Butler, John, 1920-1993

Difficult to classify, John Butler (1918-1993) was an American dancer and choreographer who achieved considerable success by combining his training in classical ballet and modern dance to forge his own path as an independent choreographer, creating numerous works for dance and opera companies, as well as for television.

Butler grew up in Greenwood, Mississippi, but moved to New York in 1942 to pursue opportunities to train as a dancer, including a scholarship with the School of American Ballet. He also sought out Martha Graham after arriving in New York and soon was accepted into her school. During his time as a dance student, Butler had to find additional sources of income, which included stints on Broadway, as a ballroom dance instructor, and extensive work as a photographic model. He joined Graham's company in 1945, and would become a prominent member over his ten years of performing with the troupe; Graham would remain a profound influence on Butler. After a brief period leading his own dance company (the John Butler Dance Theatre), Butler chose instead to focus on more lucrative television work and to become a freelance choreographer, working for a variety of companies around the world. In 1959, he choreographed Carmina Burana for the New York City Opera, which would become perhaps his most famous piece. Often associated with contemporary composers, such as Gian Carlo Menotti, Butler's other notable works included After Eden (1967; score by Lee Hoiby) originally created for the Harkness Ballet, According to Eve (1972; music by George Crumb) for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and Portrait of Billie (1960), to the music of Billie Holiday. Butler's choice to give up his own dance company in favor of freelancing had the initial effect of giving him a greater reputation in Europe, where he frequently worked, than in the United States. By the time of his death, however, he was a well-regarded figure in American dance.

From the description of John Butler papers, 1918-1992. (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 84693415

John Butler (1918-1993), dancer and choreographer, spent his career avoiding many of the restrictions and limitations that affected his contemporaries. Although he took a different path from most of his colleagues, Butler achieved considerable success and some of his dance pieces are still performed around the world today.

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Butler moved to Greenwood, Mississippi at a very early age. He was interested in dance as a young man, and took any available opportunity to take part in ballets. He felt that Greenwood was not a conducive environment for a man pursuing a dance career and left as soon as he could. Upon arriving in New York in the early 1940s, Butler saw an article about Martha Graham. Excited by what he read, Butler went to her studio and asked to see her. Graham met him, saw what he referred to later as his “bad ballet”, and decided to allow him to work with her. Her one condition, however, was that he simultaneously study ballet with George Balanchine. Consequently, he spent part of his time learning traditional ballet and part of his time on Graham’s modern dance concepts. The combination eventually led to Butler’s unique style of joining elements from both dance worlds in his work.

Butler gained enormous satisfaction from his dance studies, but very little money, as performances were paid, but rehearsals, which comprised the bulk of his time, were not. He managed to find more lucrative work as a photographic model, frequently working for photographer Richard Avedon. He also worked in Broadway musicals, including Hollywood Pinafore and On The Town . While in the chorus of the latter, he met Allyn Ann McLerie and the two became friends. When they left the show, McLerie suggested that they put together a nightclub dance act and tour with it. When Butler asked who would choreograph the act, McLerie informed him that he would. The act was a success and represented Butler’s first professional choreography.

Television gave Butler some of his first major opportunities to choreograph for a larger audience. On television, he choreographed brief dances for variety shows, as well as full-length ballets and operas. His staging of Amahl and the Night Visitors from 1951 was recreated for NBC holiday specials for nine consecutive years. Some of Butler’s fellow “serious” dancers disdained television, but Butler liked working in television and believed it increased the audience for dance in America. Although he continued choreographing the occasional theatrical dance, Butler spent most of his time in the early 1950s working in television, ultimately becoming the permanent choreographer for two seasons of The Kate Smith Show . While he enjoyed the excitement of working in live television, and always credited the experience with honing his ability to work quickly, Butler felt restricted by the medium. Having earned a lot of money for the first time in his career, Butler used his salary from The Kate Smith Show to finance his own dance company, which toured the United States and Europe in 1955 and 1956. The experience was not what he had hoped, however. Butler did not enjoy the administrative aspect of running a dance company, preferring to devote his full attention to his art. The company was also not financially successful, spurring Butler on to disband the company after its single season.

While he returned to television in the late 1950s, most notably as a regular choreographer for The Ed Sullivan Show, Butler began to freelance with dance companies around the United States. While other top American choreographers worked only with the dancers in their own dance companies, Butler enjoyed the challenge of creating dances for different performers each time. After very well-received ballets at the Spoleto Festival in Italy in 1958 and 1959, Butler developed an international reputation and spent the 1960s traveling Europe as well as the United States. During this period, he choreographed Carmina Burana, which would become perhaps his most famous piece. The ballet initially received some shocked responses for its erotic overtones, but ultimately became Butler’s most often repeated work. Through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, Butler traveled the world choreographing newly commissioned dances and restaging several of his greatest successes with various companies. In addition to Carmina Burana, Catulli Carmina, Othello and After Eden were among his most requested ballets. He was a frequent guest with dance companies in Israel and Australia as well as all through Europe and the United States. Although stage work occupied more and more of his time, he continued to choreograph the occasional dance for television through the 1980s.

Butler’s choice to give up his own dance company in favor of freelancing his choreography had the initial effect of giving him a greater reputation in Europe than in the United States. By the time he died in 1993, however, he was a major figure in American dance, having created lasting works and shown that there was more than one way to practice the art of choreography. A few years earlier, he even had the chance to visit Greenwood, Mississippi one more time to receive an award from the mayor.

From the guide to the John Butler papers, 1918-1992, (The New York Public Library. Jerome Robbins Dance Division.)