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the venue did not provide publicity and so the performance was largely unknown and not well attended. Only about 300 people showed for the
Saturday night performance and only about 200 tickets were sold for the Sunday matinee. This netted the company a total of 100 dollars. All but one of the reviews were good. One magazine praised the "superb dancers" but complained that "one technical and effective stunt follows another with hardly ever any sustained choreographic continuity." There was not enough money to return home from New York and Horton had doubts about the company's financial ability to attend
768:, "Horton purchased a space in West Hollywood and in partnership with Bella Lewitzky founded Dance Theatre in 1946. The only space in Los Angeles dedicated to modern dance, Dance Theatre included a school that hosted children's training programs and company rehearsals and a theater space next door for performances. In 1950 the partnership with Lewitzky was dissolved, but Horton continued to maintain Dance Theater until he passed away from a heart attack in 1953. After his death his partner Frank Eng operated Dance Theatre until 1960."
396:"I am sincerely trying now to create a dance technique based entirely upon corrective exercises, created with a knowledge of human anatomy; a technique which will correct physical faults and prepare a dancer for any type of dancing he may wish to follow; a technique having all the basic movements which govern the actions of the body; combined with a knowledge of the origin of movement and a sense of artistic design." -Lester Horton, in a letter to Dorathi Bock Pierre, "From Primitive to Modern," American Dancer (October 1937)
445:, had a daughter who took classes at the dance theater. Janet Collins, a twenty-year-old ballet student (who would go on to be the first African American dancer to perform full-time with the Metropolitan Opera in New York) was one of the students approached by Horton to perform in exchange for free classes. Collins enthusiastically agreed, and yet admitted to Horton that she knew "nothing about modern dance." Horton told her not to worry—he would teach her.
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briefly known as the Lester Horton
California Ballets (1934) and then the Horton Dance Group (1934). The Horton Dance Group, billed in its film appearances as the Lester Horton Dancers, lasted until early 1944. Later, Horton attempted to develop a company on the East Coast for dancer Sonia Shaw, but Shaw's husband stopped underwriting the venture and the company collapsed before it could give any public performances.
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305:. He purchased a location in West Hollywood for rehearsals, performances, and teaching. It was a school, a theater, and the first space in Los Angeles dedicated to modern dance. The partnership with Lewitzky ended when she left in 1950, but Horton's final company continued until 1960 under the direction of Frank Eng.
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Dance
Theater made only one appearance in New York, during the last year of Horton's life. The troupe was scheduled to perform at the reputation-making theater of the Young Men's and young Women's Hebrew Association on East Ninety-second street in New York City. Upon arriving the troupe discovered
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at the Los
Angeles Olympics. His success garnered an invitation to perform at the Paramount Theatre on the same bill as Judy Garland and the Garland sisters for a two-week run. In 1932, Lester Horton formed his own dance company called the Lester Horton Dancers. That company evolved into what was
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Horton developed his own approach to dance that incorporated diverse elements including Native
American Folk Dance, Japanese arm gestures, Javanese and Balinese isolations for the upper body, particularly the eyes, head and hands. Horton also included Afro-Caribbean elements, like hip circles.
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later that summer. Horton's agent wired Horton the money to get the troupe home. At the time, Horton was drinking heavily and was emotionally and physically ill. Upon returning to Los
Angeles he moved into a house on Mulholland Drive where he was attended to by his parents and friends.
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Determined to perform at the Jacob's Pillow festival, the group travelled to the
Berkshires by car. The show was a success, though Horton could not afford to accompany the troupe to the festival. Riding on their success at the festival, the troupe was asked to open for
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393:, has no style, per se. The technique emphasizes a whole body, anatomical approach to dance that includes flexibility, strength, coordination and body and spatial awareness to enable unrestricted, dramatic freedom of expression.
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Alvin Ailey briefly ran the company following Horton's death, but eventually moved to New York City, where in 1969 the Horton
Technique became standard training for students at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center
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322:(1943), were Universal productions, which could not rival the budgetary extravagance of MGM or Fox, though many were in Technicolor; the most notable was Arthur Lubin's
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Since Horton's death, his dance technique and choreography have become widely known and practiced. Horton's legacy has survived through the
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In order to finance his school and various dance companies, Horton choreographed a number of
Hollywood musicals, beginning with
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His interest in dance was mainly stimulated by his fascination with
American Indian culture after watching tribal dances in a
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He studied ballet for two years with a local teacher in Indianapolis, Theo Hewes. At that time he also took classes at the
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In 1946, after a brief hiatus, Horton formed the Dance Theater of Los Angeles with his longtime leading dancer,
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328:(1943). Horton's dancers also frequently worked at clubs, including the Folies Bergère in New York and
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Genius on the Wrong Coast (video recording), Lelia Goldoni, distributed by Green River Road, 1993.
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in the fall; they were so popular that they were invited back for another two-week engagement.
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focus on Horton's technique,", as well as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and School.
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Modern Bodies: Dance and American Modernism from Martha Graham to Alvin Ailey.
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Johnson, Lorin (October 27, 2014). "Degrees of Separation: Lester Horton's".
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was later an authority on Horton's technique and choreography, and taught at
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Other figures who emerged from Horton's school and company include actress
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The People Never Stopped Dancing: Native American Modern Dance Histories.
