of whom employed the Cecchetti system.109
Eccentric and acrobatic forms of ballet became quite popular during Wayburn's time.110 This style included deep backbends and displacement of the pelvis. Dancers such as
Harriet Hoctor became famous for such stunts. Hoctor, a well trained ballet dancer who performed in vaudeville and the
Ziegfield Follies, found that by the early twenties her ballet pieces were no longer considered complete without her famous backbend. Ziegfield was known to chide her: "That was lovely
Harriet, but don't forget the backbend.1,111 In act III of
Topsy and Eva which premiered in New York in 1924, Hoctor is described in her "bird dance".
In the moon-drenched sheen of a summer's evening, against a dimly discerned background, appears a shimmering sylph-like bird to keep watch over the slumbering Topsy and Eva. Softly she bourrees around the narrow ledge of a silvery fountain...fluttering about the stage with fairy-like lightness and ease, the climax of the number is reached when she begins to bourree backward and forward, her arms undulating softly. Like a wayward sapling on a windswept plain, she seems to weave upward and downward impelled by some unknown force until suddenly, with a great crescendo from the orchestra, she sweeps into a low backbend, exquisite in its elliptical perfection. In this position she bourrees backward, never faltering for an instant, across the entire width of the stage after
109Ibid, 47.
1I0Ibid, 47.
ulDoris Hering, "Don't Forget the Backbend, Harriet," Dance Magazine. December 1965, 114. 49
slowly raising one pointe to touch the head, then the other, she begins to turn.112
By contemporary standards of dance this description of
Hoctor's ballet scene seems to fall somewhere between a romantic ballet and a circus act!
Toe dancing was often considered a trick in the 1920's and 1930's. Toe specialties were added to the ballet form in much the same way that backbends and acrobatics were added.
Wayburn explored the medium of "toe tapping", a form originally designed to be done as group work.113 Toe tapping emphasized the use of turns to heighten visual impact. Turns enabled the dancer to create the brief silences necessary for syncopation.114 Wayburn found that toe tapping was not particularly successful as chorus work because it was quite difficult to control the sounds.115 Musical Comedy Dance was most frequently used by
Wayburn for chorus and specialty acts in revues.116 The regular chorus and solo dancers were easily distinguished from the eccentric soloists by the height of their kicks; chorus and soloists were limited to fifty degrees while eccentric
112Ibid, 112.
113Barbara Naomi Cohen, "The Dance Direction of Ned Wayburn," 51.
114Ibid, 51.
115Ibid., 51.
116Ibid, 39. 50 soloists could kick up to one hundred eighty degrees.117
Wayburn describes this dance form in The Art of Stage Dancing:
It combined pretty attitudes, poses, pirouettes, and the several different types of kicking steps. Soft-shoe steps break into it here and there in unexpected ways and places, adding a pleasing variety to the menu The dance is full of happy surprise steps, perhaps, or unexpected climaxes and variations that arouse the interest as they quickly flash by.118
Wayburn's musical comedy style popularized and developed the precision dancing that became an important aspect of specialty characterizations.
Ned Wayburn developed and defined the way that dance was being taught and performed in the twenties and thirties.
His system for teaching tap in his school included six articulations of the foot, four of which were taught in the first lesson.119 Tap, which had previously belonged to specialty solo work, became part of chorus work.
Wayburn, and other dance directors, recognized the advantage of integrating the aural dimension of marching into the dance technique, instead of adding it more conventionally through the percussion of the orchestra.120
Wayburn also utilized theatricalized forms of ballroom dances such as the Charleston and the tango.
Wayburn developed a hierarchy of dancers dividing them by height and skill, and differentiating them by the type of
ll7Ibid, 40.
118Ned Wayburn, 84-85.
119Ibid, 44.
120Ibid, 44. 51 dance most appropriate for each group. He designated five different groupings.
A 5'7'' and taller..."show girls"
B 5'5,/-5'7//...... "chickens" or "peaches"
C 5'2//-5'6//...... "chickens" or "squabs"
D 5'-5'5''...... "ponies" or "thoroughbreds"
E 5'-5'3''...... "pony teams," "pacers," or "limies. "121
The "E" dancers generally worked in large groups and performed precision dances in the musical comedy style.122
These dancers often worked the front of the stage where their movement was simple and precise. Impact was acquired through sheer numbers rather than virtuosity.123
The "D" dancers could work in individual specialties as well as musical comedy dance. Wayburn most frequently employed them in his "flirtation" dances which included audience participation.124 They performed a great deal of precision work, but were usually showcased on stairs or platforms.125
The "C" and "B" dancers were not often divided in
Wayburn's choreography. They commonly performed
121Ibid, 140.
122Ibid, 142.
123Ibid, 144.
124Ibid. , 144.
125Ibid, 144. 52 characterizations, and often acted as frames for the "A" dancer.126 It was not uncommon for these women to perform male roles in drag.
The "A" dancer or show girl was primarily used as a mannequin for elaborate costumes. The main type of movement that they employed was the "Ziegfield Walk." This walk was based on the opposition of the shoulder and hip rather than the normal arm versus leg.127 This processional mirrored those used in fashion shows and preceded Wayburn's association with Florenz Ziegfield.128
Through Wayburn's choreography, school, text on stage dancing, and self-published catalogs his techniques and ideals reach communities outside New York and Chicago. He continuously promoted the ideals of fame and beauty which he closely associated with his school. One self-published catalog is entitled "How to Win Health-Beauty, Fame,
Popularity, and Independence."129 Advertisements emphasize fame and stardom;
Raymond Eisman, one of Mr. Wayburn's Youthful pupils, is earning $500.00 per week as a stage dancer. Scores of other highly paid young stars on the stage and screen were former Ned Wayburn's proteges. Remember, the boy and girl of today are the Marilyn
126Ibid, 147.
127Ibid, 150.
128Ibid, 154.
129 "How to win Health-Beauty, Fame, Popularity, and Independence," Ned Wayburn,1874-1942 clippings file, Dance Collection, NYPL. 53
Miller and Eddie Cantor of tomorrow. A Ned Wayburn training started now means a big head start on the road to stardom.130
Ned Wayburn's work was influential in both film and live performance. His expanded ideals of technique were taught in both New York and Chicago, making his teaching available to a large portion of the United States. The accessibility of his published and film work places him in a position of great influence for community teachers and choreographers.
130Advertisement, The Dance Magazine. 1. CHAPTER 6
THEODORE KOSLOFF AND ALEXANDRA BALDINA IN LOS ANGELES
Theodore Kosloff, originally spelled Kozlov, was born on January 22, 1882 in Moscow.131 He trained at the Moscow
Imperial School and graduated in 1900.132 Kosloff traveled to
St. Petersburg to study Nicholas Legat's "class of perfection," where he performed with the Maryinsky cl903 before returning to the Bolshoi.133 Alexandra Baldina was a promising young ballerina at the Maryinsky during Kosloff#s stay. She was born in 1885 and graduated to the Maryinsky
Company in 1903 . 134 She was captivated by Kosloff and requested a transfer to the Bolshoi in order to be near him.135 Because the female competition at the Bolshoi was less intense, Baldina was soon able to secure leading roles.
131Suzanne Carbonneau Levy, "The Russians Are Coming: Russian Dancers in the United States, 1910-1933." (Ph. D. diss., New York University, 1990) 105.
132 Ibid, 106.
133Barbara Naomi Cohen-Stratyner, Biographical Dictionary of Dance. ( New York: Schrimer Books, 1982), 56.
134Levy, "The Russians Are Coming," 106.
135Cohen-Stratyner, Biographical Dictionary of Dance. 54.
54 55
She not only received the roles that she desired, but also became Theodore Kosloff's wife in 1912.136
In 1909 Alexandra Baldina, Theodore Kosloff, and his younger brother, Alexis, were invited to join Serge Diaghilev's first season of the Ballet Russe in Paris. That season presented Michel Folkine's Le Pavillion d'Armide.
