2 3 Throwback Thursday and the Leigh Sisters | Ballet Webb

Thursday, January 30, 2020

Throwback Thursday and the Leigh Sisters



Throwback Thursday and the Leigh Sisters

Edna and Stella Leigh were dancers in a vaudeville act during the late 1890s. They are said to have performed in “a saucy style” and that they exposed a bit more of their legs than was usual for that time period.

They entered the pages of history in 1896 in New York when the first exhibit of Thomas Edison’s Vitascope projected a film showing them doing their umbrella dance. This early movie was so popular that it was hand colored for the next five years. Sadly, this film has been lost, but due to the coloration (if it was accurate) we know the Leigh Sisters were blonde and one wore a pink skirt, the other a blue or green skirt. The large umbrella was purple.

By 1897 Stella retired and was replaced by Edwina and the act appeared in Little Miss Chicago in Chicago Illinois.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Dance History Secret #309:
“The Leigh Sisters appeared in Edison’s first Vitagraph film in 1896.”

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
“Those who want to get wet need no umbrella!”
― Mehmet Murat ildan

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