Funny Feet: The Art of Eccentric Dance
I've always loved dance animation. Whether it is Mickey in Thru the Mirror or Donald in Mr. Duck Steps Out or the dancing in Rooty Toot Toot , when expressive movement joins with music, you get an energy that leaves ordinary animation in the dust. Dick Lundy, Les Clark, Ken Harris, Preston Blair, Ward Kimball, and Pat Matthews are just some of the animators with a genuine flair for dance. Animated dance built on what was happening in live action films, and that was built on what had been done in Vaudeville and the English music hall. Chaplin, Keaton, Stan Laurel, Groucho Marx, and James Cagney all used dance in their stage performances. Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Ray Bolger, Buddy Ebsen, and the Nicholas Brothers were all influenced by the same tradition. Betsy Baytos has worked as an animator and dancer and is making a documentary called Funny Feet: The Art of Eccentric Dance. Her promo is below: She's using Kickstarter to fund a trip to England to research music hall