Directed by: William K. L. Dickson, William Heise
This was part of a series of dance recordings featuring Annabelle Moore, preceded by Annabelle Butterfly Dance (1894) and Annabelle Sun Dance (1894). What sets Annabelle Serpentine Dance apart from the rest is that it is one of the earliest hand-tinted color films ever released publicly. It gives the illusion of Annabelle’s dress changing color, adding to the dreamlike performance.
The dance routine is a variation of “skirt dances” and was invented by Loie Fuller (Marie Louise Fuller) when she experimented with lengths of silk and colored lighting. Her Serpentine Dance premiered February 1892 in New York.
Bibliography
IMDb contributors (n.d.). ‘Annabelle Serpentine Dance (1895)’, IMDb. Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0154152/ [Accessed: 3 December 2021].
Smith, I. (2016). ‘Annabelle Serpentine Dance is the world’s first hand-tinted motion from 1895, and it’s quite spectacular’, The Vintage News, 13 June. Available at: https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/06/13/annabelle-serpentine-dance-worlds-first-hand-tinted-motion-1895-quite-spectacular/ [Accessed: 3 December 2021].
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica (2021). ‘Loie Fuller’, Encyclopædia Britannica, 11 January. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Loie-Fuller [Accessed: 3 December 2021].
Reel Lessons 