“Zigeunerdans af troubaduren” (1906)
disposable
This is another very old short film, by Peter Elfet, that deals with capturing, through the new medium of “moving images”, pieces of dancing by professional classical dancers.
The major thing that had to be dealt with, at this phase, was the reconversion of the choreography to be doable in front of a camera. That means they had to perform in a very reduced space, compared to a theatre stage, and to perform for a specific point, instead of the other half of a room.
This specific example doesn’t work, the designed set is not cinematic at all, since it reduces the space (although the painted trees aim at enlarging it) and brings a noise to the composition that reduces the importance of the dancer and her movements in it, which would certainly be the main and single purpose of this film.
Watch “Tarantellen af ‘Napoli’” to have something better by the same director, or watch Paul Nadar’s experiences with the same themes if you want to be amazed with these pioneer experiences. To me, this one is disposable.
My opinion: 1/5
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