Lester Horton
Lester Horton
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Lester Horton

Lester Iradell Horton (January 23, 1906 – November 2, 1953) was an American dancer, choreographer, and teacher.

Lester Iradell Horton was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on January 23, 1906.

His interest in dance was mainly stimulated by his fascination with American Indian culture after watching tribal dances in a Wild West show. He studied the Iroquois and Red River Indians, and Penobscot and Ojibwa tribes.

He studied ballet for two years with a local teacher in Indianapolis, Theo Hewes. At that time he also took classes at the Herron Art Institute and worked with the Indianapolis Little Theater.[citation needed]

Seeing a performance of the Denishawn company had a great impact on him.[citation needed]

Horton arrived in California in 1927 to perform The Song of Hiawatha, a dance-pageant by Clara Bates based on Longfellow's poem, at the Argus Bowl, a natural amphitheater in Little Rock.

He took a job with the sculptor Kathleen Stubergh, with whom he remained close for his lifetime. They produced wax figures and Horton painted faces on the window mannequins.

He chose to work in California instead of New York City, which was considered the center of modern dance at the time.[citation needed]

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