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Larry Warren Collection on Anna Sokolow and Lester Horton, 1930-2009
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on January 23, 1906. His parents were Iradell and Pollyanna Horton.
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336:. Horton's best-known works, which he called "choreodramas," are
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Bizot, Richard. "Lester Horton's "Salome" 1934-1953 and after."
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Richard Bizot, "Lester Horton's "Salome", 1934-1953 and After,"
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Horton died of a heart attack at his home on November 2, 1953.
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Camera Three Tribute to Lester Horton (video recording), 1963.
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and Sondra Kerr Blake. The founder of the Mattachine Society,
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In 1931, Horton created his first solo concert choreography,
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www.lhdt.org Lester Horton Dance Theater Foundation, Inc.
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Horton's dance technique, which is now commonly known as
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University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music
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Dancing in the Sun: Hollywood Choreographers 1915-1937.
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Perces, Marjorie B., Forsythe, Ana Marie, Bell, Cheryl.
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Bourgeon Journal of Dance, Volume 2 #3, pp. 28–30.
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Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002.
195:(January 23, 1906 – November 2, 1953) was an American
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340:(which occupied Horton for nearly two decades) and
279:and Horton painted faces on the window mannequins.
49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
710:Warren, Larry. Dance Perspectives 31 Autumn, 1967.
1070:Lester Horton Dance Theater collection, 1918-1996
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652:Dorathi Bock Pierre, "From Primitive to Modern,"
385:Contemporary stretching based on Horton Technique
245:and worked with the Indianapolis Little Theater.
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268:, at the Argus Bowl, a natural amphitheater in
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934:Vol. 16, No. 1 (Spring, 1984) pp. 35–40.
16:American dancer and choreographer (1906–1953)
969:University of Michigan Research Press, 1987.
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923:Barnes, Clive. Genius on the Wrong Coast,
680:. Dance Heritage Coalition. Archived from
512:Horton choreographed the following films:
282:He chose to work in California instead of
264:, a dance-pageant by Clara Bates based on
955:Journal of Folklore Research Press, 2007.
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
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752:Larry Warren, "Starting from Indiana,"
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1181:Herron School of Art and Design alumni
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1120:The Lester Horton Dance Theater, Inc.
766:Lester Horton - Dance History Project
312:(1942). Many of the films, like the
974:Lester Horton: Modern Dance Pioneer.
47:adding citations to reliable sources
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211:Lester Iradell Horton was born in
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860:"Lead dancer James Truitte, 72"
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34:needs additional citations for
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448:Other past students included:
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962:Princeton Book Company, 1992.
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1082:How to use archival material
1036:How to use archival material
821:Alvin Ailey: A Life In Dance
796:Alvin Ailey: A Life In Dance
756:31 (Autumn 1967): 7, 13, 18.
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248:Seeing a performance of the
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722:"Lester Horton (1906-1953)"
671:"Lester Horton (1906-1953)"
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252:had a great impact on him.
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833:Joyce Trisler Danscompany
417:Joyce Trisler Danscompany
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207:Early years and education
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559:Salome, Where She Danced
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1191:American modern dancers
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932:Dance Research Journal,
669:Prevots, Naimi (2012).
779:Dance Research Journal
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1166:American male dancers
1161:American jazz dancers
939:The Horton Technique,
734:on September 23, 2015
687:on September 23, 2015
678:www.danceheritage.org
656:(October, 1937), p.36
527:Rhythm of the Islands
472:William Dale Jennings
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213:Indianapolis, Indiana
193:Lester Iradell Horton
151:Indianapolis, Indiana
137:Lester Iradell Horton
543:Phantom of the Opera
330:Earl Carroll Theatre
325:Phantom of the Opera
262:The Song of Hiawatha
243:Herron Art Institute
43:improve this article
1059:Library of Congress
1013:Library of Congress
944:Foulkes, Julia L.,
566:That Night With You
519:Moonlight in Havana
499:Jeri Faubion Salkin
482:Carmen de Lavallade
310:Moonlight in Havana
980:Dance Perspectives
835:Accessed 1-5-2008.
754:Dance Perspectives
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332:and Restaurant in
291:Kootenai War Dance
222:. He studied the
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1107:The Lester I Knew
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866:. August 24, 1995
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266:Longfellow's poem
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41:Please help
36:verification
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1146:1953 deaths
1141:1906 births
1046:Archives at
1000:Archives at
620:3-D Follies
454:Alvin Ailey
342:The Beloved
334:Los Angeles
277:wax figures
270:Little Rock
171:Occupations
1135:Categories
887:Experiment
640:References
581:Shady Lady
573:Frisco Sal
551:The Climax
143:1906-01-23
69:newspapers
907:2211-730X
477:Joan Kerr
443:Harry Hay
365:Technique
232:Penobscot
1055:Location
1009:Location
628:See also
316:vehicle
238:tribes.
224:Iroquois
589:Tangier
183:teacher
83:scholar
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608:, 1949
605:Bagdad
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592:, 1946
584:, 1945
576:, 1945
568:, 1945
562:, 1945
554:, 1944
546:, 1943
538:, 1943
530:, 1943
522:, 1942
338:Salome
256:Career
236:Ojibwa
230:, and
197:dancer
177:Dancer
153:, U.S.
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732:(PDF)
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508:Films
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1095:IMDb
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872:2022
740:2015
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159:Died
133:Born
62:news
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