Miranda Lichtenstein’s video Danse Serpentine (Doubled and Refracted) provides a contemporary take on one of the earliest examples of innovative modern film and dance. The video loop appropriates hypnotic footage filmed circa 1896 by the Lumiére Brothers of the famed “Serpentine Dance.” Loie Fuller originated the dance based on popular skirt dances of the period, in which light played on the swirling fabric of the dancers’ skirts. Expanding upon the movements of the film, the Lumiére Brothers hand colored the dancer’s skirts in each frame so the spectrum shifts like a kaliedescpoe. The film created a stir in the dance community and inspired prominent visual artists of the time including Pablo Picasso and the Futurist F.T. Marinetti.

In Lichtenstein’s 2010 version, the artist updates and enhances the footage by projecting the film onto a reflective surface, re-recording it, and layering another projection as a double exposure. This doubling and refracting disorients the sense of time and space inherent to the original film, creating a dreamlike, surreal atmosphere that accentuates the luscious waves of color and swirling skirts. Ultimately, in the utilization of innovative camera techniques, the artist creates an equally inspiring and visually enchanting piece that echoes the and fluid sense of wonder first explored in the original performance.