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Creator
Horst, Louis
Call number
*MGZEB 22-0003
Physical description
0.83 linear feet (2 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Louis Horst photographs, *MGZEB 22-0003. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Repository
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Louis Horst was a composer, teacher, and writer who was music director for both the Denishawn and Martha Graham companies. Horst's collection holds photographs of him, as well as the dancers, dance performances, and dance companies with whom he was affiliated.

Biographical/historical information

Louis Horst was born in 1884 in Kansas City, Missouri. He began studying piano at a young age, later moving to New York City to launch his professional career as an accompanist for silent films, theatre, Broadway rehearsals, and modern dancers. From 1915 to 1925, Horst worked as an accompanist for the Denishawn Company, which he left to take on the role of music director and dance composition teacher for Martha Graham's dance school and company. Horst also wrote and arranged scores for many choreographers including Agnes DeMille, Martha Hill, Helen Tamiris, Pearl Lang, and Ruth St. Denis.

In addition to his composition work, Horst taught choreography at The Neighborhood Playhouse, Bennington College, Mills College, Connecticut College, Barnard College, Sarah Lawrence College, Columbia University, and The Juilliard School. In 1934, he founded the dance periodical, The Dance Observer. He also published two books, Pre-Classic Dance Forms (1937) and Modern Dance Forms (1960).

Horst continued to live and work in New York City until his death in 1964.

Scope and arrangement

The collection dates from the 1900s-1960s, and consists exclusively of photograph prints depicting Horst, dancers, dance companies, and dance performances. The collection is arranged into photographs of People and photographs of Performances. There is also a large assortment of images of Horst, which portray both his personal and professional life.

The photographs of People are arranged alphabetically, and includes images of Merce Cunningham, José Limón, Gertrude Lippincott, Daniel Nagrin, Pola Nirenska, Bessie Schönberg, Ted Shawn, Edith Stephen, Sahomi Tachibana, Helen Tamiris, Erika Thimey, and Charles Weidman. There is also a group of unidentified people dating from the 1920s to the 1960s.

The photographs of Performances are arranged alphabetically by performance or dance company name. Among the performances depicted are Blood Wedding, Electra, Energico, L'Europe Galante, Makbeth, and Nausicaa. The dance companies include Jose Greco Spanish Ballet, Howard University Modern Dance Group, Renate Schottelius Company, Winnipeg Ballet, and Yugoslav National Folk Ballet.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Gift of the Louis Horst Estate in 1964.

Processing information

Processed by Heather Lember in 2022.

Related Material

Horst, Louis, 1884-1964. Louis Horst Collection, (S) *MGZMC-Res 22, Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Horst, Louis, 1884-1964. Papers, (S) *MGZMD 57, Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Using the collection

Location

Jerome Robbins Dance Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor