That's (above) the old Chouinard art school in the 30's, the school that later morphed into Cal Arts. It was Walt Disney's idea to combine the Chouinard Art Institute and the LA Conservatory of Music so that different artistic disciplines would be taught under the same roof. It was an interesting idea...cross pollination and all that...but did it work?
You have to wonder what would have happened if a showbiz dancer like Bob Fosse had supervised the Cal Arts dance program. Imagine the young Fosse lecturing to an animation class.
He would have shown them things like the Astaire tilted hat, the Jolson extended arms, face-open palms like a minstrel, clowning pantomimes, hiccuping joints, locking arms and legs that take a pose then suddenly drop it, tiny stepping like Jimmy Durante with knees bent and arms dangling behind...it would have been quite a show.
Fosse believed in keeping the actors moving, in establishing a stylized, confident flow that's never contradicted by a wrong gesture. He was influenced by what vaudevillians used to call "eccentric dancing," and he combined that with ballet.
Wow! What a teacher he would have made! What an influence such a teacher might have had on subsequent animation styles. Hmmmm....if any Cal Arts students are reading this will you write to Theory Corner to let us know how the dance/music/ animation synthesis is working out these days?
This is one of your most brilliant post thus far this year, Eddie. Great animation dancing and showmanship has mostly become a lost art.
ReplyDeletePerhaps it's just me being old but what I've noticed is a blending of styles and disciplines until it's hard to relate to anything other than on 'wow' factor. The fusion of music blurs definitions, now dance has become an athletic event like gymnastics. There seems to be less about charisma and more about prowess. What sets good dance off for me is the story-telling element where the body defines a character and situation. Two very good examples would be the films "Chicago" or "Cabaret".
ReplyDeleteI went to the University of the Arts = UARTs in Philly, which used to be the Philadelphia College of Art. It was a great mix of all disciplines; Jazz musicians, Ballet and Modern Dancers, Sculptors, Animators, Illustrators, Industrial Designers... It really rounded your thinking about how people create and interpret the world around them. I wouldn't trade that experience for anything... except Alzheimers.
ReplyDeleteRoberto: Thanks!
ReplyDeleteJoel: Aaaargh! I only saw part of the film version of Chicago, and I walked out after 20 minutes. I got mad because it struck me as a misunderstanding of what Fosse was all about.
So many people have told me I was mistaken that sometime soon I think I'll force myself to watch it all the way through and see what I missed.
Z: Interesting! I don't doubt that exposure to other arts is broadening, but I can't help wondering if that exposure could be more focused and more directly useful for what artists do.