Leigh Sisters: Difference between revisions
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The '''Leigh Sisters''' was a [[vaudeville]] act at the end of the 19th century in the United States. |
The '''Leigh Sisters''' was a [[vaudeville]] act at the end of the 19th century in the United States. |
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The sisters were Edna and Stella Leigh who danced in a saucy style,<ref name=Adams/> exposing their legs more than was usual in those times.<ref name= NYH/> They were filmed by [[Alfred Clark (director)|Alfred Clark]] for two [[Kinetoscope]] productions – ''Acrobatic Dance'' and ''Umbrella Dance''<ref name=Musser/> in 1895. The films were hand coloured so we know that they were blondes, the umbrella was purple. One had a pink skirt and the other was lime green or blue. The film was so popular that new versions were printed and hand coloured for the next five years.<ref name=Yumibe/> These early moving pictures have been lost but there is a frame from the latter in the [[Margaret Herrick Library]].<ref name=Yumibe/> |
The sisters were Edna and Stella Leigh who danced in a saucy style,<ref name=Adams/> exposing their legs more than was usual in those times.<ref name= NYH/> They were filmed by [[Alfred Clark (director)|Alfred Clark]] for two [[Kinetoscope]] productions – ''Acrobatic Dance'' and ''Umbrella Dance''<ref name=Musser/> in 1895. The films were hand coloured so we know that they were blondes, the umbrella was purple. One had a pink skirt and the other was lime green or blue. The film was so popular that new versions were printed and hand coloured for the next five years.<ref name="Yumibe2012">{{cite book|author=Joshua Yumibe|title=Moving Color: Early Film, Mass Culture, Modernism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cpvymkXtt1AC&pg=PA13|date=17 July 2012|publisher=Rutgers University Press|isbn=978-0-8135-5298-9|pages=13–}}</ref> These early moving pictures have been lost but there is a frame from the latter in the [[Margaret Herrick Library]].<ref name=Yumibe/> |
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In 1897, Stella had retired and was replaced by Edwina.<ref name=VJ/> The act appeared as members of "The Alimony Club" in ''Little Miss Chicago'', a [[burlesque]] at the Gaiety Theatre in Chicago.<ref name=GT/> |
In 1897, Stella had retired and was replaced by Edwina.<ref name=VJ/> The act appeared as members of "The Alimony Club" in ''Little Miss Chicago'', a [[burlesque]] at the Gaiety Theatre in Chicago.<ref name=GT/> |
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==Reception== |
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They performed their umbrella dance at the [[roof garden]] of the [[Casino Theatre (New York City)|Casino Theatre]] in New York. The ''[[New York Herald]]'' headlined that they "Danced without Tights"<ref name= NYH/>{{quote|text=The Leigh Sisters' New "[[Trilbyana|Trilby]]" Act Caused a Sensation on the Casino Roof Garden |
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The appearance on the roof last night of the Leigh sisters in a "Trilby dance" caused a murmur of excitement. Isa, of "[[The Clemenceau Case]]", who made a sudden bound into fame a few years ago, was a model of propriety by comparison with them. The living pictures were at least covered with tights, and the bronze statues, who were hauled into a police court, had a metallic coating over their nakedness. Other Trilbys have appeared in bare feet and danced on the stage, but none of them ventured to exhibit quite so much of their anatomy. |
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The first appearance of the Leighs on the stage was very late, some time after "The Merry World" had closed, and the roof was crowded with the audience from the theatre. The red curtains were pulled aside, the orchestra struck up a lively air, and the sisters entered. All that could be seen from the front was a pair of muscular legs and an enormous white umbrella, opened, and held toward the audience. |
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The legs were dancing. There was no possible doubt about their nakedness. The flesh moved, the muscles stood out, the veins were clearly marked, the ankles and knees were more prominent than they could have been under tights. The legs were visible to a point two or three inches above the knees — the umbrella hid all else. |
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The music quickened, the feet pirouetted from side to side and the toes came into plain sight. With the crash of the cymbals that marked the end of the dance a second pair of legs dropped to the floor behind the umbrella, as one of the sisters had been carrying the other up to that point. One could hear the frou-frou of lace as the girls passed their hands down over their scanty clothes to smooth them down before the audience could see them, then the umbrella was thrown backward and the sisters stepped forward. |
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Their skirts, delicate white, lace trimmed creations, reached just about as far down as the umbrella had been held. Their bodices were quite low, but not sufficiently so as to excite comment had it not been for the nakedness below. |
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As the girls danced it became evident that their fluffy lace undergarments were far shorter than their skirts, exposing their thighs half way to the hips. |
