(Rehearsal excerpts) [1930s & 1940s?]

Cfa collection: Ruth Page Collection
Notes: The film begins with a black and white shot of a woman (Ruth Page?) standing in front of a fence wearing an Asian-inspired costume. She performs what appear to be experimental variations on an 'exotic' dance, focused on the articulation of the limbs at their joints, often at sharp angles.; The film then cuts to a color shot of an Asian mask lying on the ground, followed by a cut to a woman in a jungle-print bathing suit wearing that mask and thick bracelets. She is lying on a yellow blanket and contorting her body into various strenuous positions. The film then cuts to close-ups of tension in her feet and hands before returning to a long shot of her body on the blanket, where it again shifts through various positions.; Next, the film cuts to color footage of a woman combining some of the movements from the first two clips on a stage in a metal bikini of sorts, adorned with an elaborate golden headdress. She dances in front of sheets of gold being held up by masked assistants. The film cuts forward past a costume change on the woman's part to a trio dance including her and the two (male) assistants in elaborate gold-accented costumes. They continue to perform 'exotic' movements. The film cuts forward again to a woman in an Arabian-styled costume and pointe shoes performing a solo dance more based in ballet.; After this, the film cuts to color footage of what appears to be a rehearsal for "The Bells" (as indicated by a stage containing its set from c. 1950). However, on the stage are not dancers but a conductor looking down and conducting toward the orchestra pit. A woman in street clothes joins him onstage, followed by another (apparently Ruth Page?), who grabs their hands and does a little curtsy before walking off.; Then the film cuts to a studio rehearsal in black and white, in which a woman (Ruth Page) wearing a sort of art deco fairy costume dances a solo between unidetifiable props and part of a carousel horse. She holds a wand/riding crop and seems frightened by someone. She completes her dance in a crouching position and the camera cuts to a shot of Page in a different costume in the same studio. She wears a full skirt, a hat, and scarves tied to her wrists. In this solo, she seems to be experiencing a range of intense emotions, sometimes moving quickly and other times slowly. As she lands in a final pose, head in hands, the camera cuts once again.; The next segment appears to be an excerpt of a rehearsal of "Variations on Euclid," shot from off-center. Dancers wear unitards and hold white rods, which also adorn some of the costumes in a fanned-out manner. They perform an ensemble dance with these rods.; The film then cuts to a different ensemble dance, with a group of female dancers packed tightly together, wearing rather exotic 'tribal' costumes. Around them, two female soloists (one in a white dress, one in darker layers) dance dramatically.; The film cuts one final time to a brief shot of a male soloist before ending.
Subjects: Dance
Language: English
Cfa elements: 500 feet
Cfa records: https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/Detail/objects/8638