Choreographer Lester Horton died in 1953 in Los Angeles. He might have been rapidly forgotten in the shifting world of modern dance were it not for the strength and individuality of his dance work and his teaching and the remarkable fidelity of his students, several of whom have in the intervening decade become stars in the history of dance. their field.
Today's camera three is a tribute to Lester Horton who came out of Indiana in 1928 and went to California to direct a group of American Indians in a festival. He remained to establish a dance group group, to train it in modern works, and to astound the dance world by proving once and for all that important and lasting work could be done outside New York and the eastern centers of interest in dance. Our guests today are three of Lester Horton's dancers, Carmen de Lavalade, Alvin Ailey, and James Truitt. The works they will perform are part of the legacy of Lester Horton. The first is a solo for Mr. Lavalade.
A blending of Javanese and African movements entitled Sorong Paramaribo. Lester Horton drew intensively from the world around him. ...called Dedications in Our Time, saluted individuals and forces with which he was familiar.
One part was a tribute to the Spanish poet García Lorca, another to the American writer Carson McCullers. Still another was a triple tribute to Mary Wigman, Martha Graham, and Ruth St. Dennis, all of them greats in the American dance field. Still another portion was inspired by the harrowing experience of Hiroshima. The dedication which we are about to see is called simply Orozco.
It salutes the great Mexican painter and muralist, Jose Clemente Orozco, who immortalized the Mexican Revolution in flashing colors and powerful figures. The dancers, Mr. Lavallade and Alvin Ailey. Oh Lester Horton's program notes for his dance, The Beloved, read, Out of an era of dogma and servility comes a fanatic theme leading to bigotry and violence. James Truitt and Mr. Lavalade dance The Beloved. Behold, thou art fair, my love.
Behold, thou art fair. Thou hast dove's eyes within thy locks. The smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon. Honey and milk are under thy tongue. There is no spot on thee.
In a world as transitory and as given to fads and innovations as modern dance, it is rare for a choreographer's work to outlive them at all, since in the first place, dance movements are highly difficult to record. In 1959, James Truitt was awarded a John Hay Whitney Foundation Fellowship to come to New York to study labanotation in order to record the technique and choreography of Lester Horton. The Horton Company and the Hortons.
school were so tightly knit and inspired such devotion in their members that it seems not unlikely that there will be a lasting life for the dances of Lester Horton. The dance which concludes Camera 3 today was inspired by Horton's admiration for the work of Duke Ellington. And now a portion of the Liberian Suite.
The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The music for Orozco is composed by Kenneth Klaus. Music for The Beloved was composed by Judith Hamilton. The pianist was Lucy Brown.