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Behind-the-scenes with Betsy.
Template:Designer Betsy Bird was a full-body dancing bird who was created especially for dancer Betsy Baytos.
She appeared in The Muppet Show episode 505 with James Coburn, performing "The Varsity Drag" and "Bird Walk."
Although Jim Henson felt the performance itself was wonderful in its extreme, the costume's material seemed to hide Betsy Baytos' eccentric dancing movements, instead of emphasizing them. Baytos herself felt somewhat restricted by the costume and the time constraints of the production schedule. While Betsy's movements are perhaps nothing extraordinary for a Muppet, for a human dancer it's an impressive performance.
Betsy Bird was also successfully featured during the 'Muppets first 'live' performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, in a pas de deux, backed by flying seagulls.
Although Betsy Bird was used only once on the show, Betsy continued to puppeteer on the show during season five. Betsy Bird can also be seen dancing on stage in Here Come the Puppets!