Animators Parody Ballet & Dramatic Convention
Posted: June 10th, 2007, 12:04 pm
Jeff Watson writes:
"A "live-action" way to approach an understanding of "Dance of the Hours" [from Disney's "Fantasia"] would be to view a performance of an individual piece by Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo.
http://www.trockadero.org/ferrancasanovaph.html
Having seen them perform, I can say it is clear they are not women, but they perform women's ballet roles quite skillfully while their petulant prima ballerina natures constantly enhance the performance but interrupt the dance. All the pre-dance bits, the dance proper, the interruptions, and the occasional post-dance bits are planned and rehearsed: this form of comedy leaves little room for improvisation in performance.
Like the Trockaderos with their choreographers, the "Dance of the Hours" cast members are put through their paces by animators who understand much: dramatic conventions such as character, subtext, and "character asides"; aspects of comedy that include timing, caricature, and parody; and dance principles of balance, extension, and momentum. This section of Fantasia is amazing because the Disney animators so skillfully and successfully animated a well-planned parody of graceful dance by distinct personalities within the format of a dance-video-cum-documentary (the documentary aspect allows for the apparent non-dance yawning and the like)."
[taken from: Michael Barrier's Animation Blog]
"A "live-action" way to approach an understanding of "Dance of the Hours" [from Disney's "Fantasia"] would be to view a performance of an individual piece by Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo.
http://www.trockadero.org/ferrancasanovaph.html
Having seen them perform, I can say it is clear they are not women, but they perform women's ballet roles quite skillfully while their petulant prima ballerina natures constantly enhance the performance but interrupt the dance. All the pre-dance bits, the dance proper, the interruptions, and the occasional post-dance bits are planned and rehearsed: this form of comedy leaves little room for improvisation in performance.
Like the Trockaderos with their choreographers, the "Dance of the Hours" cast members are put through their paces by animators who understand much: dramatic conventions such as character, subtext, and "character asides"; aspects of comedy that include timing, caricature, and parody; and dance principles of balance, extension, and momentum. This section of Fantasia is amazing because the Disney animators so skillfully and successfully animated a well-planned parody of graceful dance by distinct personalities within the format of a dance-video-cum-documentary (the documentary aspect allows for the apparent non-dance yawning and the like)."
[taken from: Michael Barrier's Animation Blog]