John Butler Foundation, Inc.

John Butler, Choreographer         A prolific and popular choreographer, John Butler (1918-1993) created works that have been performed by an extraordinary range of ballet and modern dance companies in the United States and Europe. As a choreographic artist he tackled unconventional subjects and clarified their meanings to make an enormously strong impact on his audiences. Butler ballets broke new ground, codifying subject, structure, kinetics, and theatricality for generations of younger choreographers. For years he was a close collaborator with the composer Gian Carlo Menotti, choreographing many of the impresario's world premiere operas. His extensive knowledge of art and design led to many associations with prominent avant-garde painters, sculptors, musicians and writers, such as Alexander Calder, Andy Warhol, Alban Berg and Ezra Pound. His unique style and choreographic approach has resulted in ballets created on such luminary dancers as Mikhail Baryshnikov, Natalia Makarova, Carla Fracci and Judith Jamison.           John Butler Foundation, Inc.           The John Butler Foundation was established in 1997 by its Chairman Melvin Dwork to preserve and promote his choreographic legacy. It is the foundation's hope that companies will continue to embrace this important American choreographer's works and present them to audiences around the world.           A sampling of companies that have performed Butler works           American Ballet Theatre     Australian Ballet     Alvin Ailey Dance Theater     Dance Theater of Harlem     Les Grands Ballets Canadiens     Nederlands Dans Theater     New York City Ballet     Paris Opera Ballet     Pennsylvania Ballet     Richmond Ballet     Royal Winnipeg Ballet     San Francisco Ballet