THE EVOLUTION OF DANCING. 



755 



of the limbs, no bringing of the legs at right angles with the 

 body as in our ballet, no dizzy gyrations in short, "none of that 

 exquisite precision of step and pedal dexterity which constitute 

 the chief charm of European artists." * The Spanish dances 



Fig. 10. Csakdos, Hcngarian Folk-Dance. 



which of late have become popular are free from violent move- 

 ments and intricate steps. Indeed, the feet play so small a part in 

 the action that the dancer seems scarcely to raise them from the 

 ground. The dances are little more than graceful writhings and 

 twistings of the body ; the arms and legs moving in sinuous folds 

 and contortions, like the movements of a snake ; the dancer all 

 the while beating time with the castanets held in each hand. 



This brings us down to the more developed or modern forms 

 of dancing. Different people have arranged their peculiar dances. 

 The French have devised many intricate steps ; the English had 

 their " country-dances " round the May-pole ; the Scotch invented 

 the reel ; the hornpipe was originally a Cornish dance, and so on. 



* The Oriental Annual, or Scenes in India. By Rev. H. Gaunter. London, 1836, p. 

 where there is a fine description of the Nautch girls in their charming dances. 



