Daniel Lewis (born July 12, 1944) is a U.S.

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

and dance teacher, currently the Dean of Dance at the New World School of the Arts.

Career

Lewis was born in Brooklyn, New York and graduated from the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. Beginning in 1962, Lewis danced with the José Limón Dance Company for 12 years, originating many roles. As Limón's assistant, Lewis completed the choreography of the Waldstein Sonata. In addition, Lewis danced with the companies of Ruth Currier, Felix Fibich,

Stuart Hodes Stuart Hodes (born November 27, 1924) is an American dancer, choreographer, dance teacher, dance administrator and author. He was Martha Graham's partner, danced on Broadway, in TV, film, in recitals, and with his own troupe. His choreography ha ...

, Sofie Maslow, David Wood, Norman Walker, Matthew Diamond,

Charles Weidman Charles Weidman (July 22, 1901 – July 15, 1975) was a renowned choreographer, modern dancer and teacher. He is well known as one of the pioneers of modern dance in America. He wanted to break free from the traditional movements of dance for ...

, Anna Sokolow, the American Dance Theater, the Juilliard Dance Ensemble, Contemporary Dance System, and Daniel Lewis Dance. In 1960 he worked a follow spot in the lighting at the East 74th Street Theater for George Gershwin's ''

Oh, Kay! ''Oh, Kay!'' is a musical with music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and a book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse. It is based on the play ''La Présidente'' by Maurice Hennequin and Pierre Veber. The plot revolves around the adventur ...

'' (with Linda Lavin, Penny Fuller, and Marti Stevens appearing as actors). Donna H. Krasnow, Daniel E. Lewis (2020)
''Daniel Lewis; A Life in Choreography and the Art of Dance''
/ref> He danced in the Yiddish Theatre from 1960 to 1964. He danced in the CBS Productions of ''And David Wept'' (choreography by José Limón), ''Dreams'' (choreography by Anna Sokolow), ''Lamp Unto My Feet'', and ''Camera Three'', along with many PBS and WNET (NYC) programs. Lewis joined the dance faculty of the Juilliard School in 1967, and was assistant to the school's Director of Dance, Martha Hill, between 1984 and 1987. He also served as an adjunct professor at New York University and a professor at

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

for six years. In 1987, Lewis joined the New World School of the Arts of the Miami Dade College as founding Dean of the Dance Department. Lewis established the dance division's eight-year

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

(BFA) program. In 1988, he formed Miami Dance Futures, Inc., a production company for the Miami Balanchine Conference, the Dance History Scholars’ Conference, the National High School Dance Festival and the Daniel Lewis Dance Sampler. In 2012, Lewis received an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Florida.

Awards/recognition

* "A Life for Dance” Lifetime Achievement Award by The 25th Annual International Ballet Festival of Miami 9/12/2020 * "Doris Leeper Award by the Florida Alliance for Arts Education on June 23, 2017 * "Education advancement Award" from the José Limón Dance Foundation (2013) * "Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts" Degree from the University of Florida (2012) * "Lifetime achievement award" from the National Dance Education Organization (2011) * "Lifetime achievement award" from The Martha Hill Dance Fund (2011) * "Honorary Chairmanship of dance4life" (2002) * The "Florida Arts Recognition Award" from the Florida Arts Council (2001). * "Lifetime achievement award" and the "Nancy Smith Award" at the Florida Dance Festival (2002) * "Outstanding Service Award" from the Florida Dance Association (1991 and 2000) * The "Gold Medal for Lifelong Achievement in Dance" from the

National Society of Arts and Letters The National Society of Arts and Letters (known by its abbreviation NSAL) is an American non-profit group founded in 1944 as a women's organization to assist promising young artists through arts competitions, scholarships and other career oppor ...

(1990)

Choreographer

From 1966 to 1988, Lewis choreographed 23 works for the following schools and companies: * 1966: Man Made (Barnard College) * 1967: The Minding of the Flesh Is Death (Lincoln Center Student Programs) * 1970: The Bokinski Brothers (Barnard College) * 1972: My Echo, My Shadow, and Me (NEA Choreographic Fellowship, Barnard College) * 1972: Irving the Terrific (UCLA) * 1974: And First They Slaughtered the Angels (Contemporary Dance System) * 1974: No Strings (Barnard College) * 1976: Cabbage Patch (American Wind Symphony) * 1976: Proliferation (Juilliard School) * 1978: Life and Other Things (Daniel Lewis Dance: A Repertory Company) * 1979: Mostly Beethoven (Juilliard School) * 1980: Beethoven Duet (Benefit Concert Honoring Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman) * 1980: There’s Nothing Here of Me but Me (Amherst College) * 1981: Open Book (Daniel Lewis Dance: A Repertory Company) * 1982: Moments (The Juilliard School) * 1982: To Doris and Charles (Portland State) * 1984: Textured Lighting (Daniel Lewis Dance: A Repertory Company) * 1984: Atomic Ambience (University of Calgary) * 1985: Women (Juilliard School) * 1985: Mind over Matter (Bennington College Summer Dance Program) * 1986: Bibleland (The University of Calgary) * 1987: Air Raid (SUNY Purchase) * 1988: The Morning after the Night Before (Towson State College)

Published works

*''Daniel Lewis, A Life in Choreography and the Art of Dance'', McFarland & Company Publishers, 05/30/2020 *''The Illustrated Dance Technique of Jose Limon'', Princeton Book Company Publishers, (''also translated in German, Spanish and Japanese'') *''Dance in Hispanic Cultures'', M.E. Sharpe (June 1, 1994) *''Daniel Lewis: A life in Choreography and the Art of Dance'', McFarland Publishers (May 30, 2020)

References

External links

Daniel LewisMiami Dance FuturesDaniel Lewis Dance Web Site
* ttps://daniellewisdance.com/1984-new-york-times/ NYT Anna Sokolowbr>"NWSA to honor Daniel Lewis for 24 years as dance dean" ''Biscayne Bay Tribune''"Lord of the Dance"

"Dance Magazine May 2011""Miami Herald May 29, 2011""Dance Teacher Mag February 2011"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Daniel 1944 births American choreographers Juilliard School alumni Living people People from Brooklyn Artists from Miami New York University faculty Amherst College faculty Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni