Portrait of A Dancer(NaN)

My Really Cool Legs!(en)

My Really Cool Legs! follows a group of pediatric amputee athletes who challenge themselves beyond their disability. Led by their amputee mentor and coach, these kids dance and ski, ice skate and run, refusing to let their disability define who they are and what is possible.

Danse Serpentine (In a Lion's Cage)(fr)

Madame Ondine performs a serpentine dance surrounded by big cats.

Butterfly Dance(en)

A very graceful dance with voluminous draperies, by Annabelle Moore, well-known on the metropolitan stage.

The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden(en)

Darwin meets Hitchcock in this documentary. Directors Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine have created a parable about the search for paradise, set in the brutal yet alluring landscape of the Galapagos Islands, which interweaves an unsolved 1930s murder mystery with stories of present day Galapagos pioneers. A gripping tale of idealistic dreams gone awry, featuring voice-over performances by Cate Blanchett, Diane Kruger, and Gustaf Skarsgard.

Double Play: James Benning and Richard Linklater(en)

In 1985, former oil rig worker Richard Linklater began a film screening society in Austin, Texas, that aimed to show classic art-house and experimental films to a budding community of cinephiles. Eventually incorporating as a nonprofit, the newly branded Austin Film Society raised enough money to fly in their first out-of-town filmmaker: James Benning. Accepting the invitation, Benning met Linklater and the two began to develop a personal and intellectual bond, leading to many future encounters. Starting in the 1960s, Benning had been creating low budget films mostly on his own, while Linklater had just begun to craft his first shorts. The filmmakers have remained close even as their careers have diverged. After the cult success of Slacker, Linklater went on to make films with Hollywood support. Benning, meanwhile, has stayed close to his roots and is mainly an unknown figure in mainstream film culture.

The Lion Dance(ja)

The lion dance in traditional Japanese theatre.

Loïe Fuller(fr)

This is another short, simple dance number. It’s quite stunning and unusual though with a bat turning into a woman who proceeds to give us a skirt dance before disappearing into thin air. The dance is mesmerising with the skirt stunningly changing colour throughout the film.

Italienischer Bauerntanz(de)

Two children, Ploetz and Larella, perform an Italian peasant dance.

The Pickaninny Dance from the “Passing Show”(en)

“A scene representing Southern plantation life before the war. A jig and a breakdown by three colored boys.”

Crissie Sheridan(en)

A woman in a white gown performs a skirt dance, using her arms to produce circles and other patterns within the folds of her costume. Her legs and feet appear to be bare. (Library of Congress)

Danse Fleur de Lotus(fr)

Serpentine dance.

Ballet Libella(xx)

A woman wearing dragonfly wings performs a romantic dreamlike dance.

Charity Ball(en)

A Victorian couple dancing.

Danseuses cambodgiennes du roi Norodom, II(fr)

Dance, Franchonetti Sisters(en)

Three young women with dark, curly hair stand on a stage with a black background and patterned carpet or tile underfoot. They wear tights, ballet shoes, and frilly dresses to the knee with multiple petticoats and ruffled drawers. They begin by raising their right legs up by their heads, and then perform a dance with a variety of kicks and leg movements, their hands either in the air or pulling up their skirts. The sisters also grab their right legs again and hop in a circle, then do cartwheels and land on the floor in the splits. Jumping back to their feet, the women twirl in circles and around each other in circles in what appears to be a type of pirouette, while holding up their skirts and showing their bloomers in a manner similar to the cancan.

Cupid and Psyche(en)

“By the Leanders. The dress of one consists of a pair of wings and a bow and arrow; the other represents a fairy. Bathers in all stages of dress and undress watch the graceful dance.” (Edison film catalog)

Frau Mercedes(de)

In Bern, Madame Mercedes has been working for 35 years in her car as a prostitute. An intimate and subtle portrait about ageing as a prostitute, a documentary about a vanishing chapter of habits in Switzerland.

Danse de l'éventail(fr)

A variation on the popular Butterfly Dance, released in hand-colored and stenciled versions. The film has the catalogue number 2011 and was likely shot in 1897 but not screened in France until the 10th of December 1899.

Danse indienne(fr)

American Indians dancing.

Bruce Willis: Why the Legend Never Dies(de)

An in-depth look at the life and career of Bruce Willis, featuring never-before-seen photos and videos from the Willis family collection. Narrated by Bruce Willis.