Melissa Mason specialized in extreme high kicking. She could appear to swing her leg in 360 degrees like it was her shoulder. Her foot positioning sometimes appears unnatural, and I think that adds to the crazy effect. Consider how the direction of your character’s feet impacts the pose. Maybe they don’t have to follow what … Read more
Jack Coogan was a vaudeville dancer and the father of Jackie Coogan, the little boy who played “The Kid” in Charlie Chaplin’s film of the same title. Here is fun clip of him in a Roscoe Arbuckle and Buster Keaton short film. It’s a little unusual as his dance isn’t a solo bit, but is … Read more
Hal LeRoy is another great eccentric dancer for animators to study. HERE IS A LINK to a blog post from Filmstruck about him. This next one has a unique camera angle from below a glass floor. You can get a great sense of how rotated his feet are. I chose this next one for the … Read more
Often, it’s fun to see an eccentric dance routine put to contemporary music. Enjoy Jack Stanford dancing to Uptown Funk. In this video, you can also hear him sing.
James “Stump” Cross and Eddie “Stumpy” Hartman were a comedy dance duo popular on stage and film from the mid-30s to the 50s. In addition to excellent dancing, the two also were a classic comedy duo with contrasting heights. The taller “Stump” made funny faces and shifted his hat and jacket around for comical effect, … Read more