Jimmy was a firm and encouraging teacher, with high expectations and a sense of humor. Several memories spring to mind as I think back to my classes with him.
I recall how he touched my outstretched hand as I performed the Horton lateral stretch series. His two large hands enclosed my own, lengthening my fingers and encouraging me to soften the tension I carried there.

The Horton Technique is a demanding one, requiring flexibility and strength especially of the torso, hamstrings and adductors of the hip. In much of the warm-up the torso is held extended, bending and twisting off of the vertical axis at the hip joint. We learned several studies designed to increase the dancer’s range, including Deep Floor Vocabulary and Dimensional Tonus. I remember a particularly challenging “adductor moment” in Dimensional Tonus in which the dancer is required to descend into a split, to stop abruptly, hovering several inches from the ground, and then continue to a full split on the floor.

I remember the day that Jimmy taught us a section of The Beloved, a duet choreographed by Lester Horton in which Jimmy had performed.  He spoke of the dramatic motivation that had inspired the choreography, and I became totally immersed in the story as I danced. When the phrase came to an end, I was surprised to find myself back in the studio, so far away had my imagination taken me.

“I remember Jimmy saying longingly, “If I only knew as a young dancer what I know today.” It was only years later that I began to appreciate the irony that, as dancers, we accumulate knowledge at the same time that our bodies succumb to the stresses of our dancing lives. Life would surely be more fair if we understood these subtleties when our bodies were in their prime.”

I remember Jimmy’s accompanist, whose name, I regret to say, escapes me. He was a fine pianist who kept a New Yorker on his music stand, which he read as he played for us. Miraculously, he never missed a beat, though sometimes, much to our amusement, he continued to play after the exercise was over, so engrossed was he in his reading material.

I remember the thrill of seeing Judith Jamison in person when one day she appeared in Jimmy’s class. She was a goddess in my eyes, and yet, there she was, taking class with the rest of us, decidedly human by all accounts. Perhaps this was the richness of Clark Center. It was a gathering place – an energetic and vibrant community – where aspiring young dancers had the opportunity to meet and work with a range of professional teachers and artists, and then to see those same artists performing in the major dance venues of New York City. What could be more inspiring?
I left New York in 1970. At about the same time, Jimmy joined the faculty at the University of Cincinnati’s Conservatory of Music. I remember him with fondness and gratitude, and consider him a major influence in my growth and training as a young dancer.

Toby Hankin
Professor Emerita
University of Colorado/Boulder
Department of Theatre and Dance
(copyright 2015)