14 Facts About Loyce Houlton

Loyce Houlton was an American dancer, choreographer, dance pedagogue, and arts administrator centered for most of her adult life in Minneapolis.

Loyce Houlton was acknowledged to be one of the most significant American choreographers of the 20th century and one of the first American women to gain national and international recognition as a choreographer, teacher, and producer.

In 1950, Loyce Houlton returned to Minnesota to live in Minneapolis, where she was centered for the rest of her life.

Loyce Houlton married a classmate from Carleton College, the physician William Houlton on July 28,1950.

Loyce Houlton raised four children with her husband: Andrew, Joel, Laif, and Lise, who succeeded her mother as artistic director of the Minnesota Dance Theatre after her death in 1995.

Loyce Houlton's rise to prominence in dance circles began in the 1960s.

Loyce Houlton produced many important dance works until her death, in all over 90 of them.

Loyce Houlton worked with the composer Carl Orff on her danced realization of his cantata Carmina Burana and collaborated with Yanni, George Crumb, and Philip Glass for various dance works.

Loyce Houlton was still living in Minneapolis, though less active in the dance scene.

Loyce Houlton presented a holiday show during Christmas 1989, with excerpts from her Nutcracker Fantasy, Les Patineurs, and other works at the Horst Institute in Minneapolis.

Loyce Houlton died of a stroke in a hospital in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on March 14,1995.

Loyce Houlton developed her own system of dance-training technique known as the Loyce Houlton Contemporary Technique.

The Loyce Houlton technique was widely used by dance companies in the United States and Europe.

Loyce Houlton helped to train thousands of dance students at the Minnesota Dance Theatre, of which the most significant are Charles Askegard and her daughter Lise Loyce Houlton.