Cleopatre. and Les Svlohides.137 At the conclusion of the
Paris season, a group of Diaghilev's dancers led by Tamara
Karsavina performed at the Coliseum in London.138 The group performed at the Coliseum again in 1910.139 It was during that second summer that Percy Williams, a vaudeville entrepreneur, encountered the dancers.140
Williams contracted Kosloff for sixteen weeks on the
Orpheum circuit in the United States. Kosloff, Baldina,
Alexis, Julietta Mendez, Kavatnova, Mendar, Novotny, and
Pirnikoff constituted the company that appear in America for the first time at the Colonial Music Hall in Manhattan.141
After his Vaudeville tour Kosloff was invited to present a New
136Suzanne Carbonneau Levy, "The Russians Are Coming," 109.
137Naima Prevots, Dancing in the Sun. (Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1987), 119.
138Ibid, 119.
139Suzanne Carbonneau Levy, "The Russians Are Coming", 109.
140Ibid, 109.
141Ibid, 37. 56
York season of the Ballet Russe by Gertrude Hoffmann and Morris Gest.142 He returned to Moscow to organize a group of dancers to perform in the American Saison Russe in 1911.143
The performance was held at the Winter Garden and included a restaging of Folkine's ballets.144 Theodore Kosloff was listed as "Director of Choreographie" for a program which included Cleopatre. Les Svlohides. and Scherazade.145 The
American tour lasted until 1912.
Gertrude Hoffmann was a vaudeville dancer who became one of the first women to direct and choreograph vaudeville acts and shows. She was born as Kitty Hayes cl886 in San
Francisco.146 She worked closely with Oscar Hammerstein, and may have invited Kosloff's group to put off Hammerstein rival
Otto Kahn.147 Kahn was trying to bring the Diaghilev's group to the United States, but was not successful until 1916.148
Kosloff returned to Europe after his second American tour performing at the Coliseum once again. After the onset of war in Europe, Kosloff returned to the United States to
142Naima Prevots, 121.
143Suzanne Carbonneau Levy, 109.
144Naima Prevots, 121.
145Ibid, 121.
146Barbara Naomi Cohen-Stratyner, Biographical Dictionary of Dance. 430.
147Ibid, 431.
148Ibid, 431. 57 perform at the Winter Garden. He was contracted to choreograph a series of ballets for J.J. Shubert.149 Each of these ballets was centered around an American woman. In 1915
Baldina and Kosloff opened a school in the Persian Room at the
Winter Garden in New York City.150 Kosloff found teaching quite lucrative and stood by the value of his classes. In
1916 he sued Winefred De Wolfe for failure to pay for her daughter's dance classes. The sum that was announced in court was $2 , 637. 00!151 When Kosloff re-located to Los Angeles, he left his brother in charge of the New York School.
In 1917 Kosloff made his first film, The Woman God
Forgot. Kosloff was an excellent pantomimist. His passion made him extremely successful on the large screen. By 1919
Kosloff was completely immersed in film work. He joined
Cecile B. DeMille's repertory company and performed in most of DeMille's films in the 1920's.152 Kosloff's exotic features and flamboyant style were described by Agnes DeMille:
When I first saw Kosloff he was naked in feathers, leaning on a feather spear. He had painted himself horned eyebrows in the Russian Ballet Style, and his gestures were real classic pantomime, involving clenched fists and the whites of the eyeballs, a positive style which gave the camera something to focus on...Every expression was performed with a force that
149Suzanne Carbonneau Levy, 111.
150Ibid, 117.
151 Unidentified newspaper clipping, 6 May 1916, Theodore Kosloff clippings file, Dance Collection, NYPL.
152Ibid, 140. ■ 58
could have carried him across the room and over the wall. I was awe-struck. 153
In all of Kosloff's film roles, he performed few
"dance" roles. Many of Kosloff's movies were unsuccessful, but some Paramount stock that was paid to him for his role in
The Woman God Forgot became quite valuable. By 1922 the stock was worth an estimated $500,0001154
Kosloff's teaching in the Los Angeles area began on
August 1, 1919 at his school, "Theodore Kosloff School of
Imperial Russian Ballet."155 By 1927 he had established a school that included regular scholastic subjects and was approved by the Los Angeles School Board.156 Kosloff was assisted at his school by his wife , Alexandra Baldina, by former partner and associate, Vera Fredowa, and for a brief period, Natacha Rambova.157 Kosloff's school was influential in producing talented American dancers such as Agnes De Mille.
De Mille describes the atmosphere at the Kosloff school:
She [Vera Fredowa] taught standing erect as a guardsman, and beat time with a long pole She placed our hands on the barre and showed us how to turn out our feet ninety degrees from their normal walking stance into first position. Then she told us to "plier" or bend our knees deeply, keeping our heels as
153Agnes De Mille, Dance to the Piper (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1952), 45-46.
154Tamara Karsavina, "Theodore Kosloff," The Dancing Times, January 1957, 191.
155Suzanne Carbonneau Levy, 160.
156Tamara Karsavina, 130.
157Agnes De Mille, Dance to the Piper. 45. long as possible on the floor. I naturally stuck out behind. I found the pole placed rigidly against my spine. I naturally pressed forward on my insteps. Her leg and knee planted against my foot curbed this tendency. "I can't move", I said laughing "Don't talk", she said.158
Kosloff's school brought the Russian Ballet tradition to the West Coast. His teaching was strict and produced many of America's first talented ballet dancers. His school was eventually franchised and run by Baldina after his death in
1956. Kosloff taught on his last day of his life.159
Although he was an excellent dancer, Kosloff's greatest gifts were as a good teacher. He brought Russian ballets to
Los Angeles, offering a rich new experience to the West Coast.
Unfortunately, Kosloff lacked innovation as a choreographer and was unable to successfully combine his full Russian heritage with his American experiences.
158Ibid. , 46-47.
159Naima Prevots, 131. PART THREE
PEARL HAINES CONTRIBUTIONS TO DANCE 61
Pearl Haines was a dedicated dance instructor. Her devotion to dance in Reading and surrounding communities shaped a dance tradition that is still in existence. She created a school and a performing company that exposed large sections of her community to the art form of dance. As her early experiences in Reading combine with her formal dance education, Haines' contributions to dance unfold through the teachings of her school and the performances offered by her company. CHAPTER 7
PEARL HAINES AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF HER SCHOOL
Pearl Margaret Haines was born to Mr. and Mrs. William
Haines in 1899 in Reading, Pennsylvania. She showed an early interest in the arts when she began reciting poetry at age five. By age eight, in 1907, she began to study dance with
Professor William Drexel at his studio-home on 1144 Perkiomen Avenue in Reading, Pennsylvania. Drexel taught in the rear of his home and accompanied his students on his fiddle while his wife played the piano.160 Lessons cost $.25.161
Drexel had a large prospering business by 1905. He had instituted an annual "May Party" which presented his young students in an afternoon dance festival for the parents.162
The earliest available programs are dated 1909 and show more than one performance per year. As reflected by these programs,
Drexel had added some of the "specialty" dances available by mail to his student programs. He had previously limited his school to the teaching of theatricalized social dance. The
160Pearl M Haines Horton, Fiftieth Anniversary Speech, C1966, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
l61Speech given by Pearl Haines Horton for the Y.W.C.A., 17 July 1985. Berks County Historical Society Personalities Collection.
162Ibid, also corroborated by programs of the event.
62 63 earliest dated program is called the "Children's Dress Party" and was held on January 29,1909 at the Rajah Theater in
Reading.163 The program was as follows; March, Society Quadrille, Military Schottische, Seaside Twostep, Southern
Girl Gavotte, Finger Tanz, Barn Dance, Spanish Cachucha, Scotch Highland Fling, Selected (song), Darkey's Dream, Silver
Sand Jig, Rope Dance, Sailor's Hornpipe, Japanese Coquette, and the Grecian Tamborine Dance.164 It is unclear whether
Drexel obtained dances such as the Japanese Coquette by mail or through a traveling performance company, but there is no indication that he ever took dance lessons of any kind. After the presentation of these dances, there was an intermission during which Drexel furnished music.165 Following the intermission there was social dancing for the adults.166 In the 1909 winter performance Pearl Haines performed a song, and danced the "Japanese Coquette".167
Although the exact span of Drexel's school presentations is unknown, his "May Party" program in 1909 claims to be the twenty-seventh.168 Drexel's programs may
163Pearl Haines Horton's private collection, program.
