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As mentioned on our website, Lester Horton
What did Lester Horton do for modern dance?
In addition to creating his technique and choreographing a number of works, Horton established the Lester Horton Dance Theater, one of the first permanent theaters dedicated to modern dance in the U.S., in Los Angeles in 1946. (It closed its doors in 1960.)
What is the Horton technique?
His unique training technique (Horton Technique) combined elements of Native American Folk Dance, Afro-Caribbean hip circles, Javanese and Balinese isolations of the upper body, Japanese arm gestures, and a new whole body, anatomical approach to movement.
What is the Lester Horton collection?
In 1996 the Lester Horton Dance Theater Collection was acquired by the Library of Congress. Horton left a significant legacy of modern dance in Los Angeles and the world.
What did John Horton study in Los Angeles?
After the production traveled to Los Angeles, Horton chose to remain there and to continue studying dance. In Los Angeles he studied with Japanese dancer and choreographer Michio Itō, from whom he learned to integrate props into his choreography and present dance as dramatic theatre.
What does the Horton technique focus on?
The fortification studies in Horton Technique focus on strengthening, fortifying, and stretching through a series of movements that attend to different parts of the body. Altogether, there are 17 Fortifications within the Horton Technique.
What is Horton dance style?
Horton's dance technique, which is now commonly known as Horton Technique, 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.
What is Lester Horton known for?
Lester Horton, a pioneer of American modern dance, was born in 1906 in Indiana.. He achieved fame as a dancer, a choreographer, and especially as a teacher. His fascination with American Indian dance tradition encouraged him to take dance lessons.
What did Lester Horton choreography?
In 1942 Horton began choreographing for Hollywood movies. Given his interest in blending cultural references, he often worked on films with stories set in exotic locales, such as Moonlight in Havana (1942), White Savage (1943), Phantom of the Opera (1944), and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1945).
What are the six movement categories of the Horton technique?
The Horton technique is a codified syllabus that is separated into movement categories comprised of detailed exercises called Studies, which include Projections, Locomotions, Preludes, Rhythms, Improvisations, and Fortifications. The fortifications are considered the core of Horton technique.
Who created the Horton technique?
In the 1920s, '30s and '40s, dancer/choreographer Lester Horton developed a dance technique based on Native American dances, anatomical studies and other movement influences.
Where did the Horton technique originate?
In the 1920s, '30s and '40s, Lester Horton developed a modern dance technique based on Native American dances, anatomical studies, and other movement influences.
What are the modern dance techniques?
Freeform and improvisational. Modern dance is often described as fluid and freeform, alternating between long, languid movements, and jerky ones that show the contraction and expansion of the body. Some dancers create their own unique moves for routines or even use improvisation during their performances. 2.
What are Horton fortifications?
What are the Fortifications? As mentioned on our website, Lester Horton's technique created in the 1930s is a fantastic way to strengthen and correct the body. His technique is grounded in a knowledge of the human anatomy and emphatically corrects physical faults, preparing you for any dancing you wish to pursue.
What is Limon technique?
Limón technique emphasizes the natural rhythms of fall and recovery, a conscious use of breath, and the interplay between weight and weightlessness. It provides dancers with an organic approach to movement that easily adapts to a range of choreographic styles.
What is the Martha Graham technique?
Graham technique is a modern dance movement style and pedagogy created by American dancer and choreographer Martha Graham (1894–1991). Graham technique has been called the "cornerstone" of American modern dance, and has been taught worldwide.
What does contraction mean in dance?
Key elements in the Martha Graham technique of modern dance. They refer to the action of the body at the moment of the exhalation of breath (the contraction) and the moment of inhalation (the release).
What style of dance did Alvin Ailey do?
Alvin Ailey didn't create a specific dance technique. Rather, he blended elements of modern dance, ballet, jazz, hip-hop, and other styles. His dancers reflect this dance diversity in their varied training and talents.
What is the Duncan technique?
In the Duncan technique, the source of all movement stems from “the solar plexus”, located in the center of the torso, between the ribs. All movement must radiate outward from there.
What is Horton class?
About This Class The class will consist of studies to stretch and strengthen different areas of the body. Many of the beginning level studies which are taught will include flat backs, primitive squat, lateral stretches, release swings, leg swings, deep lunges, and T positions.
What is the Katherine Dunham technique?
Dunham Technique is a vibrant African American dance form that engages the body, mind and spirit! Created by dance pioneer Katherine Dunham, the technique is informed by the traditional dances of the African Diaspora, as well as by modern and ballet.
What did Horton study?
As a young boy, Horton was fascinated by the American Indian, which later inspired him to study Native American dance and influenced his movement style. His interest in dance began in 1922 when Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis’s tour came to Indianapolis. He began to study ballet, and in 1925 he auditioned for a US tour with Forrest Thornburg, ...
Where did Horton teach?
Later that year he performed At The Hawk’s Well choreographed by Ito at the Argus Bowl. Horton began teaching and choreographing in the Los Angeles Area. In 1931 he began teaching students at Glendale High School, and in 1932 he joined the faculty at Norma Gould’s School of Dance.
