Rare John Colman Music for Contemporary Dance Hanya Holm Hoctor Records LP
An exceptionally scarce Music for Contemporary Dance LP featuring musical improvisations by John Colman for exercises associated with pioneering modern dancer, choreographer and educator Hanya Holm. Issued in the United States on Hoctor Records, a division of Dance Records, Inc., Waldwick, New Jersey, catalogue number HLP-3046.
The recording was produced specifically for contemporary dance training and is directed by Oliver Kostock, an instructor at the Hanya Holm School of Dance in New York. John Colman, who provided the musical improvisations, received his training at the Dalcroze Institutes in New York and Geneva and composed for Hanya Holm and other important figures and institutions in American dance.
Hanya Holm was one of the major figures in the development of modern dance in the United States. Born in Germany and trained in the expressionist dance tradition of Mary Wigman, she moved to New York in 1931 and established a highly influential school of modern dance. In addition to her work as a teacher and concert choreographer, Holm became an important Broadway choreographer, with credits including Kiss Me, Kate, My Fair Lady and Camelot.
The LP presents music for a sequence of dance movements and exercises. Side 1 includes Pliers, Plier-Relever, Body Swings, Leg Swings, Arm Movements Legato, Battements and Little Jumps in Place. Side 2 progresses through walking, running, running leaps, light and high skips, Vibratory Walk and Vibration – Irregular Meter.
The striking yellow, black and white sleeve features a large portrait of Hanya Holm together with a photograph of dancers in motion. The rear cover contains extensive biographical information on Holm, Colman and Kostock, as well as advertisements for other specialist ballet and dance recordings issued by Dance Records.
The album appears to date to approximately 1962. The sleeve text refers to Holm's choreography for the 1959 Vancouver International Festival, providing a firm earliest possible date, while the design and early HLP-3000 series catalogue number are consistent with an early 1960s issue.
This appears to be an extremely rare recording. Despite extensive searching, we have been unable to locate another copy of HLP-3046 offered for sale or documented in the usual online record databases. Its scarcity may reflect the specialised nature of Hoctor Records releases, which were produced primarily for the dance and dance-education market rather than for general commercial record sales.
Artist: John Colman
Title: Music for Contemporary Dance
Director: Oliver Kostock
Associated Dance School: Hanya Holm School of Dance
Label: Hoctor Records
Record Company: Dance Records, Inc.
Catalogue Number: HLP-3046
Format: 12-inch LP, 33⅓ RPM
Country: USA
Date: Circa 1960–early 1960s
Condition
Vinyl: Visually NM, but plays like VG/VG+. Music is loud and clear, but the vinyl is noisy throughout, more so on side 1, but almost always underneath the music
Sleeve: NM – Near mint condition, exceptionally well preserved with virtually no signs of wear.
A particularly unusual piece of American modern dance history, combining the work of John Colman with the teaching tradition of Hanya Holm. Its striking period cover, specialised subject matter and apparent extreme scarcity make this an interesting record for collectors of modern dance, experimental and instructional recordings, and unusual American private or specialist-label LPs. Because of its scarcity, one should be tolerant of the underlying vinyl noise.