Everything about Lester Horton totally explained
Lester Horton (
January 23,
1906 -
November 2,
1953) was an
American dancer,
choreographer, and
teacher.
Lester Horton was born in
Indianapolis, Indiana. Choosing to work in
California (three thousand miles away from the center of modern dance -
New York City), Horton developed his own approach that incorporated diverse elements including
Native American dances and modern
Jazz. Horton's dance technique (
Lester Horton Technique) emphasises a whole body approach including flexibility, strength, coordination, and body awareness to allow freedom of expression.
Horton formed his first dance company, the Lester Horton Dancers, in 1932. That company evolved into what was 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, after which Horton attempted to develop a company on the East Coast for dancer
Sonia Shaw. But when Shaw's husband stopped underwriting the venture, the company collapsed before it could give any public performances. After a brief hiatus, Horton formed the Dance Theater of Los Angeles with his longtime leading dancer,
Bella Lewitzky; their partnership ended when Lewitzky left in 1950. Horton's final company continued until 1960 under the direction of
Frank Eng.
In order to finance his school and various dance companies, Horton choreographed a number of early
Hollywood musicals, beginning with
Moonlight in Havana (1942). Most of the films, like the
Maria Montez vehicle
White Savage (1943), were
B-movie musicals; the most notable was
Arthur Lubin's
The Phantom of the Opera (1943). Horton's dancers also frequently worked at clubs, including the
Folies Bergère in
New York and
Earl Carroll's Theater-Restaurant in
Los Angeles.
Horton trained a number of significant mid-twentieth century dancers:
Other figures who emerged from Horton's school and company include actress
Lelia Goldoni and gay activist
Harry Hay.
Horton's best-known works, which he called "choreodramas," are
Salome (which occupied Horton for nearly two decades) and
The Beloved.
Dance Theater made only one appearance in
New York, during the last year of Horton's life. The reviews were mixed; one magazine praised the "superb dancers" but complained that "one technical and effective stunt follows another with hardly ever any sustained choreographic continuity." Since Horton's death, his choreography has received less attention than his dance technique. Today, the
Joyce Trisler Danscompany actively promotes Horton's technique and describes itself as "dedicated to the continuance of pioneer Lester Horton's style of dance."
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