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James Truitte

James Truitte (1923-1995) was a lead dancer with the companies of Lester Horton and Alvin Ailey, and he was an authority on Horton's technique and choreography. 

Jennifer Dunning, dance critic for The New York Times, wrote of him: "Tall, lean and elegant, Mr. Truitte projected an intensity and calm that were as powerfully affecting as his long, lithe body line, whether he was playing the murderous preacher in Horton's Beloved, the desperate hotel dweller in the 'Panic' solo in Anna Sokolow's Rooms or the yearning believer in the 'I Want To Be Ready' solo in Ailey's Revelations."

He joined the fledgling Ailey company in 1960 and stayed through 1968, serving for several years as associate artistic director. Mr. Truitte was also known as a teacher when he left the Ailey company and eventually became an associate professor at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 1973, becoming professor emeritus in 1993.

Mr. Truitte taught Horton technique throughout the nation and restaged Horton dances for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dance Theater of Harlem, Cincinnati Ballet, Joyce Trisler Danscompany, and the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, among others.