Betsy Baytos Bio
Click here for a 2023 interview on working with Muppets, Disney & PETA!
Meet Betsy Baytos
Betsy’s eclectic career was tailor-made for her unique talents. An award-winning film and feature animator at Disney Studios, her career launched at age 18, where she began work on THE RESCUERS, PETE’S DRAGON, MICKEY’S CHRISTMAS CAROL, THE FOX & THE HOUND, THE EMPEROR’S NEW GROOVE, and THE PRINCESS AND THE. FROG. Seeking out vaudevillians, she discovered Eccentric Dance and was thrilled to learn how this loose-limbed, comic style of dance inspired animation, providing a golden opportunity to continue the tradition of choreographing Eccentric Dance in all the films she animated.
Betsy saw another opportunity with THE MUPPET SHOW in London, performing the Betsy Bird, which Jim Henson created to feature her eccentric style of dance. While in the UK, she was stunned to trace the history of Eccentric Dance throughout Europe, via ancient pantomime, the Commedia dell’ Arte and Music Hall. As an Eccentric Dance historian, she began tracking down the surviving Masters to learn the style, which led to a lifetime of research.
Back in the states, Betsy sought out more venues for eccentric dance, and was featured in Showtime’s FAERIE TALE THEATRE, THE STEVE ALLEN SHOW and on the Kennedy Center stage for the Muppets’ first live performance at the INTERNATIONAL PUPPET FESTIVAL. As a spokesperson for Disney Animation, she toured across the country promoting animation, which provided a rare opportunity to introduce Chaplin and the eccentrics that inspired their characters to a younger generation.
With research grants and support from Jerome Robbins, Betsy flew to New York, to further study with the theatrical masters of Eccentric Dance. This led to the renowned Broadway Director/choreographer Henry Le Tang, who cast Betsy as the principal Eccentric Dancer in STARDUST on Broadway.
Perfecting her eccentric style, Betsy made the decision in 1994 to document and film the Eccentric Dance Masters and preserve their stories on film. While working on the project, Betsy consulted as an Eccentric Dance specialist for Cirque Du Soleil in Montreal, providing story, film, and visual content. She conducted seminars across the globe, including the Fred Astaire Conference at Oxford University, UCLA, CalArts Animation, Disney Artist’s Development and Universal Studios Osaka.
Then in 2019, The Motion Picture Academy of Arts & Sciences sponsored Betsy to present her ‘work-in-progress’ of FUNNY FEET & RUBBER LEGS: THE ART OF DANCE to a sold-out audience at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills, California.
Hosted by Shirley MacLaine and renowned British actor Simon Callow, it mixed live performance with rare archival clips and a slice of the 67 interviews spanning five countries, which she has filmed. A documentary feature film is now in production. When the film is completed, Betsy hopes to create the first-of-its-kind website-database of her entire archive and interviews, to be available for researchers, dancers, artists, and anyone who loves dance history.
Betsy will tap into her animation and creative background to design and license dance for the film. She has brought life into character licensing campaigns such as the Coca-Cola Polar Bears, Warner Bros., Disney, Aquarium of the Pacific, and over 40 years of creating Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville licensing.
Passionate about our planet, Betsy is currently working with Dr. Jane Goodall & MY OCTOPUS TEACHER’s Craig Foster, on an illustrated book series entitled THE WATERING HOLE, to benefit African wildlife and educate about climate change.
Betsy Baytos Design
For more information on art for sale and commissioned designs, please contact Betsy Baytos at…