Buffalo Dance

Plot

Buffalo Dance is a brief silent documentary film capturing three Native American performers from the Sioux tribe as they execute a traditional ceremonial dance. The film shows Hair Coat, Parts His Hair, and Last Horse adorned in full regalia including war paint and traditional costumes as they perform movements mimicking a buffalo hunt. The dancers begin by standing still before launching into their choreographed routine, with some moments showing them glancing directly at the camera. The entire performance was staged within the confines of Edison's Black Maria studio, creating a unique contrast between the natural, spiritual dance and the artificial film studio environment of early cinema.

Historical Background

Buffalo Dance was produced during the infancy of cinema, just one year after the Edison Company's first public demonstrations of motion pictures. 1894 was a pivotal year in film history, with the opening of the first Kinetoscope parlors in New York City. The film emerged during a period of intense fascination with Native American culture, fueled by Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and the closing of the American frontier. This was also a time when the U.S. government was actively suppressing Native American cultural practices, making the documentation of these traditions particularly significant. The film represents the complex intersection of emerging technology, commercial entertainment, and cultural anthropology at the end of the 19th century.

Making Of

The filming of Buffalo Dance took place in Edison's innovative Black Maria studio, the world's first film production facility. The studio was designed specifically to accommodate the heavy, stationary Kinetograph camera and maximize natural light through its retractable roof. The Native American performers, likely recruited from Buffalo Bill's popular Wild West Show which was touring the East Coast, had to adapt their traditional outdoor ceremony to the confined indoor space. The filmmakers faced significant technical challenges, including the need for extremely bright lighting and the camera's inability to move. The performers' apparent melancholy expressions noted by viewers may reflect both the artificiality of the setting and the broader context of Native Americans having to perform their cultural traditions for entertainment in a rapidly changing America.

Visual Style

The cinematography of Buffalo Dance reflects the technical limitations and innovations of 1894. Filmed using Edison's Kinetograph camera, the film employs a single static shot with the camera positioned to capture the full performance space. The lighting was provided by natural sunlight through the Black Maria's retractable roof, supplemented by reflectors to achieve the necessary exposure. The framing is straightforward, placing the performers center-stage against the studio's black backdrop. The camera operated at approximately 16 frames per second, giving the motion a slightly staccato quality typical of early cinema. Despite these technical constraints, the cinematography successfully documents the performers' movements and costumes with remarkable clarity for the period.

Innovations

Buffalo Dance showcases several important technical achievements of early cinema. The film demonstrates Edison's improved Kinetograph camera, which could reliably capture continuous motion. The Black Maria studio itself was a technical marvel, featuring a rotating platform to follow the sun and a retractable roof for optimal lighting. The film represents advancements in film stock sensitivity, allowing for the recording of relatively detailed images of performers in motion. The preservation of the film for over 130 years also speaks to the durability of early celluloid and the importance of archival practices. The synchronization of multiple performers within the frame also demonstrated early understanding of cinematic choreography and timing.

Memorable Scenes

• The opening moments where the three performers stand still in full regalia before beginning their dance, creating a striking tableau of traditional Native American costume against the artificial studio backdrop. The dance sequence itself, where the performers execute movements mimicking a buffalo hunt, with their traditional clothing and war paint visible in remarkable detail for 1894. The poignant moments when individual dancers glance directly at the camera, creating a powerful connection across time and highlighting the intersection of cultural performance and emerging film technology.

What Critics Said

Contemporary critical reception of Buffalo Dance is difficult to trace, as film criticism as we know it did not exist in 1894. The film was primarily reviewed in trade publications and newspapers as a novelty of the new Kinetoscope technology. Modern critics and film historians recognize the film as a groundbreaking document of both early cinema and Native American culture. Scholars view it as a complex artifact that simultaneously documents authentic cultural performance while exemplifying the exploitative aspects of early ethnographic entertainment. The film is now studied in film history courses as an example of Edison's actuality films and early documentary practices.

What Audiences Thought

Buffalo Dance was viewed by individual audiences through Edison's Kinetoscope machines, which were installed in parlors where patrons paid to view various short films. Contemporary accounts suggest that audiences were fascinated by the novelty of moving images and particularly interested in films showing exotic or unusual subjects. Native American themes were especially popular given the contemporary fascination with the 'vanishing frontier.' Modern audiences viewing the film often express a mix of fascination at seeing authentic 19th-century Native American performers and discomfort at the staged nature of the performance within the artificial confines of the film studio.

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