What was the name of the opera that Horton choreographed?
His work can be seen in Moonlight in Havana (1942) and Arthur Lubin’s Phantom of the Opera (1943). In addition to choreography, Horton was also proficient in costume and set design, and he often created his own designs for his company’s choreographies.
Where was Horton's dance style based?
Unlike his peers, Horton was based on the west coast and believed in modern dance in Los Angeles. He developed a large repertoire of choreography including Salome , Le Sacre du Printemps (1937), T o José Clemente Orozco , The Beloved, Conquest , Art Patrons, and Flight from Reality.
Who was Lester Horton's partner?
After his death his partner Frank Eng operated Dance Theatre until 1960. In 1996 the Lester Horton Dance Theater Collection was acquired by the Library of Congress. Horton left a significant legacy of modern dance in Los Angeles and the world.
Who are the students of Horton Dance?
Other notable students include: Carmen de Lavallade, James Truitte, Janet Collins, James Mitchell, Rudi Gernreich, and Eleanor Brooks. In honor of Horton’s legacy, each year the Dance Resource Center of Los Angeles awards Horton Dance Awards to outstanding individuals in the dance field in the Los Angeles area.
What is the Horton technique?
“Many jazz teachers incorporate some of Horton’s ideas in their warm-ups,” says Ana Marie Forsythe, chair of The Ailey School’s Horton Department. For instance, Horton uses flat backs and lateral stretches, tilt lines and lunges, all movements that could be found in a jazz warm-up. Horton technique also incorporates lyrical, circular movements focusing on stretching in opposite directions.
What was Lester Horton's dance style?
In the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s, Lester Horton developed a modern dance technique based on Native American dances, anatomical studies, and other movement influences. In addition to creating his technique and choreographing a number of works for stage and film, Horton established the Lester Horton Dance Theater, one of the first permanent theaters dedicated to modern dance in the U.S., in Los Angeles in 1946. (It closed its doors in 1960.)
What did Lester Horton want to do?
Lester Horton wished to create a technique to train dancers for any dance style , and he succeeded beautifully! Nevertheless, his technique was supposed to have no distinctive style. In that, he failed miserably!.. haha!
Why did Lester Horton create Fortifications?
His technique is grounded in a knowledge of the human anatomy and emphatically corrects physical faults, preparing you for any dancing you wish to pursue. This is why Lester Horton created the Fortifications, there is a real purpose behind every study, and the results are incredible.
What are the Fortifications of Lester Horton?
The Fortifications are pillars of the Lester Horton technique and are a great representation of his brilliant and invaluable contribution to contemporary dance.
What is the real challenge in Fortification #14?
Indeed, that is the real challenge in Fortification #14. You are pushed to the edge; you are stimulated and challenged at all times. One tiny mistake, and the entire Fortification goes wrong!
Why do we love Horton?
It became a recognizable dance form that cannot be mistaken with another genre, and that is why we love Horton!
Who loved technique and drama?
Lester Horton loved technique and drama! These Fortifications are technical and also very expressive.
Is lateral stretch good?
This lateral stretch study is a great exercise, and it is also quite physical! Your students must have a great body awareness to perform this Fortification.
What was Lester Horton's first work?
As his teaching career took off, Horton also focused on choreography. Two of his early works are Kootenai War Dance (19 31) and Voodoo Ceremonial (1932), both performed in 1932 by the newly formed Lester Horton Dance Group at the Olympic Festival of the Dance (held during that year’s Olympic games) at the Los Angeles Philharmonic auditorium.
Who was Lester Horton?
Lester Horton, a male dancer and choreographer who worked during the same period as Dunham and Primus, was inspired by the Native American dance tradition. He was involved in all aspects of the dance, lighting, sets, and so on and also was a noted teacher,…
What was the name of the piece that Horton choreographed?
In the mid-1930s Horton choreographed protest pieces such as Dictator (1935) and Prelude to Militancy (1937; with Lewitzky), both of which responded to the rise of fascism and Nazism in Europe.
How did Horton die?
When Horton died suddenly of a heart attack in November 1953, Alvin Ailey, who had been taking classes at the Dance Theater since 1949, took over as director of the company for two years before moving to New York City, where he became one of the most successful American modern dance choreographers and always cited Horton as one of his primary influences. The Dance Theater continued to operate under the management of Horton’s partner, Frank Eng, through 1960.
What was Horton's interest in dance?
Denis and Ted Shawn and the Denishawn Dancers . He began studying ballet as an adolescent at a studio in Indianapolis.
Where did Horton go to learn dances?
He was ultimately given his big break in the role of Hiawatha. In preparation for his performance, Horton traveled to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to learn dances and chants from Native American performers. After the production traveled to Los Angeles, Horton chose to remain there and to continue studying dance. In Los Angeles he studied ...
Who choreographed the beloved?
The Beloved, co-choreographed with Lewitzky, is widely regarded to be a classic example of modern dance and one of Horton’s masterpieces. In 1950, just two years after forming the Dance Theater, Lewitzky and Reynolds left the theatre and Horton’s company; Bowne had left even earlier.
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