[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.
[6] In 1946, after a brief hiatus, Horton formed the Dance Theater of Los Angeles with his longtime leading dancer, Bella Lewitzky.
The partnership with Lewitzky ended when she left in 1950, but Horton's final company continued until 1960 under the direction of Frank Eng.
[7] In order to finance his school and various dance companies, Horton choreographed a number of Hollywood musicals, beginning with Moonlight in Havana (1942).
Many of the films, like the Maria Montez vehicle White Savage (1943), were Universal productions, which could not rival the budgetary extravagance of MGM or Fox, though many were in Technicolor; the most notable was Arthur Lubin's Phantom of the Opera (1943).
Horton's dancers also frequently worked at clubs, including the Folies Bergère in New York and Earl Carroll Theatre and Restaurant in Los Angeles.
[9] One magazine praised the "superb dancers" but complained that "one technical and effective stunt follows another with hardly ever any sustained choreographic continuity.
"[10] There was not enough money to return home from New York and Horton had doubts about the company's financial ability to attend Jacob's Pillow later that summer.
[11] Riding on their success at the festival, the troupe was asked to open for Johnny Desmond in the fall; they were so popular that they were invited back for another two-week engagement.
[13] James Truitte was later an authority on Horton's technique and choreography, and taught at University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music.
[14] Other figures who emerged from Horton's school and company include actress Lelia Goldoni and Sondra Kerr Blake.