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They did the "split", the "cartwheel" and many other acrobatic feats, concluding with a high kicking dance. The other Trilbys are dainty, shrinking, modest things by the side of the Leigh sisters.|title=Danced Without Tights|source=''New York Herald'', 19 June 1895}} |
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The ''[[Los Angeles Herald]]'' reviewed them later that year when they appeared at the [[Orpheum Circuit|Los Angeles Orpheum]],<ref name= LAH/>{{quote |text=The sensation of the evening was the appearance of the Leigh sisters. The audience were evidently there to see the bare-legged dancers, and could barely restrain their impatience while the [[calcium light]]s were adjusted. Whether by accident or design the light first flashed over the audience much to the discomfort of the bald heads in front and to the merriment of the balcony.<br><br>The curtain rises and a big white silk umbrella is discovered at the center of the stage. It soon lifts and two pretty, shapely bare legs are displayed, that soon catch the rhythm of the music and a neat little dance is executed. The audience gets intensely interested, when of a sudden two other legs, equally shapely and bare, drop to view without ever suggesting whence they came. They are heavenly in shape but decidedly earthy in the things they do. A short dance with the four bare legs in full view and the umbrella turns and the two Leigh Sisters are in full view. Then they execute some exceedingly clever high kicking, splits, handsprings and turns. Aside from the novelty of the act being one with the legs bared from the thighs down, it is very clever as a high kick and dance. Pink toes and the movement of the muscles at the calf and ankle demonstrate that there is no question of the bareness of the leg. It is known as the Trilby dance, but is Trilby only as far as the legs and feet are concerned; for Trilby posed ''au naturel''.|title=At the Theaters|source=''Los Angeles Herald'', 26 November 1895}} |
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==References== |
==References== |
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<ref name=Yumibe> |
<ref name=Yumibe> |
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{{citation |page=13 |title=Moving Color: Early Film, Mass Culture, Modernism |first=Joshua |last=Yumibe |publisher=Rutgers University Press |year=2012 |isbn=9780813552989}} |
{{citation |page=13 |title=Moving Color: Early Film, Mass Culture, Modernism |first=Joshua |last=Yumibe |publisher=Rutgers University Press |year=2012 |isbn=9780813552989}} |
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</ref> |
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<ref name= LAH> |
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{{citation |title=At the Theaters |page=4 |date=26 November 1895 |newspaper=Los Angeles Herald}} |
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</ref> |
</ref> |
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<ref name= NYH> |
<ref name= NYH> |
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[[Category:Sibling duos]] |
[[Category:Sibling duos]] |
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[[Category:Vaudeville]] |
[[Category:Vaudeville]] |
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{{dance-stub}} |
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Revision as of 23:06, 26 November 2016
Leigh Sisters | |
|---|---|
 Artist's impression of their umbrella dance | |
| Background information | |
| Genres | burlesque, trilbyana, vaudeville |
| Years active | 1890s |
| Past members |
|
The Leigh Sisters was a vaudeville act at the end of the 19th century in the United States.
The sisters were Edna and Stella Leigh who danced in a saucy style,[1] exposing their legs more than was usual in those times.[2] They were filmed by Alfred Clark for two Kinetoscope productions – Acrobatic Dance and Umbrella Dance[3] in 1895. The films were hand coloured so we know that they were blondes, the umbrella was purple. One had a pink skirt and the other was lime green or blue. The film was so popular that new versions were printed and hand coloured for the next five years.[4] These early moving pictures have been lost but there is a frame from the latter in the Margaret Herrick Library.[5]
In 1897, Stella had retired and was replaced by Edwina.[6] The act appeared as members of "The Alimony Club" in Little Miss Chicago, a burlesque at the Gaiety Theatre in Chicago.[7]
References
- ^ Adams; Keene; Koella (2011), Seeing the American Woman, 1880-1920: The Social Impact of the Visual Media Explosion, McFarland, p. 18, ISBN 9780786489039
- ^ "Danced Without Tights", New York Herald, p. 7, 19 June 1895
- ^ Musser, Charles (1991), "Edison and the Kinetoscope", Before the Nickelodeon, University of California Press, p. 56, ISBN 9780520060807
- ^ Joshua Yumibe (17 July 2012). Moving Color: Early Film, Mass Culture, Modernism. Rutgers University Press. pp. 13–. ISBN 978-0-8135-5298-9.
- ^ Yumibe, Joshua (2012), Moving Color: Early Film, Mass Culture, Modernism, Rutgers University Press, p. 13, ISBN 9780813552989
- ^ "Vaudeville Jottings", The New York Dramatic Mirror, p. 20, 20 March 1897
- ^ Little Miss Chicago, Gaiety Theatre, 14 March 1897