The Tight-rope Dance [La Danse sur la corde] (1878)

Director: Émile Reynaud
France (formerly French Republic)
1878

"The Tight-rope Dance" (1878) is a delicate work, reminding us that Émile Reynaud's animation experiments are a genuine delight. Included in his first series of strips, it features a young female acrobat, dressed in a lovely pink dress, dancing on a tight-rope. The geometrical lines create the perception of harmonious movement, seamlessly generating an internal score that accompanies the heroine’s dance. The lasting effect is full of charm, enhanced by the warmth of the chosen colours. This is another example in which Reynaud’s artistry takes precedence over his technical achievement, a feature characterising most of his early praxinoscope works.

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