Variety (February 1914)

VARIETY A trip around what might be called the popular dancing cabarets in New York shows no decline of the "dancing craze" in its hold on the public. Most of these places charge an admission of ten cents (covering cloak check), while the dances have a fixt d charge of five cents each, per couple. A commend- able feature of the pop dance halls is that no intoxicating liquor is sold. "Soft drinks" only are purchasable. One or two list coffee, tea and sand- wiches on a minor bill of fare. Of all the pop dance halls, none approaches for floor space the Danse d'Hiver (William Fox's floor over the Audu- bon pop vaudeville theatre), at Broad- way and 165th street. The plot of the building is triangular. It is of two stocies, the upper one given entirely over to dancing, with the floor laid out in irregular form, and is nothing short of "immense" in size. In accordance with the magnitude of the place, an orchestra of over 20 pieces furnishes enjoyable and fine dance music. It ioundf somewhat strange to hear in one of the cheapest-admissioned dance halls in New York the largest cabaret band in the city. At the d'Hiver one can dance almost continually. This les- sens the crowd at the tables, since most are always on the floor, some pre- ferring the rags, others the waltzes, and io on. The pop dance halls have discovered the size of the dance floor is the main attraction. Everything in these halls is sacrificed for dancing space. Tables are set alongside the floor, but the greater seating accom- modation appears to have been pro- vided by wall benches. During a lull in the dancing, the space behind the floor is badly congested. This is par- ticularly so at the La Fleur, above the Hamilton theatre at Broadway and 145th street. The La Fleur appears to attract a wholly local crowd, and, though but a mile away from the d'Hiver on the same street, neither apparently aflfects the patronage of the other. The Hamilton's dance hall (operated by Moss & Brill, who run the pop vaudeville theatre beneath) is about one-half the size of the Audu- bon's, but has a large dance floor, com- paratively, and draws well from among quite young people in the main. Prof. Romenyni is carded as the dance in- structor at the La Fleur, which also has a floor manager who carefully looks out for dancers inclined to be loose in action. The Danse d'Hiver uses two of these floor inspectors. The Alhambra theatre Roof Garden (Sev- enth avenue and 125th street) is now the Paradis de Danse, run under the theatre management and in much the same way as the others. This is also crowded for table space, but the Al- hambra presents a nice and large danc- ing floor, quite sufficient for the locality which has a couple of other dancing floors in the near vicinity. Last week the College Inn, on West 125th street, formerly strictly a cabaret cafe, built a floor in the rear of the place, and it brought new business, though the danciag ipace ia limited. Brooklyn does Bot appear to take to the dante thing as hard as New York. In the principal part of that city, near Fulton street and Flatbush avenue, is Rauch'i, about the only dancing cabaret about there, but it is not doing big business, perhaps because the floor space is al- most wholly taken up by tablet. Rauch's is laid out much as The Tokio on West 45th street, but not nearly as elaborately furnished nor as attrac- tive. Hickey's, once the principal res- taurant-cabaret across the bridge, has given up its old stand, replaced by a music store. In the higher-priced grade of New York dancing cabarets, (through admission or the prices of re- freshments) business continues to hold up. At Healy's (66th street), for in- stance, the patronage there has gradu- ally forced tables onto the dance floor, until Healy's is not the pleasant danc- ing cabaret it once was, nor as inviting. Healy's also seems to be drawing the transients more than it did, which, while it may mean a larger crowd nightly, could hardly bring the gross receipts to the size the smialler but better spending parties did. Sophie Levitan, secretary to Nich- olas M. Schenck, and Leopold Kohls won first dancing prize recently at Young's Million Dollar Pier, Atlaqtic City. "The La Fuilana" is a new dance at the Jardin de Danse (New York Roof). Eddie Pidgeon put it on the day after reading that the Pope had approved but one dance of the Tango series. Janet Mclllwaine and J. J. White do it on the Roof floor. Whoever guessed what sort of a dance the Pope meant seemed to take it for granted an Irish reel would have some part in it. Con- sequently Miss Mclllwaine and Mr. White dance a variated reel that the Roof patrons applaud as though never having seen it before. This dance thing is funny when one notes how a cabaret crowd takes to anything that's called a "dance" without even wishing to an- alyze it. The "refreshment" end of the cabaret may have something to do with this, though. Perhaps that is why a dancing couple go so much better on a ballroom floor than they do on the prohibition vaudeville stage. Cincinnati*! first tango champion- ship medal was won by Inez Fennell, 18, who recently was awarded hrst prize by Cleveland photographers for being the prettiest girl in that hamlet. Miss Fennell's partner in a tango con- test at the Orphcum Winter Garden— H. B. Leussing—did not get anything but honol^. He and Miss Fennell are looking for vaudeville engagements. He recently studied the tango in New York. Mae Murray, now at the College Inn, Chicago, is going to Los Angeles for a dancing spell on the Coast. It was Miss Murray who started the meline scarf fad among the professional danc- ing women. While none probably credit Misi Murray with this, they all aflaat It Carlos SebaatUn, who dances at the Blackstone and Rector's in Chicago, will return to the New York Roof Feb. 25. Mr. Sebastian established his fame as a dancer on the Roof, where he was very popular, though many would comment that he bent his knees while waltzing. According to the com- menters, this was almost equivalent to first degree arson. Evelyn Nesbitt Thaw and her stage dancing partner. Jack Clifford, did the dancing cabarets in New York Satur- day night. Mr. Clifford has finally placed Miss Nesbitt in the regular dancing department. When first ap- pearing at Hammerstein's as a dancer in "the act" the couple did, the girl was timid and without confidence. But the road trip in her own show did the trick, for now Evelyn can go on a crowded floor, and with Mr. Clifford's assistance whirl in a space that hardly would fit one of them. The Jardin de Danae (New York Roof) announces a full dress and cos- tume ball Feb. 23. The art organiza- tions in the city will be invited to con- tribute members in fancy dress, to secure all or part of the $500 in prizes offered. Feb. 17 on the New York Roof the "High Jinks" company is ex- pected to cut up. Sixty-five of them, including principals, will be there as guests. B. E. Franklin, general manager of the Fifth Avenue Entertainment Co., who is handling the bookings of Rigo and his orchestra and the Viennese orchestra leader. Otto Drescher, and his musicians, makes several switches this month and next; in the time of the two organizations. Rigo, now in Kan- sas City, goes to Columbus, where March 2 he opens a four weeks' en- gagement, and then goes into Detroit for eight weeks. Drescher goes to Kansas City Feb. 24 for twelve weeks, to be followed by ten weeks in St. Louis. The Palais de Danse (Winter Gar- den) struck its gait again upon securing Joan Sawyer and Jack Jarrott to dance professionally there. Gus Edwards was engaged to run the place and build up the business. Mr. Edwards lasted a week or eight days. Outside of a few people from Edwards' "kid acts," no new business came through Gustav's tenure of office as general floor di- rector. With the entrance of Miss Sawyer and Mr. Jarrott, though, the place commenced to look like old home week once more. Miss Sawyer was an- nounced to have taken a lease of the "Persian Room" (top floor), but she is there on a percentage which must be a profitable arrangement, as the room has been playing to ca- pacity since she assumed command. Miss Sawyer is also dancing better with Mr. Jarrott than any other of her several floor partners in the past. Al- ways rather a marbleized dancer, Miss Sawyer now displays evidence of ami- ability, often smiling while stepping with Mr. Jarrott, who is a trotter, by nature and profession, not having been plunged into it through accidental dis- covery. The couple do all the society items with many steps of their own. They open at the Palace, New York, next week, at $1,000 for the vaudeville period, with an option of another week at the same figure. San Francisco, Feb. 11. Ednardo B. Lcgarretta, a native of Argentina, strolled into a cafe where the Argentine Tango was being danced and inquired what it was. When told» he replied that it was so distorted as danced in this country, he failed to recognize any of the tango steps danced by the people of South America. Cincinnati, Feb. 11. Reading in VAiuBTr about Harry Messinger, who is making money hand over fist, teaching society the tango, Harry Caldwell and Evelyn Hagar, of New York, are here doing the same thing, under the direction of Jennie MannheimeF, at the Orpheum theatre b&U room. Paducah, Ky., Feb. 11. The Paducah Country Club has sent E. Douglass Bagby to New York to study the tango, and he in turn, will enlighten other citizens of the town anent this popular dance. At Pine- vtUe, near here. Council has passed an ordinance forbidding the teaching of the tango. Chicago, Feb. 11. The grand introduction of the cab- aret department in the Edelweiss Cafe under the management of Jake Sternad, took place last Monday night at 11 P. M. prompt, and without the slightest exaggeration developed into the great- est triumph in the long and varied career of that versatile promoter. The sedate old Edelweiss, for years a quiet rendezvous for the overworked busi- ness man, was temporarily transformed into a miniature flower garden. Be- tween 11 and 1 A. M. the "Loop" cab- aret played to capacity, turning away enough parties to fill the place over again. A stage has been erected in the center of the dining-room, in view of the entire floor, and an exceptionally good bill was provided aside from the volunteers who assisted in making the opening night the success it was. Prac- tically everyone of any professional importance in Chicago was present, to the discomfiture of the several opposi- tion cafes who experienced a slight drop in attendance, and reinforced by "Spike" (Jake's . personal attendant) and an army of waiters that have been under Sternad's direction for several years the affair ran without a visible hitch. The acoustics of the Edelweiss warrant a little doctoring, but Henry Thies's augmented orchestra played surprisingly well for an aggregation that experienced their first professional attempt. The concensus of opinion seems to be that Sternad has carried his entire following with him. His popularity (which goes without ques- tion) is one of the principal assets in his new venture, and it seems safe to predict that the Edelweiss will eventu- ally become a professional headquar- ters. Its cab ret debut was undoubted- ly one of the big features of the week, a big success for Sternad, who has al- ready tiiade four cabaret cafes and un- made cnc.