ible, as a state law prohibits any child under sixteen from
appearing before a paid audience to sing or dance, while permitting
them to go on for dialogue parts only, if they are past ten years.
Producers demand birth certificates and live up to the law. There is
in New York City a Gerry Society, which controls the situation and is
sharply on the alert.

Here in New York City there is a professional school for stage
children, which many attend.

The great majority of the children who come to our studios for dancing
instruction are from families who do not want the children to take up
stage careers, but wish them to be properly and thoroughly trained in
every type of dancing, which incidentally brings out all the natural
grace in the body, develops health, poise, charm of manner,
personality and symmetrical bodies. Parents naturally desire to see
their little ones graceful, accomplished, pleasing in deportment, and
able to exhibit a few clever steps in home or amateur entertainments--a
parent's proper pride. Others, especially professional stage people,
active or retired, enter their young folks in my courses with a view
to their ultimately becoming professional stage dancers. They know the
emoluments. They know that one daughter on the dancing stage is worth
ten in the parlor--financially. They know, too, that old adage "as the
twig is bent," and the rest of it, so they start their twigs straight
and in fertile soil with faith that in this way their child's future
is well and happily provided for. A knowledge of stage dancing is a
life insurance policy that pays big dividends during one's lifetime.
The dancer is her own--and perhaps her parents'--beneficiary.

We have tots here in the studio at our Saturday classes as young as
four. Usually, however, they are five, six, or over. In their primary
work we give them all sorts of jolly exercises--walking, running,
galloping, and for the tiniest we have "skipping special," "baby
work," body building and dancing games.

Our Junior class for children (ages four, five, six and seven) devotes
half an hour to very mild physical training and limbering and
stretching work on the heavy felt pads, and then there is half an hour
of dancing games. The hour thus passes all too quickly with our
interested little pupils. As they show proficiency in this work we
give them the actual dancing steps which are arranged in effective
routines. All of the technique is necessary and beautiful