finds himself compelled — and seldom has he reached forty-five, or even forty — to leave it little by little, when the flame of youth dies down and lightness of movement dwindles.

The history of this art in the European countries goes back to the sixteenth century, when it began to spread from Italy to France and Germany and then to Russia. It did not reach Lebanon until the year 1930, and the credit for that is due to certain stars of this dance stopping over in Lebanon in the course of their artistic tours. The dancer Petrovsky founded a house of classical dance which afterward grew into an institute. Then came the two ladies: Belling, at the Lebanese Academy, in 1945; and Stock, Hungarian by origin, in 1948; Maria Theresia Silvy, the German, in 1949; Elena Imaz in 1952; and lately Miss Vartadian, one of Stock's pupils.

Beirut saw the first stage appearance in 1940, and then began the annual performances that acquaint us with the buds of this art's stars — stars of a near, near future: among them Nadia Saikali, Valerie Sarrouf, and Samia Saab of the Silvy institute, who pass today from the painter's canvas to the dancing boards; May Saikali, who reconciles the worship of teeth with the worship of art; Margaret Yobson, one of Imaz's pupils, who often couples the classical with the Spanish; Leila Rbeiz, Salwa Aoun, and Ellen Malik of the Stock institute; and others — little ones, not past their tenth year, who even so sway coquettishly with the melodies...

Of these "budding stars" I spoke with three about their view of the "ballet"...

Leila Rbeiz: a student at the American University of Beirut, six years now at the Silvy institute; she holds ballet to be an art in its own right, not a dry gymnastic.

Samia Saab: B.A. from Beirut College for Women. An accomplished dancer. She did not study the principles of classical dance until two years ago, with Stock and then Silvy. She reproaches the girls for taking up this art in imitation of others and out of love of show — which is at odds with the aim of this lofty art!

Salwa Aoun: a student at Beirut College for Women; she has danced ballet at the Silvy institute for five years, and modern dance at the Vartadian institute. And she has now begun to teach ballet.