'On With the Dance,' Cries City's Youth

Revues That Climax Year of Training
Are Aids to Charity and Dramatic Debut

By Patricia Rathbone

Surer signs of spring in Richmond than first robins or April showers are the preparation of the round of dancing revues in which more than 2,000 Richmond children will step and sing for sweet charity's sake.

Early in March the tumult and the shouting begin. Routines are put into rehearsal, parti-basques, pirouettes, triple taps slides, hope and leaps and shuffles are table-talk in hundreds of homes and parts, solos, chorus work and costumes are the major thoughts of the young dancers who feel that "the play" is the most important thing in their young lives and a fitting climax to a year of hard practice without the stimulation of applause and footlights.

These preparations grow in intensity through March and April and reach their climax during the next fortnight.

Right now in shops, theatres, on busses and at clubs wherever two or three mothers of dancing prodigies meet, talk of costumes and routines fill the air. How many yards of lame will wrap little Lucy when she does a toe solo is more important than the Stresa conference and the fact that 4,000 spangles and 90 years of tinsel trim Bobby's tapping trousers is material for an hour's conversation. Costumes mean stellar parts and glitter and glamor for youngsters and the audiences, but they mean time, labor, skill and expense to the mothers who must carry out the professionally elaborate outfits in which their young darlings will perform.

Strangers in town who are taken to see these revues are invariably impressed with the beauty of the costumes and scenery, the professional skill and aplumb of the dancers who range in age from 2 to 20. Elaborate lighting and scenic effects, spectacular dancing and singing feature these shows which are old stories to the townsfolk who have seen them for the last 17 or more years.

The same strangers who applaud vociferously at the caliber of the entertainment provided often wonder what is the use of the long months of practice, and expense, time and trouble for a revue which is never presented for more than several performances. But only strangers ask these questions, for the residents know that every performance of these glittering young dancers means material benefit to some worthy local charity.

Tray Boys Aid Sheltering Arms

"Tray Boys on Parade," which the Florence Nightingale Circle presented at the Mosque, aided Sheltering Arms Hospital, the only absolutely free hospital in Virginia. This show, the eighteenth directed by Miss Idear Steele Traylor, assisted by Miss Anne Boyer, had a cast of nearly 600 Richmond children, who went through all types of dancing, singing and pantomime. Proceeds from this two hours of metropolitan entertainment helped the Florence Nightingale Circle continue to provide needed supplies at the hospital. During the last season the hospital received more than $1,000 aid from the circle of interested women who work throughout the year. The kitchens were painted, necessary equipment provided, dumb waiters were repaired and china purchased. A dozen bed screens and blood transfusion apparatus are the most recent contributions of the circle.

Devotees of the dance will have to toss a coin on May 11 to decide whether they will aid the philanthropies of the Ginter Park Woman's Club or the Richmond League for the Hard of Hearing for "The Talk of the Town," with proceeds going to the clubs philanthropies will be presented at the Mosque, while at the Lyric "Rhythm in the Rain" will be given by pupils of the Elcorise School of Dancing. More than 100 children, pupils of Miss Elmer Corinne Iseman, will take part in "Rhythm," which will be featured by an ensemble, "Clouds," new phases of lighting and a special number by the deaf pupils in Ruffner School, who are taught free of charge by the young Richmonder, whose annual show benefits the league.

300 in Cast of "Talk of Town"

"Talk of the Town," which will be the other May 11 attraction, will have a cast of more than 300 and is directed by Miss Julia Mildred Harper, who pupils make up the cast. Members of both the Ginter Park Woman's Club and the junior organization are working for this performance, selling tickets, programs and completing arrangements for the affair. Both affairs should draw large audiences for fond parents and doting relatives always make up the greater proportion of the audiences who come to see these dancing revues. And the bit in which little Susie is a membor of the ensemble means more to Susie's relatives than the featured solo of one of the school's graduates. Then each charity has its sponsors and arden workers for the league will fill the Lyric while those who belong or are affiliated with the club charities will pick the Mosque as their destination on May 11.

Another dance revue which will feature, especially Westhampton children, is the annual recital of the pupils of Margot Johnson, who will be seen on May 17 at Westhampton High School.

"Frylics of 1935" One of Last Shows

One of the last of the shows to be announced, but one of the foremost in interest, is the "Frylics of 1935," which will be given two performances at the Mosque on May 18. This production, which is directed by Miss Elinor Fry, is sponsored by the Richmond Chapter, Virginia Commission for the Blind, which has benefited from the Frylics of other years. More than 300 names are listed in its cast, which ranges in age from tots of two to grown girls who have been dancing in the spotlight for years. "Chinese Fantasy," "Balley of Roses," "Dance of the Wooden Shoes," and a Polish Mazurka will be among the featured numbers in the Frylics. Between the acts the Acca Temple Chanters will sing.

Not a revue but a spring dance concert is offered by Howle Fisher's pupils and Mr. Fisher on May 24 at the Lyric Theatre. The Richmond branch of the American Association of University Women will sponsor the spring concert and proceeds from the affair will go to the philanthropic and educational fund of the association. Featuring the concert will be a group of divertissements, a scene in an Indian coffee shop and a temple drama.