164Program, 9 January 1909, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
165Ibid.
166Ibid.
167Ibid.
168May Party and Examination Program, 14 May 1909, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection. 64 have begun as early as 1882. On the back of his "May Party" program Drexel advertises for his summer classes.
Private dancing taught during summer season in all its branches: Society Dancing, Delsartian, Classical, Fancy, Clog, Song and Dance, Buck and Wing Dance, Two- Step, Plain Waltz, Barn Dance, Three-Step, &c.1,169
The "May Party" performance is a bit more involved than the winter show. There are twenty-four dances followed by the customary dance for the adults.170 Haines danced in the
"Scotch Fling", the "Fisher's Hornpipe", and the "Japanese
Coquette".171 The program hints that Drexel maintained a school in Wernersville as well as Reading. The "May pole" dance has two lists of students; one entitled "Reading", and one entitled "Wernersville".172
Drexel's performances consisted of nearly the same program each year with an occasional new dance. In 1910 he added the "French Court Dance" and the "American Ballet
Dance", and in 1913 he added the "Flirtation" dance. The fact that Drexel presented such a set performance did not seem to affect his popularity. In 1913 and 1914 he doubled the number of children in the "May Party" shows.173
169Ibid.
170Ibid.
171Ibid.
I72Ibid. 173comparison of programs from May Party, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection. 65
Pearl Haines became an increasingly central figure in Drexel's presentations. Drexel began to hold "private" performances for his "Advanced Juvenile Dancing Class" in
1911.174 The program included eighteen girls and eleven boys.
It began with twelve dances beginning with a demonstration of class exercises. The second section was entitled "Specialties by Miss Pearl Haines (fancy dances taught in eight lessons)".175 The third and final section was a cotillion with eight figures.176 By this time Drexel's son, Harold, was involved with his father's business. Accompanied by Miss Augusta Deppen, he taught social dance and ballroom etiquette.177 By 1912 Haines participated in seven of the twenty-three dances, and was a soloist in two.178 Although
Haines did not start dancing lessons until 1907, she was involved with elocution and recitation at the tender age of
174 Private May Party Program, 13 May 1911, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
175Ibid.
176Ibid.
177Fiftieth Anniversary Speech by Pearl Haines Horton, cl966. Corroborated by Private May Party Program, 13 May 1911, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
178 Annual May Party and Examination Program, 17 May 1912, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection. 66 three.179 Her elocution teacher was Mrs E.A. Buch.180 Haines appeared to have a natural interest in the stage.
A little Reading girl who may become an elocutionist of note is Pearl, the six year old daughter of William Haines...... Pearl [had] a yearning to the same [as the performer on stage]. She was so persistent that her parents sent her to the elocutionist school of Mrs. E.A. Buch. Her talent showed itself from the first one hour lesson. As the instruction continued Mrs. Buch found Pearl one of the most promising pupils she ever had for her tender years.181
In 1902 Haines recited poetry in her first public performance at the Sunday School Rally of St Mark's Church in
Reading.182 In 1910 she made her theater debut as "Alice" in
Alice in Wonderland. 183 This was a very popular show in the community, and Haines found herself referred to as "Alice" for much of her childhood. As noted previously, Haines had a beautiful voice, and was able to attain many theatrical roles because of her proficiency as a singer and elocutionist. In
1915 she was chosen for the part of "Fifi" in a New York-based company performance.184 She did not travel with this show, so it is possible that her role was re-cast in each town.
^Presentation by Pearl Haines at the Y.W.C.A., 17 July 1985, Reading Historical Society Personality Collections.
180"Dancing Teacher Has Six Pupils in Same Family", newspaper article hand dated 1926, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
181Ibid, unpaged.
182Ibid, unpaged. 183Ibid, unpaged.
184Ibid, unpaged. 67
In 1915185, at the age of sixteen, Pearl Haines opened her first studio in Reading, Pennsylvania. It was located at the Marion Fire Hall on Moss Street. She began with five students, all brothers from the same family. One of these brothers, Rodney Keffer, eventually became the M.C. for
Haines' traveling group. The popularity of dancing in Reading combined with Haines' talents as a teacher, brought her seventy-five students by the end of her first season. Although there are no written records of her first performance, Haines probably followed the example she had received at Drexel's
School. The program was called a "May Party" and was presented at the Masonic Mosque building at the corner of
Pearl and Franklin Streets in Reading.186 The program was held at two o'clock and was followed by picnic suppers at the
Gravity Railroad. This first performance probably included elocution and song with dance since newspaper articles on other early performances mention these elements as aspects of
Haines shows.187
Early in her career as a dance teacher, Haines dedicated herself to personal growth as a dancer. Rather than relying on the material she had learned as a student of dance
185This date is remembered as 1915 and 1916 by Haines herself. Her first school performance was in May of 1916 indicating a probability that she began teaching in the Fall of 1915.
186Ibid, unpaged.
187Newspaper Articles from Haines scrapbook, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection. 68
and elocution in Reading, she decided to seek more experienced instructors in New York City. She routinely closed her school
after the spring performance and traveled to New York where
she spent the greater portion of the summer studying dance.
The first school she attended was the Vestoff-Serova Russian Normal School of Dance. At the Vestoff-Serova school she learned the basic barre work and technique of ballet.
Haines remembers the difficulty of learning the ballet technique.
In those days they had the elevated trains. By the third day we were so sore that we could barely make it up the steps!188
The Vestoff-Serova School was an important center for community dance teachers in the summer. They provided summer intensive programs which were specially tailored for the out- of- town guests. Their published books and dances were always available for purchase at the school or through the mail. Haines found the Vestoff-Serova School a wonderful place for meeting teachers like herself and exchanging ideas.189 Her scrapbooks corroborate these relationships with clippings sent by teachers as far west as Ohio. The impact of exchanges like these on the development of dance in small communities has not yet been fully explored.
188Jody M. Weber, Interview with Pearl Haines Horton, 22 February 1992.
189Ibid. 69
Haines took her first tap lessons at the Ned Wayburn
Institute in New York.190 Haines remembers that Wayburn's studio had a rug on the floor making it extremely difficult to distinguish the sounds she was attempting to make with the taps. Wayburn apparently charged extra for musical accompaniment. As she could not afford the fee, Haines had to learn to tap dance in silence on a rug!191 Although Haines felt that Wayburn's techniques for teaching tap dance were sound, she felt that the lack of music and poor working conditions were atrocious. Pearl Haines' experiences at the Wayburn School made her very meticulous about the conditions under which she taught in Reading, and she never taught without music.
Although Haines does not report exploring other classes at the Wayburn School, she probably took the "foundation course" which was required of most new students at the
Institute. An undated clipping in one of her scrapbooks shows her performing group in a warm-up "pose". The caption reads;
A group of pupils of Miss Pearl Haines going through a strenuous routine of gymnastic exercises before starting the regular dance class. Exercises are given to strengthen the back and give control of the shoulders and balance in the legs. The routine is the same as is given by Mr. Wayburn, under whom Miss Haines studied.1,192
190Ibid.
19,Ibid.
192undated article from The Reading Eagle. Pearl Haines Horton private collection. 70
Haines also attended special shows produced by Lucile Stoddart, a teacher and choreographer specializing in young children. Haines remembers attending all day performances and lectures on "babywork". These performances would allow the dance teacher to see the baby dances that Stoddart had choreographed which were for sale after the show.193 Although documentation of Stoddart's teacher courses and "congresses" is available, no direct description of this type of event could be found. Her personal dedication to "babywork," and examples of these published dances strongly suggest the veracity of Haines memory.
Haines school thrived in Reading and she eventually taught in the neighboring communities of Boyertown, Pottstown,
Lancaster, and Shenandoah.194 There are no records of what her schools taught other than advertisements and reviews. These sources will be important factors in discovering what a student might encounter at Haines' School.
Haines advertised that her school included lessons in
Toe, Tap, Acrobatic, Musical Comedy, Character, National, and
Interpretive dance.195 Other advertisements included "Russian
Ballet" and "Soft Shoe" among the styles Haines taught.
