DANCING AND CIVILIZATION
SOLEMN professors are discussing the question "What is Civilization?" the answers ranging all the way from an increase in man's power over material things that add to his comfort and happiness, up to the development of higher ethical standards of personal conduct. To one the civilized man is he who has brought to his service the hidden forces of nature, and by steam and electricity has girdled the earth, vastly increased the production of wealth, and by superior methods of transportation has brought all regions of the globe into close contact. To another the mark of civilization is the diffusion of valuable knowledge, the spread of popular education, and the sharing by a whole people of the culture and scholarship of the great creative minds. To yet another the real test of civilization is in the cultivation of a greater capacity for enjoyment of all that life has to offer. And a fourth affirms that only those are truly civilized who have learned the laws of right living and conduct, so that in seeking the fullest development and expression of their natures they are careful to avoid infringing on the rights and welfare of their fellow men.
Leaving the definition of civilization for future settlement, it may be taken for granted that a civilized society is one in which order and individual rights to life, personal liberty, and lawfully acquired property are respected; in which the rule of brute strength is supplanted by the higher law of reason and social justice and in which the people are free to develop their artistic and aesthetic tastes into a complete and harmonious whole. Applying this standard to the world's history there are found great civilized communities that at various periods have emerged from primitive barbarism, have flourished for ages, have left their records of high achievement in architecture, sculpture, painting and other arts, in imperishable literature, and in religions that phrase the highest exaltation of human thought and ideals. Such are the civilizations of ancient Egypt, India, Greece and Rome, where the conditions attained were as greatly in advance of those prevailing at the time in practically all the other regions of the earth, as are those of modern Europe and America compared with the black tribes of Africa.
To the student of social customs in various ages it is significant that the peoples of the most civilized countries were eager in their search for the higher enjoyments, and that among them the dance was regarded as one of the most important forms of self expression. Along with the greater accumulation of wealth; the erection of great palaces, temples and other enduring movements; the mastery of form, line, and color by the sculptor and painter; the progress in music and literature toward higher levels, came the recognition of the dance as one of the greater arts, worthy of encouragement by rulers and statesmen. The fact that at the period of highest civilization in the four countries referred to the dance was held to be an important and honorable art, is testimony to its inherent value as a means of satisfying the universal desire for human expression of the beauty of form and harmonious movement. It is not a mere coincidence that the most enlightened peoples of all ages have regarded the dance not only as an amusement or diversion, but as exemplifying the eternal laws that bind mankind to its earthly environment. Poets, philosophers, scholars, leaders and teachers of men, have at the times that they have been most highly regarded because of their special qualities or abilities, joined in rendering homage to the dancer as an interpretative artist.
Coming down to modern times and our own country, it is found that as America has vastly increased in population, wealth, knowledge and material comfort, along with the widest extension of popular education of any great nation on the earth, there has arisen a greatly increased and steadily-growing interest in the dance, both as means of individual enjoyment, and as an artistic entertainment ranking high among all forms of creative effort. With the growth of great cities and industrial centers social activities have been greatly multiplied, and of these the dance is easily the most popular. At all seasons; at the winter resorts of the South, or the seashore, and in the mountains in summer, the story is the same; dancing is the one diversion that never palls, and is constantly engaged in everywhere. Golf, with its hundreds of thousands of devotees, has brought with it the country club, where the dance flourishes until the wee sma' hours. In the home, in hotels, restaurants and supper clubs, the dance reigns supreme. Learning to dance has become a part of the boy's or girl's education, along with the ordinary school studies. Not to dance is to be distinctly outside of practically all social circles in American cities and towns, and each year finds the number of one's dancing acquaintances increasing. From the select few who are assumed to be "smart society," down to the multitudes who make no social pretentions, everyone dances, and enjoys it. If a poll could be taken of the population over twelve years of age in any American city, asking for their favorite amusement, it would doubtless be found that dancing comes first.
NED WAYBURN’S PRIVATE OFFICE