and they
love to go through it before the big wall mirrors and see themselves
in graceful poses.

[Illustration: NED WAYBURN AND TWO TINY PUPILS: HERBERT COLTON, 6;
PATTY COAKLEY, 5]

Those whose little bodies are especially adapted to it are allowed to
take up so-called acrobatic dancing, and it is not surprising that the
heels-over-head idea appeals as it does to the juvenile mind. It is
action such as they crave, doing "cartwheels," "splits," "back-bends"
and many showy "tricks," and they just love it. They are never forced
in this work, but really accomplish it themselves under painstaking
instructions. Children eight, nine, ten and eleven years of age are
assigned to the intermediate classes, beginners or advanced, according
to the proficiency or talent that they show me. Those twelve,
thirteen, fourteen and fifteen years of age are placed in the
Children's Senior Classes, either beginners or advanced. I,
personally, grade them and supervise all of their instruction. When
they reach the age of sixteen, the girls are put in the adult girls'
classes and the boys at sixteen are given private lessons from then
on. There are no mixed adult classes.

One thing we are very careful and considerate about is, putting a
child on her toes in the ballet work. We find cases where teachers
elsewhere have forced this too soon, before the child's feet and
ankles were prepared for it. Mothers are sometimes to blame for that,
for they are eager to see their little daughters do this pretty work;
but we insist upon proper foundation work first, developing the child
gradually, and then, when the strength is there, we know we should be
able to do the rest not only without danger of permanent injury but
with assurance of pleasing and perfect success.

Children thus gradually get instruction in five basic types of
dancing, i.e., musical comedy, tap and step, acrobatic, ballet,
including classical, character, toe, interpretive, and exhibition
dancing. They may develop best along one of these types, and choose to
follow that one out to a real professional quality, or they may
acquire a good working knowledge of all and thus have a diversity of
accomplishments. Then when they reach the age limit of sixteen that
permits them legally to enter upon the profit-taking period, they are
ready to respond.

I watch the little folks with their instructors every Saturday. They
are graduated according to their ages at first, and then graded
accor