A M E R I C A N N E W S P A P E R R E P O S I T O R Y
Gallery of
Newspaper
Illustration
New York World, June 18, 1899
Magazine section
DAZZLING BUTTERFLY DANCER
"DRESSED IN LIGHT"
Paris has just sent to New York another sensation for the
admiration of the crowds that will patronize the roof gardens this summer.
She is Mlle. Lotty and she is the most striking of the novelties which
Manager George Lederer has brought across the ocean to appear in the Aerial
Magnolia Grove on the Roof of the New York Theater.
Clad in silk fleshings, which fit her like a glove, Mlle.
Lotty robes and disrobes in view of the audience each evening and exhibits
lingerie and gowns of wondrous beauty. Her changes are instantaneous and
they are dazzling to the eye.
The new
wardrobe of this French dancer will not become popular in New York, however,
although it would be acceptable for summer months. This reason is that
the beautiful creations are only gowns of light. But it is the manipulation
of light with more artistic effect than has ever been seen before in New
York.
Mlle. Lotty is projected against a background of dull black.
The theatre is darkened. Suddenly she shines forth, the rays of the stereopticon
outlining her figure brilliantly without reflecting upon the black screen.
Then she wraps about her a black mantle and throws it open again to reveal
an entire change of costume in design and color. The effect is puzzling.
The colors seem to be plush and stin thrown about her.
While the changes are made Mlle. Lotty's face and
hands remain in the glow of the white light and the colors are projected
upon her body. They take the form of hosiery and gloves of delicate tints.
The embroidery of the lingerie is revealed as it encircles her neck and
arms, yet it is only light.
These mystifying changes are not all made in solid
colors. Beautiful patterns and designs, resembling antique brocades and
delicate embroideries, are instantly revealed only to be replaced by by
designs still more wonderful. At one moment she is adorned with flowing
robes, and then these fade to reveal her again in airy ballet costumes.
And yet it is only light..
Mlle. Lotty
was an actress in St. Martin Theatre, Paris. When Loie Fuller's fire dance
became famous in Paris she conceived the idea of making an entire wardrobe
of light by means of a new stereopticon, the mechanism of which is a secret.
The new development of color, combined with Mlle. Lotty's shapeliness,
met with favor at once, and she has been seen in all the capitals of Europe.
Now she has come to New York for the summer.
Mlle. Lotty has been told that her diaphanous costumes
lack delicacy, but she does not admit it. She says gowns of light are
as proper as gowns of fabric providing they perform the function intended.
Certainly
her new wardrobe would become instantly popular if it could be transformed
into tangible things, for in design, color, fit and fashion it is the
most perfect that has yet been seen in New York.
________________________________
