A STUDY IN CHOREOGRAPHY FOR CAMERA (1946)
Article 5364 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 2-5-2017
Directed by Maya Deren
Featuring Talley Beatty
Country: USA
What it is: Avant-garde cinema

A dancer dances in several locations.

Let’s get the fantastic content out of the way first; the fluid editing of the short makes it seem as if the dancer is magically transporting himself to different locations, and my guess is that this illusion is clearly intended. It doesn’t really lend itself to any plot point, because there is no plot; it’s an avant-garde mood piece. However, it is a very good one; it’s quite stylish, and Talley Beatty’s dancing is phenomenal. Granted, this is the sort of thing that can get boring after a few minutes, but the length of this short is only two and a half minutes, and it holds the attention for that length.