Dance of the Hours

Dance of the Hours
Name	Dance of the Hours
Segment Number	Six
Runtime	12:08
Music	Dance of the Hours (from "La Gioconda")
Composer	Amilcare Ponchielli
Director(s)	T. Hee Norm Ferguson
Story Development/Research	{{{story}}}
Art Direction	Kendall O'Connor Harold Doughty Ernest Nordli
Background Painting	Albert Dempster Charles Conner
Animation Supervisor(s)	Norm Ferguson
Animation	John Lounsbery Howard Swift Preston Blair Hugh Fraser Harvey Toombs Norman Tate Hicks Lokey Art Elliott Grant Simmons Ray Patterson Franklin Grundeen
Special Camera Effects	{{{specialeffects}}}
Previous Segment	The Pastoral Symphony
Next Segment	Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria
Gallery	{{{gallery}}}

The Dance of the Hours is the sixth segment of Fantasia. Based on the piece from the opera "La Gioconda", this segment -unlike in the opera- takes the form of a comical ballet performance by various animals, each group of animals representing the different times of the day.

Overview

Introduction

"Now we're going to do one of the most famous and popular ballets ever written: the "Dance of the Hours" from Ponchielli's opera "La Gioconda". It's a pageant of the hours of the day. We see first a group of dancers in costumes to suggest the delicate light of dawn. Then a second group enters dressed to represent the brilliant light of noon day. As these withdraw, a third group enters in costumes that suggest the delicate tones of early evening. Then a last group, all in black, the somber hours of the night. Suddenly, the orchestra bursts into a brilliant finale in which the hours of darkness are overcome by the hours of light. All this takes place in the great hall with its garden beyond, at the palace of Duke Alvise, a Venetian nobleman." - Deems Taylor

Characters

• Madame Upanova
  • Ostrich Students (Morning)
• Hyacinth Hippo
  • Hippo Servants (Midday)
• Elephant Troupe (Evening)
• Ben Ali Gator
  • Aligator Followers (Midnight)

Credits

• Music: Dance of the Hours from the opera La Gioconda by Amilcare Ponchielli (extended and arranged by Leopold Stokowski)
• Directors: T. Hee, Norm Ferguson
• Character Designs: Martin Provensen, James Bodrero, Duke Russell, Earl Hurd
• Art Direction: Kendall O'Connor, Harold Doughty, Ernest Nordli
• Background Painting: Albert Dempster, Charles Conner
• Animation Supervision: Norm Ferguson
• Animation: John Lounsbery, Howard Swift, Preston Blair, Hugh Fraser, Harvey Toombs, Norman Tate, Hicks Lokey, Art Elliott, Grant Simmons, Ray Patterson, Franklin Grundeen