Lovely silent film gem from 1896:

Early filmmakers loved dancers.  I can’t locate the source of this film, but iterations of the Serpentine Dance were particular favorites of both Thomas Edison and the Lumiere Brothers.  Inspired by dancer Loie Fuller’s famed skirt dances, in which colored lights projected onto her billowing garments, this film (and others like it) was hand-tinted to achieve similar affects.  Fuller’s solo was mesmerizing, and her copycat film subjects no less so.

(Via Ubu)