193Jody M. Weber, interview with Pearl Haines Horton, 22 February 1992.
194Advertisements for school openings, undated, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
195Advertisement, undated, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection. 71
Haines included elocution, song, and acrobatics in her dance performances. Her recital at the Pottstown High School Auditorium, presented only a few months after she began teaching in the area, received a favorable review by the local paper. This article reflects the style of Miss Haines shows and the character of her teaching.
...Considering the fact that Miss Haines has been teaching these children only since last November it is truly remarkable that the children were brought to such a high level of efficiency....The acrobats proved to be a marvel, developing such dexterity and skill with the bars and the rings as to make the audience gasp with wonder....In the second part of the program they were given an idea of what training over extended years will do in developing artists in the art of dancing. The second part of the program was given by Reading students and every number was of noteworthy interest.196
This performance included ballet, toe, national, acrobatic dance, babywork, and novelty dances.
In Reading and surrounding areas in the 1920's and
1930's, ballet work was considered a novelty rather than an accepted form of dance.197 Its presentation in programs as
"Ballet Dance", "Cute Ballet", or "Jazzy Toe Dancer" imply that the ballet form was unrecognizable unless labeled as such. Although Haines was a dedicated student of ballet in the summers, it is an area of dance that must be rigorously practiced to develop proficiency. Haines was not able to
196"Miss Haines' Pupils Appear in Revue", undated, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
197Jody M. Weber, Interview with Bernice Brown Weber, 22 February 1992. 72 completely immerse herself in the ballet form until 1927, eleven years after her studio had been established.
On June 23, cl927198, Haines traveled on the S.S.
President Adams to Los Angeles via the Panama Canal.199 In
Los Angeles she studied dance with Theodore Kosloff and his wife Alexandra Baldina. During her stay in California, Haines was able to study ballet daily and had her first encounter with pointe work.200 In the traditional Russian manner,
Kosloff arranged his students in lines from best to worst.
Haines began her study at Kosloff's studio in the tenth line.
By the end of the summer she was proud to have moved to the second.201 Haines spent most of her time at the Kosloff studio studying with Alexandra Baldina. Classes were very strict and students were not allowed to drink water or sit down at any time.202 Haines carefully studied and practiced the lessons she learned at the Kosloff studio. Her hard work earned her an invitation from Kosloff to stay and join the
198An undated article reveals her plan to leave for the west coast on June 23. In 1928 she produced "California via Panama Canal" suggesting that the trip occurred the previous year.
199"Summer in Los Angeles", undated newspaper article, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
200Jody M Weber, Interview with Pearl Haines Horton, 22 February 1992.
201Ibid.
202Ibid. 73 opera company.203 Haines was eager to return to her studio and turned down the offer, a decision that she regrets.204
Later newspaper articles report that Haines continued to study on the East Coast with Theodore Kosloff's brother, Alexis.
Pearl Haines was known in Reading for her "novelty" and
"baby" work. She incorporated tap, ballet, acrobatics, elocution, and song into choreography that was noted for its cleverness and eccentricity. Very few dances were strictly ballet or tap.
Examples of Haines ingenuity with tap are found in pieces such as "Saxophone Duo."205 This piece was performed by Bernice Brown and Candis Ginn who tap danced while
-accompanying themselves on saxophones.206 Other pieces such as "Americanized" incorporated "radium" costumes which glowed when the hall's lights were darkened.207 Haines, who was a talented marimba player, accompanied her dancers in a "Black and White" ballroom piece.208 Acrobatic numbers performed in pointe shoes, contortionists, and professional adagio teams
203Ibid.
204Ibid.
205Ibid.
206Jody M Weber, Interview with Bernice Brown Weber, 22 February 1992.
207"Dancing Exhibition", undated newspaper article, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
208"Pearl Haines' Revue Being Shown at State", undated newspaper article, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection. 74 were common.209 Most performances included a vocal solo by
Haines. Occasionally "promenade" pieces were included. These pieces were designed for the pure spectacle of the costumes, and were usually performed to poetry or song.210 In most of the dances visual spectacle was the most important aspect.
Movement and content were vital only in their relationship to the over-all visual effect. Over fifty years of sold-out houses attest to this dance style's wide acceptance in the community.211
"National" numbers were popular aspects of Haines revues. They were not necessarily performed with any sense of authenticity in relationship to the national dances they were imitating, but were employed to give the audience a sense of the exotic and for the visual stimulus of the costumes. The
Vestoff-Serova School published a great many dances of this nature and may have influenced Haines. Dances such as the
"Hungarian", "Russian", and "Song of India" are all found among the published dances of the Vestoff-Serova School.
There are very few instances where choreographic credit is given to someone other than Haines. The probability that purchased dances were used and not reported as such is high.
"The life of a Rose" was performed by Haines in the 1926 Tall
209Newspaper clippings, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
2I0Ibid, unpaged.
211Newspaper reviews of Haines shows, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection. 75
Cedars Jollies which was a variety show produced at the Strand theater in Reading.212 This dance bears the same title as one published by the Vestoff-Serova School. This practice was common and even condoned by many dancers and choreographers of this period.
Haines' "babywork" became so popular and she had so many children enrolled in her school that she began presenting programs completely made up of children. One particular performance called Tovland Scenes drew large sold-out crowds.
A newspaper review reads;
Pearl Haines baby dancers score success! Remarkable exhibition of infantile precocity given in Tovland Scenes. Orpheum is filled. Standing room in theater at premium; audience shows due appreciation.213
Haines must have presented a fantastic program to keep an entire theater of adults contented through over fifty dances performed by small children!214 The novelties Haines used with the children were once again designed to please the eye. The opening of one "baby" program was a musical band of children directed by the youngest of the class, Mr Franklin
Krick, age two and a half.215 This act was followed by
212""Tall Cedars 1926 Jollies to Open at Strand, Monday", undated newspaper article, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
213"Pearl Haines Baby Dancers Score Success", undated newspaper article, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
214Ibid, unpaged.
215"These Babies Carry an Awful Punch, Tis Said", undated newspaper article, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection. 76
Performers," a flying ring and trapeze act performed by the two seven year olds.216 In another program Haines had miniature grand pianos constructed for a specialty baby number.217
Although Haines was usually working to thrill the senses, she also tried to educate and inform her audiences about the art of dancing. In one of her baby shows she presented a section which showed the public how rhythm was taught to the children.218 She used an orthophonic Victrola which was unusual enough to gain note in the newspaper.219
More than one of her adult performances was opened with a demonstration of the classical ballet barre.220 This was a particularly important aspect of her local performances. It gave the community a rare opportunity to view a fairly unadulterated example of the ballet form. Haines even filmed her dancers in City Park. The film was meant to illustrate the good and bad points of the dancers' techniques.221
216Ibid.
217Jody M Weber, interview with Pearl Haines Horton, 22 February 1992.
218,lChild Dancers Will Perform", undated newspaper article, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
219Ibid.
22°"Interpretive Dancing", undated article, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
221"To Film Dancers", undated newspaper article, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection. A second article confirms that the film was made. 77
Haines influence on Reading and its surrounding
communities must not be underestimated. She was accessible in
a widespread array of community events. She choreographed benefit concerts for organizations such as the Y.W.C.A. and the St. Catherine's home for orphaned children.222 She was also active in a host of professional and semi-professional performances in the Reading area. She joined Gertrude Ederle, a famous swimmer, in a joint show for the Keith Vaudeville circuit at the Rajah Theater in Reading.223 She acted in a variety of local plays and musicals, choreographed ballets for local opera programs, and sent individual students to local women's club events.224 she choreographed prologues for movies which were often shown in old vaudeville houses. In 1925 she created an elaborate prolog for "The Great White Way" at the Arcadia Theater in Reading which enhanced the movie's popularity.225 This was quite common in the early days of movie presentation. Haines even worked with the Bob Morton
Circus Company. Together they presented a New Year's Eve
222Newspaper clippings, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
223Undated advertisements, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
224Newspaper advertisements, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
225"Special Film is Listed on Arcadia Bill", 22 February 1925, unidentified newspaper, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection. 78
extravaganza in which the first couple of 1933 was married.226
A group of Haines older dancers acted as the bridesmaids extraordinaire!
