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Show T H E O R Y OF THEATRICAL DANCING. 63 as he seldom possesses the same strength as the former, he is often compelled to have recourse to the assistance of his instep. In the performance of entrechats he may not be brilliant, yet always correct and elegant. Such a dancer may even sometimes aspire to perfection in every branch, provided the height of his stature throw no impediment in the way. A close-legged dancer should preserve a slight flexibility in his execution, and never extend his knees, excepting at the termination of openings, steps, attitudes, &c. ; by this means he conceals his natural closeness. A bow-legged dancer must, on the contrary, be stretched out as stiff as possible ; always avoiding harshness, to which such a mode of performance necessarily tends, and cross his legs very closely, so that their union may decrease, in a great measure, the interval that would otherwise exist between them. But, notwithstanding all his efforts, he has not the same chance of success as the close-legged performer ; he is usually very strong and vigorous, his muscles are therefore less pliable, and his articulations cannot act with much freedom and ease. Let it be also remembered, that if this defect of bow-leggedness proceeds from the natural construction of the bones, every attempt to remedy or amend it must prove fruitless. Art is then of no avail. SIMPLE POSITION OF THE LEGS, FIG 1. PLATE I. First Positions of Dancing. First position, fig. 1, plate I. Second position, fig. 2, plate II. Second position on the toes, fig. 3, plate II. Third position, fig. 3, plate I. Fourth position, (side view) fig. 1, plate II. Fifth position, fig. 4, plate I. Fifth position on the toes, fig. 5, plate I. N.B. In the second position the distance between the two |