Lester Horton

Horton, Lester, (1906-53), dancer, choreographer, and teacher is regarded as one of the founders of American modern dance. He developed a unique style of technique and choreography, established the first permanent theater in America devoted to dance, and organized one of the first integrated modern dance companies.

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.

Throughout his career, Horton combined dance and drama into a total theatrical experience. He was intimately involved in creating all aspects of a production: the costumes, sets, lighting, and music as well as the scenarios and choreography. His fascination with ethnic dance, human sensuality, and cultural history was expressed in a prodigious body of work with themes ranging from the classics to melodrama, social concerns to farce.

Horton demanded a lot from his dancers. He required them to study ballet, learn to read music, sew, work the light board, and assist in making scenery and props, participating in virtually all aspects of production, design, and execution. Horton's company members and students included well-known modern dancers/choreographers such as Alvin Ailey, Janet Collins, Carmen de Lavallade, Bella Lewitzky, James Mitchell, Joyce Trisler, and James Truitte. Horton collaborated with Lewitzky to develop the foundation of his technique; they joined forces with several other partners to found the Dance Theater in Hollywood in 1946.

sources:
* Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre - Techniques, Horton
* Wikipedia - Lester Horton