The Pearl Haines School of Dance had a tremendous influence on local communities. Her personal involvement with these communities continuously promoted dance as an entertainment and an art. Her eventual development of a performing group spread her influence throughout the East Coast.
226"Reading Couple to Wed in Circus Ring at Rajah", The Reading Times. December 1932, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection. CHAPTER 8
THE EMERGENCE OF HAINES' TOURING COMPANY;
POLLY AND THE POLLYANNS
By 1926 Haines' studio had been in operation for over ten years. Students who began studying with Haines at age five or six were now teenagers. She found herself in an opportune position to form a dance company. In 1926 she began to select the most talented students from her school to participate in local theatrical and social events. This young semi-professional group gained popularity in Reading and surrounding communities, and began to build a repertoire of dances. By 1927 Haines' company was fully established. She acquired a booking agent in the early thirties and traveled throughout the East Coast. The main presentors of Haines'
Company were local and state fairs which became important places for people to see dance as an art form.
As Haines pupils grew into trained young dancers, her role in the community diversified. In addition to her school's semi-annual recitals, she began to appear with a select group of students in local theatrical productions and community halls. Haines was able to choreograph and dance in
79 80
full-length reviews which incorporated eight to twenty-four dancers.
The Tall Cedars Jollies was presented in Reading on
February 8, 9, and 10 in 1926. Tickets sold for $1.00 to
$1.50 and could be purchased at a local music store.227 The
"Tall Cedars" was a men's club or lodge which hosted a variety of entertainments.228 This production was divided into two sections: song and dance episodes, and a minstrel show.229
The song and dance section was divided into four episodes; "A
Night in June", "On Deem Street", "The Jazz Cafe", and "The
Two Virginians".230 In the first episode Pearl Haines danced
"The Life of a Rose" to vocal accompaniment. In the second section, the minstrel show, Haines presented eight of her students as the "Charleston girls".231 Haines and her dancers appear to have other roles in the Follies which were described in a local review:
Miss Haines Dancers told a charming story, presented a musical novelty in the form of a song contest, and concluded the first section of the entertainment with a colorful picture, "The life of a
227Advertisement, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
228Jody M. Weber, interview with Bernice Brown Weber, 30 June 1992.
229"Tall Cedars Open Minstrel and Show at Strand Tonight," undated article, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
230Ibid, unpaged.
231"Tall Cedar Charleston Girls," undated newspaper article, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection. 81
Rose". Later in the performance seven dancers presented a dance a la the "London Rockets," which especially pleased the audience with the skill of the girls dancing in the "line formation" to the trains of the "Stars and Stripes Forever". 232
In another review Haines' dancers were described as one of the most important parts of the show.
The Pearl Haines' dancing unit easily stole a big part of the show, and were recalled for the drill dance, which was executed with perfect precision. Much credit is due to Miss Haines for the dance numbers staged in the Jollies. 233
The Tall Cedars Jollies was well received by the
Reading community. The opening night performance was greeted by over two thousand audience members at the Strand Theater.234
Pearl Haines and her select group of students performed at a community center called Wittich Hall. Wittich's was a music store which also provided musical instruction.235 These presentations combined elements of performance with elements of instruction into what might presently be labeled a lecture- demonstration. These performances were conducted on a series of Tuesday nights. Haines labeled her young group "Miss Pearl
232"Vim and Pep in Tall Cedars Show," undated newspaper article, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
^"Cedars Wind up Jollies at Show Tonight," undated newspaper article, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
234" Jollies of Tall Cedars Opens Monday Night", The Reading Eagle. 7 February 1926, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
235Jody M. Weber, interview with Bernice Brown Weber, 30 June 1992. 82
Haines and her Dancing Ensemble. 1,236 Haines' ensemble included nineteen students. The Wittich Hall programs are unique among concerts presented by Haines. They rely heavily on ballet and folk dance rather than the novelties that she presented in most of her concerts. Haines gave her interpretations of various dances from The Nutcracker. It is unclear whether she had seen this ballet and was attempting to reconstruct aspects of it from her memory, or if she was presenting completely new interpretations to the music.
Included in the Wittich Hall programs are "The Nutcracker
Suite," "Dance of the Hours," "Candy Fairy," and the "Arab" dance.237 Preceding these are a group of folk dances and the entire program is concluded with a piece called
"Americanized."238 The Wittich Hall programs were given for seven weeks and provided Haines with the unique opportunity to gain publicity for her new company while familiarizing the local audience with dance styles.
Haines choreographed a follies act which was presented at the Rajah Theater in Reading. This act included ten of her best students and was presented along with several other Keith
Vaudeville numbers. During the first part of the week it was
236"Miss Pearl Haines Dancers at Wittich Hall Recital", undated newspaper article, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
237"Dancing Exhibition", undated newspaper article, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
238Ibid. 83 followed by the "Keyhole Kameos," and during the second part of the week it was followed by "Go into the Kitchen."239
Although there are many advertisements for this week long event, the descriptions of the actual dances are very slim.
In the "Gaiety Whirl" Miss Haines will present 10 of her most advanced pupils in a very clever "follies" act arranged for herself especially for the Rajah bill.
Many new features will be presented, including Egyptian, Polish, Military, and many other new dances and songs.240
This description implies that the show primarily consisted of novelty and pseudo-ethnic dances. The advertisements focus on the talent of "Reading's own girls."241 Although this is clearly meant to play on the loyalty of the community, reviews also comment on the quality of Haines' dancers.
This is one of the best semi-professional dancing and musical combination ever put on the stage in Reading.242
Pearl S. Haines' 10 follies girls, of 17 or thereabouts, appeared in a gorgeous revue....Miss Haines added to her already abundant laurels as a producer of good stage offerings in her "Gaiety Whirl,"
239Advertisements, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
^"Double Feature Bill at Rajah First Three Days", undated newspaper article, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
241 Advertisement, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
242"Pearl Haines and Dancers at Rajah", undated newspaper article, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection. 84
in which a large class of her finished pupils presented a variety of new dance specialties.243
The "Gaiety Whirl" was quite successful in Reading and played
at the Park Theater in Brooklyn the following week.
In the early thirties Haines was able to acquire a booking agent for her company. His name was George Hamid and he was one of New York's leading theatrical agents. Hamid was born in Broumana, Lebanon in 1896.244 He was a talented tumbler. At the age of nine he met Annie Oakley while traveling through Europe with his uncle's group of "Arab
Tumblers". Oakley taught Hamid to read, write, and speak
English. Eventually he was able to come to the United States as a tumbler for "Buffalo Bill's Wild West." This show was closely akin to the circus. It combined daring acts of horsemanship and acrobatics with live animals and was often performed in a ring. Buffalo Bill's Wild West included other
Arabs as an exotic element.245 In addition to Hamid there was a group of skilled Moroccan riders.
Hamid's control over the English language, combined with his experiences in an enormous variety of performance settings, provided him with the expertise necessary to become a leading theatrical agent. In the 1930's Hamid joined forces
243"Rajah Shows Musical Play, Haines Dancers", undated newspaper article, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection. 244J ohn Culhane, The American Circus. An Illustrated History. 119.
245Ibid, 119. 85 witn circus owner Robert Morton to create the Hamid-Morton
Circus, which developed into a powerful organization.246
Hamid booked Haines' group as a free act at fairs and expositions from Canada to Georgia. He called their group "The Biggest Little Show on Earth".247
Fairs may at first appear to be an odd place for a dance company to perform, but they were, in fact, a greatly anticipated event in rural communities. By the late twenties and early thirties fairs had developed a system for presenting quality entertainment at the grandstand. The importance of fairs as theatrical presenters cannot be underestimated in communities that had little or no access to traditional theatrical settings.
The original objective of the fair was to create an environment for the exchange of goods. As fairs developed they maintained three objectives; to provide a place to exhibit, to provide a place to compete, and to provide a place to have fun.248 Competitions for produce and baked goods drew farmers who could get top price for winning entries; eventually livestock and horticulture were included.
