Lester Horton was born on January 23rd, 1906 in Indianapolis, Indiana. His parents’ names were Iradell and Pollyanna Horton. His initial interest in dance stemmed from his fascination with Native American tribal dances, which he viewed on a Wild West show. This led to him studying, in specific, the Iroquois, Red River Indians, Penobscot and Ojibway tribes. In 1929, he traveled to Eagle Rock, Californian to perform The Song of Hiawatha. He worked with Stuberghs, a wax model company, and he painted faces on the models. He started his own dance company in Los Angeles, California; the Lester Horton Dancers. During his life, he was with William Bowne, who left him to marry a former member of Horton’s company. He then met Frank Eng, who he was with until his death on November 2nd, 1953.
A True Artist
Mr. Horton was known for designing his own costumes, sets and props.
Lester Horton Dance
Lester Horton in costume for his dance "Song of Hiawatha"
Horton the Teacher
Horton in a rehearsal teaching and guiding.
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This is a lot of interesting information that I did not know, and I assume many others are also unaware of. I am not very aware of his performing life, as most of the information I've stumbled upon has been his influence of training Alvin Ailey. I wonder, with the all of the interest in Native American tribal dances, how did he develop is angular technique? Are the two related? Can't wait to find out in your further posts!
ReplyDeleteEmily that is a great question/statement. Horton's technique indeed incorporated Native American dance vocabulary, as well as Japanese, Afro-Carribean and Balinese. The angular shapes in particular stem from the Japanese arm movements, as well as the Balinese vocabulary.
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