The Light Fantastic (1960)
• December 18th, 1960 • 0h 23min
Documentary
Overview
While most of Ken Russell's documentaries for the BBC's Monitor arts strand focused on a single creative figure, he would also occasionally make more wide-ranging surveys of the state of a particular art. The Light Fantastic (BBC, tx. 18/12/1960) was written and presented by Ron Hitchins, a Cockney barrow boy who has long been interested in a great many dance forms, and who has recently taken up Spanish dancing. Hitchins participates in some of the dance sequences, but his main contribution is an enthusiastic commentary that helps personalise what could have been simply a disparate collection of dance footage. He's not shy about expressing likes and dislikes, being none too keen on ballroom dancing (too choreographed), rock'n'roll (too monotonous) and Morris dancing (just doesn't like it), though anything genuinely spontaneous gets a thumbs up, even if it's a room full of people dressed in black swaying to the sound of a gong.
Make sure to check your pop-up blocker!!
Trailer
Similar Movies
If the Dancer Dances
Released on: 2019-04-26
Documentary
Filmmaker Maia Wechsler follows choreographer Stephen Petronio as he prepares dancers to restage the...
N/um Tchai: The Ceremonial Dance of the !Kung Bushmen
Released on: 1969-01-01
Documentary
Tchai is the word used by Ju/'hoansi to describe getting together to dance and sing; n/um can be tra...
Rumba Rules, New Genealogies
Released on: 2020-11-21
Documentary
Rumba Rules, New Genealogies offers an enjoyable, rough-edged glimpse into the music scene of Kinsha...
Habana Shakes
Released on: 2024-06-30
Documentary
Habana Shakes takes us on a rhythm-filled odyssey spanning ten vibrant days in Havana, a pulsating i...
Danse fantaisiste
Released on: 1902-08-21
Music, Documentary
"Danse fantaisiste" (Gaumont #589) is part of the "Miss Lina Esbrard. Danseuse cosmopolite et serpen...
Serpentine Dance
Released on: 1902-08-20
Music, Documentary
"Danse serpentine" (Gaumont #588) is part of the "Miss Lina Esbrard. Danseuse cosmopolite et serpent...
Lady Gaga: Glory
Released on: 2021-12-01
Documentary, Music
It's hard to define her. And that's precisely the way Lady Gaga wants it. Yes, Stefani Joanne Angel...
Kapila
Released on: 2014-08-28
Documentary, Music
The film sketches the creative life of the protagonist Kapila. The film’s narrative is structured as...
Dance Express: Hip Hop Club Dancing
Released on: 1991-11-05
Documentary
Go into the mind of professional dancing coach Tony Lewis as he brings us the greatest hip hop moves...
Black Ballerina
Released on: 2016-09-04
Documentary
BLACK BALLERINA tells the story of several black women from different generations who fell in love w...
Paulette
Released on: 2021-02-19
Documentary
A short documentary following Paulette Harwood, a 90-year-old former Radio City Music Hall Corps de ...
Out of State
Released on: 2017-11-04
Documentary
Out of State is the unlikely story of native Hawaiians men discovering their native culture as priso...
Burlesque Undressed
Released on: 2010-09-18
Documentary
In this revealing documentary, burlesque star Immodesty Blaize examines the world of British burlesq...
Genius on the Wrong Coast
Released on: 1993-11-18
Documentary
Portrait of Lester Horton, a Los Angeles-based dancer, choreographer and teacher who trained many wo...
The Wave
Released on: 2005-04-12
Documentary
The original classic on video, which introduces Gabrielle Roth's revolutionary system of moving medi...
Flamenco
Released on: 1995-06-16
Documentary
The film presents thirteen rhythms of flamenco, each with song, guitar, and dance: the up-tempo bula...
Electronic Awakening
Released on: 2011-01-01
Music, Documentary
A documentary following the conscious evolution of electronic music culture and the spiritual moveme...
Bobbi Jene
Released on: 2017-09-22
Documentary
A love story, portraying the dilemmas and inevitable consequences of ambition. It is a film about a ...
Michael Holman Presents The New York City Breakers Volume 1
Released on: 1997-01-23
Action, Documentary, Music
Collection of archive breakdance footage