Communities treated the fair as a holiday which always
^John and Alice Durant, Pictorial History of the American Circus. 315.
247Jody M. Weber, interview with Pearl Haines Horton, 22 February 1992.
248Edwin Yeich, "The Reading Fairs-Then and Now," Historical Review of Berks County vol. 10 no. 4 (July-Sept. 1955), 98. 86
included drinking and amusements. Many schools offered vacations while the fair was in town. Although fairs were originally held at the center of the nearest town, their extreme popularity forced the construction of permanent sites.
The 1852 Reading Fair had over twenty thousand visitors!249
By the 1870's more than one hundred thousand people attended the Reading Fair over the course of one week.250 County societies became necessary to successfully oversee the planning of such a large event. Reading's society and ones like it were the first to furnish free entertainment for fairgoers. Early entertainments included simple bike races, horse plowing contests, and horse shows.251 Over the years the fairs became more diversified, and complex entertainments were provided by the local planning society. By the 1880's the Reading Fair was presenting acrobatic aerial routines, fighting cats, and balloon ascensions.252 In
1915 Reading could no longer manage the enormous crowds and a new fairground was constructed on the outskirts of town. The site was located at the junction of the Reading and
Pennsylvania Railroad lines in Muhlenberg township. Two main highways passed on either side of the seventy-eight acre
^Ibid, 105.
250Ibid, 105.
251Ibid, 104.
252Ibid, 108. 87 expanse.253 The new fairgrounds included exhibition buildings, a racetrack, grandstand, and midway. In 1922 a modern stage was constructed complete with dressing rooms and lounges.254 By 1935 George Hamid and Son Agency booked all the free acts that were presented at the Reading Fair, including comedians, acrobats, bands, celebrities, beauty contests, local talents, and water fountain displays.255
The free act was considered the highest-class entertainment available at the fair. Admission to the fair included access to all the events held on the grandstand, and free acts were meant to entice people to come to the fair.
For a small fee there were other amusements available in the
Midway section. These often included "girlie" and "freak" shows. From cl932 to 1941 Haines Company traveled a circuit of fairs during the summer and early fall. Haines felt deeply responsible for the well-being of her young dancers. The women were carefully chaperoned to insure that no one's safety or reputation was at stake. This aspect of her company was very important to Haines. She considered her dancers family, and often battled against negative stereotypes that had come to be associated with theatrical performers.256
253Ibid, 108.
254Ibid, 110.
25sIbid, 110.
256Jody M Weber, interview with Pearl Haines Horton, 22 February 1992. 88
"We were a family during the days of the Polly and the Pollyanns [Horton said]. We stuck together. We wouldn't have come out with the reputation we did if we hadn't worked together."257
Haines touring group was named by Mayor Stauffer of Reading who said that the group was always spreading sunshine with their work. 258 The first year the group traveled by train, but eventually they required the space of two large passenger cars and a five ton-truck.259 The truck had two large tent flaps that would unfold with the truck as the center pole creating a dressing room and dining area.260
Because facilities varied enormously, Haines had to carry her own lighting equipment and backdrop in addition to costumes, props, and sets. Her backdrop included five large white pillars with metal piping extending from a top corner.261
Black curtains could be drawn along the piping to create a
"stage space." The equipment necessary to produce the
Pollyanns was quite extensive. The truck carried twelve steamer trunks with the wardrobe, and special trunks to carry musical instruments and props: a marimba, a vibraharp, an accordion, eight snare drums, one bass drum, cymbals, batons,
257Valerie Petrie, "Dancing led to friendships still tapped 65 years later," The Reading Eaale Times, undated, 1 (A) and 2 (A) .
258Jody M Weber, interview with Miss Pearl Haines Horton, 22 February 1992. 259Ibid.
260Ibid, confirmed by photographs.
261Ibid. 89
tambourines, parasols, ten sets of steps, four musical stairs,
feather fans, canes, a tap floor for rough stages, lights,
scenery, and curtains. 262 In addition to the performance equipment, the truck carried dressing tables and chairs, fans and heaters, and kitchen equipment with service for seventeen. At the height of the Pollyanns' touring they supported ten dancers, two truck drivers, a master of ceremonies, a musical director, a specialty team, Pearl
Haines, and her mother as cook and wardrobe mistress.
Each fairground had a band that was expected to play for the Pollyann's performance. These bands had an enormous range of experience and talent depending on the location of the fair. Many were amateurs. George Gross often traveled with the group as director of music. 263 He would bring the written musical scores and rehearse the local band before the performance. Haines was an accomplished musician and vocalist. It was not uncommon for her to sing or play the marimba to accompany her dancers.264
Touring on the fair circuit usually took place between
July and October, beginning in upstate New York or Canada and
262These details were listed in a speech given at a Pollyann reunion in 1959 at Schlegel's Field House in Reading, Pennsylvania. The reunion is confirmed by a local newspaper article and the notes are part of Pearl Haines Horton's Private collection.
263Jody M. Weber, interview with Bernice Brown Weber, 30 June 1992.
264Ibid. 90 moving south to Georgia. Performances were Tuesday through
Saturday, allowing the groups to travel' on Sunday and
Monday.265 If the fair had horse or car races in the afternoon, the dancers were often asked to provide entertainment between events. These afternoon performances were shorter and less involved than their evening counterparts which included the company's newest costumes and dances.266
The performers were most often accommodated in residential homes, rarely staying in hotels. The dancers usually paid about $5.00 per week for their room, and $5.00 per week for meals.267 This left them with twenty dollars per week as salary. Pearl Haines would receive and disperse money from the fair to all the acts booked by Hamid. This was a lengthy process for which she received no compensation.268
The crowds attending the grandstand performances were often enormous. The 1935 Georgia State Fair estimated attendance at five thousand, requiring two performances per evening to accommodate the crowds.269 Advertisements for the fairs tended to exaggerate the size and origin of Haines group. Although she generally traveled with eight to twelve
26SIbid.
266Ibid.
267Ibid.
268Ibid.
269,iTwo Shows Each Night for Revue", unidentified newspaper article dated 1935, Bernice Brown Weber's private collection. 91 dancers, local advertisements claimed anywhere from twenty to one hundred performers! One article from the West Virginia Fair states that Haines would present twenty girls "direct from Radio City".270
The Pollyanns were often accompanied by a male dancer who performed partnering roles. Haines did occasionally hire dance teams to join the fair tours.271 These teams were usually professionals from Reading who often toured independently during other times of the year.
The dances that the Pollyanns performed on tour were mainly tap, jazz (in the twenties style), promenades, pseudo ethnic dances, and various novelties.
Tap pieces were usually executed in the group military style that Ned Wayburn popularized. Haines' "Navy Step Dance" is indicative of this style. Eight dancers tapped in unison on miniature three-step staircases. Costumed in white sailor's uniforms they saluted, kicked, and tapped with military precision. 272 Combining novelty with tap, Haines devised a Marimba tap dance. In this dance Bernice Brown and
Pearl Haines tap danced behind a Marimba while playing
270Undated newspaper article, Bernice Brown Weber's private collection.
271 Jody M. Weber, interview with Bernice Brown Weber, 30 June 1992.
272Jody M. Weber, interview with Bernice Brown Weber, 30 June 1992. Confirmed by photographs from Pearl Haines Horton's private collection. 92
"Someday my Prince will Come" on the instrument.273 In another tap novelty, Bernice Brown tapped on top of a bucket.274
The jazz style of the Pollyanns mainly included popular dance styles of the twenties. Haines theatricalized the
"Charleston" into jazz choreography, costuming her dancers in feathered hats, revealing shorts, and black patent leather belts.
