Tag: Betsy Baytos
All credit goes to Betsy Baytos, this blogopedia’s resident Eccentric Dance performer, teacher, and historian, for exposing us all to the work of George Campo. The first clip she unearthed was from 1932 and was shared in my post George Campo: Continental Eccentric Dancer, which got a very enthusiastic response from a ton of people. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out first. Right now!
Johnny Hutch, one of the unsung heroes of physical comedy, would have been 100 years old today. As things turned out, he not only made it past his 93rd birthday, but remained active as an acrobatic performer until age 69, and as a teacher and choreographer late into life, last working as a stunt coordinator for the Royal Shakespeare Company at the age of 87. He was also married to the same woman, Jane Phillips, for 66 years, passing away — probably not coincidentally — months after she did in 2006.
It’s almost Thanksgiving. Much to lament, much that needs fixing, much that can’t be fixed, but as always ever so much to be thankful for. Somewhere on that list be sure to include all the talented physical comedians who have left us such a wonderful legacy. And to that list I’m adding guest blogger Betsy Baytos, who once again is favoring us with some more insights and fantastic footage on the subject of eccentric dance. —jt
We continue our series of popular guest posts on eccentric dance by Betsy Baytos with a piece on the multi-talented Red Skelton. I was actually on his show (in a skit with Jackie Gleason!) a few days after my seventh birthday, and 28 years later he consented to be honorary chairperson of the first NY International Clown-Theatre Festival, but (unlike Betsy) this time around I did not get to meet him. Click here for all of Betsy’s posts on eccentric dance. —jt
Pop quiz: What do King Kong and eccentric dance have in common? I had no idea, but it turns out the missing link is Andy Serkis, known to millions as Gollum in Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, as the giant ape in King Kong, as the chimpanzee Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and as Captain Haddock in The Adventures of Tintin. Millions except for me, that is, but now thanks to our resident eccentric dance expert, Funny Feet director, and guest poster Betsy Baytos, I am being properly schooled. In addition to voicing these characters, Serkis’ body language and facial expressions were digitized by means of motion capture technology and formed the basis for animating each one of them. Not surprisingly, this leading motion capture actor with the circus name is also a student of eccentric dance. Take it away, Betsy! —jt
I am excited to be continuing with our series of guest posts by eccentric dancer Betsy Baytos, whose Kickstarter campaign to complete a fabulous documentary film, Funny Feet: the Art of Eccentric I hope you will join me in supporting.
As you can see from the article below, Betsy truly knows her stuff. In fact, I doubt there’s anyone else out there who comes close to matching her personal work experience in eccentric dance and in animation, combined with years of thorough historical research and tireless dedication to the project. In this installment, you will read how the comic moves of eccentric dancers were directly translated into famous animation characters. Amazing stuff! —jt
I have the honor of turning my 300th post (!) over to eccentric dancer Betsy Baytos, whose documentary film project, Funny Feet: The Art of Eccentric Dance (see two posts ago) draws upon this dance background and her work as an animator with Disney Studios. A twin threat! Betsy has graciously agreed to favor us with a few guest posts on eccentric dance. For starters, she’ll share some of her own work with us and explain how she came to straddle the worlds of animation and eccentric dance. (And by “straddle” I mean a full split!)
In my next life I’m hoping to come back as an eccentric dancer. I wants me some rubber legs. I’m sure you feel the same.
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Workshops & Other Events
My first book (1976)
My book Clowns has long been out of print, but you can borrow it for two weeks at a time from the Internet Archive. More information is available here.
My second book (2015)
Visual and verbal humor for the cognitively and artistically curious! Available here.
“A book to treasure!”
—Bill Irwin