St. James's Theatre. — That wonderful dance, the Polka, which has so suddenly shot up, and divided the public attention with the most vital questions of state, found its way, on the 21th ult. to this, its natural home, for, from the French, it is, that we caught this Terpsichorean infection. Much of the extraordinary sensation which the dance has produced, may be attributed to the vagueness which at present exists, for, of the entire cargo of dancing-masters who rushed to the Tower-stairs, on the first wafting of the name to British ears, not one but has returned sole possessor of the real Polka, and denounced all others as spurious concoctions and utterly un- Bohemian. At present, our knowledge is limited to the fact, that brass heels are an indispensible ingredient, and that the steps are more or less approaches to the dancing which usually accompanies the song of "Jim Crow." The little piece in which the Polka was introduced danced by Madame Albert and a Mademoiselle Forgeot, is entitled La Procés de la Polka. It represents the court of some provincial town occupied with an action by the citizens against a certain instructor of the Polka, on the plea of its turning the heads of all the female inhabitants, and causing the terror of all respectable fathers of families as to the moral welfare of their charges. The cause is regularly tried before the lieutenant-general, and pleaded on the plaintiff's side by an old lawyer, whose distaste to the dance arises from his lameness, and on the defendant's by a plump young advocate who is himself under tuition to acquire the incriminated Polka. After citing various ancient authorities in favour of dancing generally, he calls upon the court not to decide until they have themselves seen the Polka. The request is granted, and, forthwith, two ladies in full-Polka-costume, armed with brass heels, enter the court, one of whom, to the astonishment of the judge, he finds to be his wife. The Polka is danced in the open arena, and its fascination is to powerful that, ere long, the whole court, in wig and gown, are seen jigging to the measure. This, of course, decides the affair, and the curtain descends on the triumph of the Polka over the moral prejudices of bourgeois and pères de famille. It is needless to say that a vociferous encore was the result, and it was accompanied by a gratifying presentation of one or two bouquets. This Polka differs from all the others, and let M. Coulon and a jury of native Bohemians decide whether or no it be the genuine one.

(The Court magazine & monthly critic and lady's magazine, & museum of the belles lettres, music, fine arts, drama, fashions, &c. January, 1844. (In the Monthly Critic and Miscellany section) p.74.)

I love that this describes the Polka as something you can catch, like a cold. The theatrical performance, with everyone on stage dancing along, sounds like a hoot!