Promenades were meant to accentuate the beauty and grace of the dancers while displaying elaborate costumes. For her most spectacular promenade, Haines had costumes specially made by a designer in California. The identity of the designer has not been uncovered, but the costumes were photographed. In this piece Haines sang and recited poetry that expressed different aspects of "mother nature."275 Each aspect was depicted by a dancer who appeared on stage in a highly ornate costume. Haines entered first as "mother nature" and recited poetry for ten women; spring, sun, wind, lightening [sic], rain, summertime, storm, autumn, harvest moon, and winter.276
273Ibid 274Ibid
2750riginal hand written text for the piece, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
276Ibid 93
The kind of text and costumes used in a promenade are illustrated in the section entitled "Lightening [sic]." The dancer in this section appeared on stage in a black bikini with a sheer black cape attached at the neck and wrists. She wore an elaborate headpiece with lightening bolts extending for two feet on either side of her head, and had smaller bolts sewn on the breasts and hips of her bikini.277 As she walked on stage Haines read:
If you're ever struck by lightening You'll know just how it feels. This girl has me so dizzy I'm walking on my heels27*
Promenades usually did not contain dancing because of the size and detail of the costumes.
Haines' pseudo-ethnic dances were based on stereotypes that were theatricalized. General impressions of ethnic dances and costumes created exotic atmospheres for fair audiences. "In the Persian Market" featured costumed dancers in long sheer skirts with bare midriffs. The sheer material extended from headpieces to sticks which acted as arm extensions. Jewels decorated the hips, chest, and head of each dancer.279 Haines also presented a "Hungarian Dance" on the fair circuit. Both these ethnic styles were available
277Photograph taken on fair circuit, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
278Hand written text, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
279Photograph, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection. 94
with descriptions and choreography from the Vestoff-Serova
School. Whether Haines got the idea from Vestoff-Serova and
choreographed her own version, or actually reconstructed their choreography, is unclear.
Haines was known for her novelty dances. These dances or acts were designed to interest and delight the audience with some original or unique idea. In "Chimes" each dancer held a chime that had a specific pitch. With black feathered boas circling their necks, the dancers were arranged on a
large staircase, and played "The Bells of St. Mary."280 In
"The Pony Dance" Haines held the reins for eight female
"ponies." Each dancer had ribbon-reins attached to their waists and wore tall feathered headpieces. The movement was secondary to the formation of the dancers and the ribbon.
This dance was very popular and appears in photographs throughout Haines7 career.281
Haines7 novelty acts included an eleven-person percussion ensemble that consisted of various cadences and marching formations,282 a "Navy Signal Dance" with blue and white flags, 283 and theatricalized ballroom pieces in the
280Jody M. Weber, interview with Bernice Brown Weber, 30 June 1992. Confirmed with photographs from Pearl Haines Horton7s private collection.
281Photographs, Pearl Haines Horton7 s private collection.
282Jody M. Weber, interview with Bernice Brown Weber, 3 0 June 1992.
283Photograph, Pearl Haines Horton7s private collection. 95 style of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.284 In Haines' earliest fair acts she created an enormous rope "spider web."
This "web" was carefully hung at the Reading Fair and supported nine dancers.285 The dance consisted of acrobatic shapes and contortions done in unison while suspended in the web. Although this dance was popular, Haines stopped performing it because it was very difficult to maintain and assemble the web.
In addition to the regular fair circuit, Hamid occasionally booked the Pollyanns for larger expositions. In 1934 the group traveled to Puerto Rico for the "Gran Feria n
Exposition de Puerto Rico." This exposition was a celebration of the capitol city of San Juan. It emphasized the industrial, commercial, artistic, and cultural development of
Puerto Rico.286 Company sailed there on the San Jacinto steamer on June 16, 1934.287
Haines always took exceptionally good care of her dancers, and shortly after boarding she checked in on each one. To her outrage she found that two of her dancers had
284Jody M. Weber, interview with Bernice Brown Weber, 30 June 1992.
285Ibid
286Gran Feria n Exposition de Puerto Rico, guidebook to the Puerto Rico Exposition of 1934, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
287Date confirmed by a steamer ticket belonging to former dancer Bernice Brown, corroborated by an undated newspaper article, Pearl Haines Horton's private Collection. 96 been booked in steerage, a highly unreputable place for two single women. To express her indignation, she announced to the captain that she would have to sleep in steerage with her girls. The captain was clearly embarrassed by the situation and invited the group to be his special guests during the rest of the voyage.288
The Puerto Rican Fair and Exposition was an enormous celebration. It was held from June 22 through July 8 and was primarily situated in a park in San Juan called "el Parque
Munoz Rivera."289 It was the largest fair held in San Juan since 1912 and many were invited; Puerto Rico, the neighboring islands, and the United States. President Franklin D.
Roosevelt attended the exposition as an honorary guest. The exposition included booths for food, clothing, electronics, and arts and crafts.290 There were automobile shows, carnival rides, fireworks, and military parades.291 They enlisted a wide assortment of variety acts including an illusionist, an exotic bird show, a dwarf named Mr. Small Man, and a "talking" animal show. 292 In addition to these attractions, there were
288Jody M. Weber, interview with Pearl Haines Horton, 22 February 1992.
289Guidebook of exposition events, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
290Guidebook of Exposition, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
291Ibid, unpaged.
292Ibid, unpaged. 97
"spectacular" performances held in the evening. Among these acts were a sky diver plummeting one hundred feet into ten feet of water, and a high wire act in which motor scooters were driven on a wire one hundred feet in the air.293 The exposition also included a variety of local talent in bands and children's choirs.
Haines engaged fourteen dancers for this tour, adding some new dancers from her school. The youngest member of her company was Bernice Brown who was only fifteen years old.
When they reached the island, the fourteen dancers were joined by a Puerto Rican dance team called Dorita and Montenegro .
A special cabaret called the "Criollo" was constructed for the bands and dance groups.294 The Criollo was an open- air cabaret with a grass roof that was situated near the beach.295
This cabaret was the main performance space for the
Pollyanns. They did perform in an indoor theater called the
"Teatro de Varedades" on June 24, but the reasons for this special performance space are unclear. 296 The Pollyanns performed at the Criollo almost every night during the exposition starting at 8:00 p.m.297 Their performance appears
293Ibid, unpaged.
294Guidebook of events, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
295Photograph of Criollo which includes advertisement for the Pollyanns, Pearl Haines Horton's private collection.
296Ibid, unpaged.
297Ibid, unpaged. 98
to have lasted no more than half an hour because other events were scheduled in the cabaret at 8:30 p . m . 298
Pearl Haines carefully chaperoned the Pollyanns because
of their youth. She felt personally responsible for their safety and well-being so far away from home. When the group
left Puerto Rico on July 12, they were told that they were the first foreign performing group to leave without a murder or a suicide.299
Although this trip was a career highlight for Haines the burden of responsibility she felt towards the young dancers took its toll. Hamid offered the Pollyanns bookings in Japan soon after their return from Puerto Rico, but Haines declined any more foreign travel.300
The Pollyanns did journey to other expositions in the
United States. From October 8 through 12, 1935 they performed at the Tobacco Exposition in South Boston, Virginia.301 They also traveled for special events that were held outside their usual July through October touring period. Examples of such engagements are the Bloomsburg Lodge Elks' St. Patrick's Day
Party in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania and the North Carolina
298Ibid, unpaged.
299Jody M. Weber, interview with Pearl Haines Horton, 22 February 1992.
300Ibid
301Unidentified newspaper advertisement from a local Virginia paper, confirmed by "concessioner" pass belonging to former dancer Bernice Brown, Bernice Brown Weber's private collection. 99
Bankers' Association Convention held in Pinehurst, North Carolina.302 These events were usually held in the spring before the Pollyanns began their regular touring engagements.
The programs were full of the novelty and variety that made
Haines' group popular in the thirties.
Pearl Haines' Revue of Reading, which presented programs at the club before and is popular, was at its best last night and gave two programs, changing the numbers for the second...The show opened with the song "Here We Are," followed by "Dallas Strutt [sic]" by the entire company....Miss Haines added further delight to the program with "Marimba Buck" and followed with a xylophone solo that got a big hand with the crowd.... During the second half of the program Miss Bernice Brown provided a real novelty, a tap dance on a bucket. There was an acrobatic act by another of the company and the closing number was "College Rhythm."303
Haines stopped touring in 1941. Her company was still popular and her agent George Hamid was still providing plenty of work, but Haines was ready to quit. She said that she had seen too many dancers perform past their prime, and she wanted to be remembered for her best work. 304 Haines' feelings were probably an important factor in the closing of her touring group, but the advent of U.S. involvement in World War II undoubtedly contributed to the decline of touring opportunities.
