Lady of the Pavements (United Artists) (1929)

D. W. GRIFFITH'S The article and drawing below on Lupe Velez’s dance in the lilm are ideal for the feature pages of your local news¬ papers and magazines as well as for your programs. They can be made the basis of a dance contest in which awards are made for the best interpretation, or for the best 50-word article on the Velez dance. Order 11—Three Column Velez Dance Drawing (Mat 20c; Cut 75c). Exact size of cut or mat 6" wide by 3 5 /a" high. D.W GRIFFITH'S "LADY OF THE PAVEMENTS' Still Tie-ups Publicity stills (10c each) can aid your campaign in many ways aside from their straight publicity and lobby display value. Direct tie-ups can be effected with various local merchants by having ther£ incorporate certain stills in their window displays. Tie-ups of this nature may be effected with: Costumers_5, 8, 21 Night Clubs_17, 19, 25 Women’s Clothes_35, 40, 111 Music Dealers_48 Dept. Stores_60 Jewelers_Pub. 65, 75, 81 By HENRY SPENSER Celebrated Dance oAuthority Lupe Velez’s solo dance in D. W. Griffith’s “Lady of the Pavements,” which is coming to the. theatre on.bids fair to start a new dance craze. Partly interpretive and partly animis¬ tic, it is an original and entirely modernistic con¬ ception. The dance has been named after the cab¬ aret in which it is performed in the picture; it is known as “The Dance of the Smoking Dog Cafe.” Solo dances are traditionally symbolic and the dance created by Lupe Velez for “Lady of the Pavements” is no exception. From the earliest times right on down through the ages the dances of each period have been expressive of their times. The famous ecstatic dance of the ancients, the first known, was a material manifestation of the doings of the supernatural powers. Miss Velez, who began her theatrical career as a dancer, has made a thorough study of the history of dancing and in her creation of the new rhythm exhibited in “Lady of the Pavements,” she has en¬ deavored to anticipate the spirit of the next era by incorporating in her steps the lines of the futurist. Impressions of Miss Velez’s dance of “The Smok¬ ing Dog Cafe” are shown in the strip above. The initial position, that exhibited by the first figure starting at the left, denotes the art of the cubist— sharp lines, sharp angles, an abstraction of grace. Position number two is a subtle accentuation in softer lines of the gesture executed in position one. It is a natural progression according to the laws governing plastic anacrusis, the laws of preparations of movements. Caterers_,-87 Decorators_ 87 Canaries_____126 The spirit of the dance is then described in a series of coordinated movements beginning with the one shown in figure three. The rhythm becomes more rapid in tempo and freer in expression. Negligees_Pub. 44, 126 Fans_Pub. 21, 65 The freedom of the dance reaches its crescendo in the succeeding phase illustrated by figure four. Breadth of line and movement are achieved by complete animation and extension of the limbs. Make-up Pub. 54, Pub. 56, Pub. 57 The purport of the dance is again given visual expression as indicated in figure five. The evolu¬ tions characterizing the initial positions are repeated in a series of mechanical movements terminating in a double pirouette. Tie-ups with gift shops, candy stores, florists using the stills of the two lovers in the picture—75, 79, 81 and 82. This completes the first phase of Miss Velez’s dance. Anyone with natural grace and an apprecia¬ tion of rhythms can master the steps. Billboard Stunt A visit to the.theatre where D. W. Griffith’s “Lady of the Pavements” is to be shown on.will not only prove entertaining but highly interesting as well, for the picture, besides being rated as one of the master director’s best, features Miss Velez’s dance creation in an important sequence. The story tells of an underworld dancer’s great love for a man above her level and how she tri¬ umphed over another woman’s flaming hate and the obstacles of caste. Place a panatrope behind a "Lady of the Pavements” poster display and keep it playing melodies heard in the picture. Set scrim in front of the exhibit on which lights should play at regular intervals. A cut-out of Lupe Velez set before a background given over to your announcement will also prove ef- ^ fective. Page Four