Danse indienne

Plot

This early documentary short film captures authentic Native American dancers performing traditional dances. The footage presents indigenous peoples in ceremonial dress executing movements that were part of their cultural heritage, filmed during a time when such documentation was rare. Gabriel Veyre, working with early motion picture technology, preserved these cultural expressions for future generations. The film serves as both an artistic document and an ethnographic record of Native American performance traditions at the turn of the 20th century.

Historical Background

This film was created during the very birth of cinema, when the Lumière brothers were pioneering motion picture technology. The year 1900 was significant as it marked the Paris Exposition, where films were prominently featured and helped establish cinema as a legitimate art form. This period saw intense colonial expansion and European fascination with 'exotic' cultures, leading to numerous ethnographic exhibitions and documentary films. The film also predates the establishment of narrative cinema, when most films were short actualités documenting real life. Gabriel Veyre was part of the Lumière company's efforts to document the world through this new medium, traveling extensively to capture images of different cultures and places that most Europeans would never see in person.

Making Of

Gabriel Veyre was a talented photographer who joined the Lumière brothers in 1896 and quickly became one of their principal cinematographers. For this film, he likely worked with Native American performers who were part of the popular ethnographic exhibitions of the era, such as those at World's Fairs or traveling shows. The filming process would have been challenging - the Cinématographe camera was heavy, required manual cranking at a consistent speed, and could only capture about 50 seconds of footage per film strip. Veyre would have needed to position his camera carefully to capture the dancers in motion while ensuring adequate lighting, as artificial lighting was still primitive. The performers may have been asked to repeat their dances multiple times to achieve the best results.

Visual Style

Shot using the Lumière Cinématographe, the film features the characteristic stationary camera position typical of early cinema. The camera would have been mounted on a tripod, capturing the dancers from a single perspective. The black and white images would have had high contrast and relatively soft focus due to the limitations of early film stock. The framing would have been wide to capture the full range of the dancers' movements, as zooming was not possible with the equipment of the era. The lighting would have been natural, requiring filming outdoors or in well-lit interiors.

Innovations

The film represents the technical achievement of capturing motion at the turn of the 20th century using the Lumière Cinématographe. This device was revolutionary as it combined camera, developer, and projector in one unit. The film was shot at approximately 16 frames per second on 35mm film, which was standard for the era. The ability to capture and preserve cultural performances like Native American dance was groundbreaking, representing one of the first times such movements could be studied repeatedly rather than being lost to memory. The film also demonstrates early understanding of documentary principles, capturing real events rather than staged performances.

Music

As a silent film, 'Danse indienne' would have been accompanied by live music during exhibition. The accompaniment might have included piano, organ, or small ensemble music, often improvised or selected from existing classical pieces. Some venues may have used music intended to evoke 'exotic' or 'primitive' themes, reflecting the limited and often stereotypical understanding of Native American music in Europe at the time. The choice of musical accompaniment would have significantly influenced how audiences perceived and understood the images on screen.

Memorable Scenes

• The entire film consists of a single continuous shot showing Native American performers in traditional dress executing ceremonial dances, their movements captured in the flickering images of early cinema - a rare visual document of indigenous performance from the dawn of film history.

What Critics Said

Contemporary reception of early Lumière actualités was generally positive, with audiences marveling at the technology itself rather than critically analyzing content. Critics and viewers of 1900 were primarily fascinated by the ability to capture and replay moving images. Modern film historians and anthropologists view these films as invaluable historical documents, though they also critique the colonial gaze and context of their production. The film is now recognized as an important early example of ethnographic cinema, despite the problematic aspects of how indigenous peoples were often presented for European consumption.

What Audiences Thought

Early 20th century audiences were captivated by any moving image, and films showing 'exotic' cultures were particularly popular. Viewers would have been fascinated by the opportunity to see Native American dances, which most would only have read about or seen in illustrations. The film would have been shown as part of a program of short actualités, each lasting about a minute, providing audiences with brief glimpses of scenes from around the world. The novelty of the medium itself would have been the primary draw, with the specific content serving to showcase the camera's ability to capture movement and distant cultures.

You Might Also Like