302Programs and clippings, Bernice Brown Weber's private collection.
303"Hundred in Attendance at St. Patrick Party Bloomsburg Lodge Elks," unidentified newspaper clipping, Bernice Brown Weber's private collection.
304Jody M. Weber, interview with Pearl Haines Horton, 22 February 1992. CHAPTER 9
CONCLUSION
Pearl Haines continued to be an active member of the dance community long after the closing of her touring company. Although she did not travel after 1940, she did continue to choreograph for local operas, fairs, and community events.
In 1952 she married Harry Horton who had been an official for the fair in Afton, New York for thirty-five years. Haines lived in Afton where she directed a small dance studio until her husband's death in 1958. She returned to
Reading and taught for former partner Mickey Norton until her retirement in 1970.
Pearl Haines Horton performed, choreographed, and taught dance for over fifty-five years in Reading,
Pennsylvania. Through former students, the dance tradition that developed in the twenties and thirties has survived and continued to prosper. The forms that she made popular through the Pollyanns; ballet, jazz, tap, acrobatics, and novelty dances are still being taught in the majority of Reading's dance studios. Other forms of contemporary dance are still unavailable.
100 101
Further analysis of dance at the grass roots level is vital to the development of a comprehensive dance history in the United States. Without continued evaluation of the types of dance that were accessible to small communities, an understanding of America's basic dance values cannot emerge.
Unfortunately, the materials that document small dance companies and local dance teachers are often kept in private collections that are lost through death and re-location.
Continued exploration into unusual presentors of dance such as fairs, expositions, and private clubs, will be a significant factor in determining the scope of early dance audiences. This information, coupled with the types of dance being presented, may help to evaluate current dance sentiments.
The 1920's and 1930's provided unique avenues for the exchange of dance information. Dance manuals and choreography were readily available through the mail. Metropolitan dance studios offered six and eight week courses designed specifically for the community teacher. Dance techniques which normally took years to learn were exchanged in brief periods of time. Further study of the impact of these exchanges on the structure of dance techniques may reveal alterations in terminology and understanding outside metropolitan areas. The belief system in he thirties that condoned and encouraged the theft of choreography may have 102
influenced our current belief system that tends to de-value
the art form of dance.
This thesis does not include analysis of the influence
of motion pictures on community studios. The availability of movies throughout the United States combined with the popularity of dance scenes, may have had an enormous impact on the development of dance in small communities. The motion picture medium may also have acted as a unifying factor in
style and aesthetics. Further research in this area will provide vital information on this topic.
Pearl Haines Horton was dedicated to the dance education of her community. But the aspect of her school and company that she felt was most important was her values. She was committed to creating a positive reputation for the art form of dance. In interviews throughout her dance career, she stressed the values that she placed on her dancers and herself above everything else: friendship, family respect, and clean social activities. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
Stratyner, Barbara Naomi Cohen. Biographical Dictionary of Dance. New York: Schrimer Books, 1982.
Culhane, John. The American Circus: An Illustrated History. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1990.
De Mille, Agnes. Dance to the Piper. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1952.
Durant, John and Alice. A Pictoral History of the American Circus. New York: A.S. Barnes and Company, 1957.
Emmerson, George S. A Social History of Scottish Dance. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press, 1972.
Franks, A. H. Social Dance. A Short History. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1963.
Harris, Jane A., Anne Pitman, and Marlys S. Waller. Dance A While. Minneapolis: Burgess Publishing Company, 1950.
Kraus, Richard, and Sarah Chapman. History of Dance in Art and Education. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1969.
Lowery, Sara. Interpretive Reading Techniques and Selections. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts Inc., 1942.
Magriel, Paul, ed. Niiinski. Pavlova. Duncan New York: Da Capo Press, 1977.
May, Earl Chapin. The Circus from Rome to Rinqlinq. New York: Dover Publications Inc., 1963.
Nevell, Richard. A Time To Dance: American Country Dancing from Hornpipes to Hot Hash. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1977.
103 104
Prevots, Naima. Dancing in the Sun. Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1987.
Rush, James M.D. The Philosophy of the Human Voice. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippencott and Co.,1879.
Scott, John R. A.M. The Technique of the Speaking Voice. Missouri: E.W. Stephens Publishing Co., 1914. Shawn, Ted. Every Little Movement. New York: Dance Horizons, 1963.
Stebbins, Genevieve. Delsarte System of Expression. New York: Edgar S. Werner Publishing and Supply Co., 1902.
Stephenson, Richard M., Joseph Iaccarino. The Complete Book of Ballroom Dancing. New York: Doubleday and Co., 1980.
Swift, Mary Grace. Belles and Beaux on Their Toes: Dancing Stars in Young America. D.C.: University Press of America, 1980.
Terry, Walter. The Dance in America. New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1971.
Tolman, Beth, Ralph Page. The Country Dance Book. New York: A.S. Barnes and Company, 1937.
Wallace Karl R. (ed). History of Speech Education in America. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts Inc., 195.
DISSERTATIONS
Cohen, Barbara Naomi, "The Dance Direction of Ned Wayburn: Selected Topics in Musical Staging, 1901-1923." Ph.D.diss., New York University, 1980.
Levy, Suzanne Carbonneau. "The Russians Are Coming: Russian Dancers in the United States, 1910- 1933." Ph.D. diss., New York University, 1990. 105
ARTICLES "Absolutely Free- Harry Luken's Moose Carnaval." The Reading Eagle. 6 May 1917, 14.
Barzel, Ann. "European Dance Teachers in the U.S." Dance Index. 3 (April-May-June 1944): 81.
Bruce, Bruce R. "Acrobatics Defended." The American Dancer. June 1935, 11.
Bruce, Bruce R. "Tips on Acrobatics" The American Dancer. May 1935, 10.
"Dancing in Olden Times." The Reading Eagle. 20 October 1889, unpaged.
De Muth, Harry. "Why Acrobatic Dancing?" Dance Magazine. December 1929, 43.
Hering, Doris. "Don't Forget the Backbend Harriet!" Dance Magazine. December 1965, 112.
Herrmann, William J. "Raising the Roof on Acrobatics." Dance Magazine. June 1931, 45.
"Leroy Luken's Retirement Ends Adventurous Career" The Reading Eagle. 9 March 1958, unpaged.
Marsh, Lucile. "Making Acrobatics Dancing." The American Dancer. November 1933, 6.
Meiser, George M. "Frank Stouch, Dancemaster." The Reading Eagle. 1 March 1978, unpaged.
Miller, Herbert M. "Has Acrobatics an Age Limit?" The Dance Magazine. June 1930, 28.
"Miss Faust's Pupils Score Hit in Revue". The Reading Eagle. 1 May 1931, unpaged.
"The Art of Stage Dancing in Reading in Olden Times." The Reading Eagle. 25 March 1906, unpaged.
Petrie, Valerie. "Dancing led to Friendships still tapped 65 Years Later." The Reading Eagle Times, undated, 1A.
Yeich, Edwin. "The Reading Fairs-Then and Now." Historical Review of Berks County. vol. 10 no. 4 (July-Sept. 1955): 98. 106
INTERVIEWS
Horton, Pearl Haines, dancer/choreographer/director. Interview by author, 22 February 1992, Reading Pennsylvania. Tape recording. Leader Nursing Home, Reading.
Marth, Annette, former elocution student. Interview by author, 14 December 1991, phone interview.
Weber, Gloria, former elocution and dance student. Interview by author, 14 December 1991, phone interview.
Weber, Bernice Brown, former dancer and performer for the Pollyanns. Interview by author, 22 February 1992, 30 June 1992, Reading Pennsylvania.
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
Historical Society of Berks County. Special Theater and Personalities Collections. Reading Pennsylvania.
Horton, Pearl Haines. Private Collection, given to author in 1991.
Special Collections, Library and Museum of Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, New York Public Library.
Weber, Bernice Brown. Private Collection. Reading Pennsylvania.