Butterflies

Early films were mainly experimental, without a narrative framework. The dancers performed cinematographic experiments that attempted to render body movements in space and time. Dance scenes (here a serpentine dance, known as a Butterfly Dance) represent a third of the films produced.

This film, produced by the Italian company Cinès, presents viewers with one of many imitations of the serpentine dancer Loïe Fuller. The fathers of cinema all made their contribution to this essential genre. Edison and Dickson, as well as Louis Lumière and Paul Nadar propelled the first serpentine dancers to fame: Annabella (1897), Crissie Sheridan (1897), and Ameta (1903). —Europa Film Treasures