Annabelle Butterfly Dance

Even before the Great Train Robbery, the Annabelle Dances were the first big motion pictures in America. Just starting to make its way into the major cities, Annabelle Dances amazed its audience with the movement and added spray color to the images. Deep down, all it was, was a woman (Annabelle) dancing on stage with a crazy butterfly like costume. The world was dazzled by the new invention called cinema.

Sandow (1894)

Carmencita (1894)

Boxing Cats (1894)

Caicedo With Pole (1894)

Annabelle Butterfly Dance (1894)

Cockfight, no. 2 (1894)

These six shorts from Edison, still early in the movie game, are rather interesting because of the self promoting factor in them. It's clear a few famous folks thought appearing in movies might bring more people to their actual show and on that level these shorts remain very interesting today. That's especially true when you consider the lack of footage of such acts. Sandow is Eugene Sandow, the man who claimed to be the strongest in the world. Shot on March 6, 1894, we see Sandow flexing in various ways in front of the camera. I'm not sure what he was thinking at the time of shooting but seeing this today is quite a laugh. Carmencita is the famous dancer doing her belly dance on screen making her the first woman to appear in an American movie. The film has become somewhat famous over the past several years because of various documentaries doing studies about early sexuality and how it caused so much controversy. This film, as innocent as they come, did strike a bit of outrage when originally released so it's fun to look at with that in mind. It's also worth noting that this was the first movie listed on the IMDb. Boxing Cats would have PETA members throwing a fit today but in 1894 seeing two animals fight, in a funny manor, was quite entertaining. Prof. Welton can be seen in the center of the frame directing his two cats, with boxing gloves on, to fight. This is actually pretty funny and it's worth noting that the cats throw more punches than a lot of the real fights that were filmed around this time with humans. Caicedo With Pole has hire-wire specialist Juan Caicedo jumping, bouncing and flipping on his wire, which must have been an amazing site when originally released. Annabelle Butterfly Dance features the famous Annabelle Moore dancing around a stage in a white outfit with wings attached. This here probably remains one of the most viewed shorts from this era with its images being shown throughout the world when it comes to exploring early cinema. Cockfight, no. 2 would be controversial today as it features two birds going after one another while two men in the background make bets. This was actually a remake so to speak as the original film was released earlier in the year and was apparently so popular that the prints wore out, which caused the studio to make this version. Apparently the original version didn't feature the men in the background.

Annabelle (Whitford) Moore dances for the camera of Edison filmmakers, William Heise and W.K.L. Dickson. She was a favorite of the Edison crew and was invited back several times to perform for them.

In the film, her movements are pretty basic. She lacks the energy of other Edison shorts, such as "Carmencita" or the "Buffalo Ghost Dance". Her costume is supposed to copy the movements of a butterfly as she dances around. Yet, the effect is muted, as Moore is not able to do much in the short time span of the film.

YOU WILL LIKE THIS FILM: IF YOU LOVED: "Annabelle Serpentine Dance" IF YOU HATED: "Breakin'"

The dance is better than the serpent dance. But as the serpent dance has the reputation as "the very first color-painted film," the Butterfly dance's prestige goes down the road and gains not equal popularity and recognition of Serpent dance. The dancer revolving around her consistent passion and beguiling dress are terrific The dance is better than the serpent dance. But as the serpent dance has the reputation as "the very first color-painted film," the Butterfly dance's prestige goes down the road and gains not equal popularity and recognition of Serpent dance. The dancer revolving around her consistent passion and beguiling dress are terrific.

This was one of the earliest of the many 1890s movies that featured Annabelle (Whitford) Moore performing her popular dance routines, and it is still interesting enough to be worth watching. The distinctive costume in this one sets it apart a bit from most of the other movies in the series.

The "Butterfly Dance" is really a routine very similar to her popular "Serpentine Dance", but for this butterfly routine, her costume has a large pair of wings attached at the back, which along with her flowing skirts are used to create an effect. As in all of her features, Annabelle dances with skill and energy.

It's no surprise that these features were so popular in their day. By present-day standards, they are much tamer, but they still have their artistic value.