FOREWORD
Mr. John Murray Anderson, under whose careful supervision this book was prepared, is known as the teacher of many of those most authoritative in New York social matters. His reputation has been attained not chiefly on the stage or in restaurants, but in the homes of leaders of good taste. The illustrations are from photographs of Mr. and Mrs. Anderson.
Those who take up the study of the new dances sometimes express discouragement with the frequency of change in both steps and names. In the course of evolving these dances, a vast number of steps and figures have been tried. Though most of them have dropped out of use, their introduction has caused serious confusion. The remedy lies in a definite course of simplifying and standardizing; and that is the course upon which the most influential teachers have decided.
The steps and figures described in this book (which is reprinted from "The Dance," a work, embracing the choregraphic art in general) have the essential character of the dances to which they respectively belong. They have passed through a period of probation amply sufficient to prove their possession of the beauty and dignity that are necessary to permanency. They form a complete list, moreover, of the steps that have established for themselves a definite place in the ballroom of conservatively smart society.
Unusually clever amateurs are interested in figures that have the character of fancy dancing. This book therefore describes certain exhibition figures, in addition to the number
