''Buffalo Dance'' is an 1894 black-and-white

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

from

Edison Studios Edison Studios was an American film production organization, owned by companies controlled by inventor and entrepreneur, Thomas Edison. The studio made close to 1,200 films, as part of the Edison Manufacturing Company (1894–1911) and then Thom ...

, produced by

William K. L. Dickson William Kennedy Laurie Dickson (3 August 1860 – 28 September 1935) was a British inventor who devised an early motion picture camera under the employment of Thomas Edison. Early life William Kennedy Dickson was born on 3 August 1860 in ...

with

William Heise William Heise (1847–1910) was a German-born American film cinematographer and director, active in the 1890s and credited for more than 175 short silent films. Heise filmed a "We All Smoke" skit promoting Admiral Cigarettes in 1897. Heise is be ...

as cinematographer. Filmed on a single reel, using standard 35 mm gauge, it has a 16-second runtime. The film was shot in

Edison's Black Maria The Black Maria ( ) was Thomas Edison's film production studio in West Orange, New Jersey. It was the world's first film studio. History In 1893, the world's first film production studio, the Black Maria, or the cinematographic Theater, wa ...

studio at the same time as '' Sioux Ghost Dance''. These are two of the earliest films made which feature Native Americans. According to the Edison catalog, the performers in both films were genuine Sioux people wearing traditional costumes and war paint. All were veterans of ''Buffalo Bill's Wild West'' show. ''Buffalo Dance'' has three dancers and two drummers. Hair Coat, Last Horse and Parts His Hair dance in a circle while drummers Pine and Strong Talker provide their rhythm.

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* * * 1894 films 1894 Western (genre) films 1890s dance films 1894 short films American black-and-white films American dance films American short documentary films American silent short films Articles containing video clips Black-and-white documentary films Documentary films about Native Americans Films directed by William Kennedy Dickson Films shot in New Jersey Sioux Silent American Western (genre) films 1890s American films {{short-silent-film-stub

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