Lewellyn Farr Christensen (May 6, 1909 – October 9, 1984) was a ballet dancer, choreographer and director for many companies. He was largely associated with
George Balanchine and the
San Francisco Ballet
San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...
, which he directed from 1952–1984. Other companies Christensen was a part of include
Ballet Caravan
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
, directed by
Lincoln Kirstein, and Ballet Society, directed by Kirstein and Balanchine.
Early life and training
Christensen was born in
Brigham City, Utah, to a family with roots in dance and music. His grandfather, Lars Christensen, who emigrated from Denmark, taught folk and social dances.
[Sowell, Debra. "Christensen Brothers." ''International Encyclopedia of Dance.'' Vol. 2. ed. Selma Jeanne Cohen. 1998. 160.] Christensen was raised a
Mormon
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into severa ...
, and this upbringing informed his latter career with of a sense of focusing on propriety.
Christensen began studying dance with his uncles and music with his father when he was ten. He was taught early ballet technique by
Stefano Mascagno, an Italian teacher. His brother
Willam
Willam Belli (, born June 30, 1982), mononymously known as Willam, is an American drag queen, actor, singer-songwriter, reality television personality, author, and YouTuber. Willam came to prominence as a contestant on the fourth season of ''R ...
started Lew and their third dancing brother,
Harold
Harold may refer to:
People
* Harold (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name
* Harold (surname), surname in the English language
* András Arató, known in meme culture as "Hide the Pain Harold"
Arts a ...
, in
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
. In addition to small vaudeville shows, the three brothers landed jobs in the
Broadway musical
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...
''
The Great Waltz'', during which time Christensen became a student at Balanchine's new
School of American Ballet. In 1935, he joined the
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...
's
American Ballet Ensemble with Harold.
Dancing with Balanchine
As soon as Christensen began his training, he received special attention from
George Balanchine, who recognized his talent. Among Balanchine’s first lead male dancers, Christensen danced principal roles, receiving much praise for his lead roles in ''
Orpheus and Eurydice
The ancient legend of Orpheus and Eurydice (, ''Orpheus, Eurydikē'') concerns the fateful love of Orpheus of Thrace for the beautiful Eurydice. Orpheus was the son of Apollo and the muse Calliope. It may be a late addition to the Orpheus myths ...
'' and ''
Apollon Musagète
''Apollo'' (originally ''Apollon musagète'' and variously known as ''Apollo musagetes'', ''Apolo Musageta'', and ''Apollo, Leader of the Muses'') is a neoclassical ballet in two '' tableaux'' composed between 1927 and 1928 by Igor Stravinsky ...
''.
Christensen, the first American to dance Apollo, set a new standard for that role, and was thereafter considered to be America's first home grown significant male dancer.
At the onset of World War II, Lew Christensen was drafted into the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
. On return to New York in 1946 he joined Balanchine's and Kirstein's latest project, Ballet Society – later to be known as the
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...
– where he became a ballet master. Although considered by many to be the logical heir to Balanchine's company, Christensen was instead enticed to join his brothers at the
San Francisco Ballet
San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...
in 1948.
[Sowell, Debra. "Christensen, Lew." ''International Dictionary of Ballet.'' Vol. 1. ed. Martha Bremser. 1993. 274–277.]
Ballet Caravan
Ballet Caravan, begun in 1936 by Kirstein, was intended to provide American ballet dancers with summer employment during off-seasons. As a member, Christensen was a lead soloist, choreographer, and ballet master until 1940.
Between 1936 and 1941 ballets Christensen choreographed included ''Pocahontas'' (1936), ''Filling Station'' (1938), ''Charade'' (1939), and ''Pastorela'' (1941). ''Filling Station'' incorporated Christensen's vaudeville roots, acrobats, deadpan humor, and tap dancing.
With Ballet Caravan, Christensen and his wife
Gisella Caccialanza
Gisella Caccialanza (September 17, 1914 – July 16, 1998) was an American prima ballerina and teacher who danced in theater, opera and film productions. She studied ballet under Italian teacher Giovanni Rosi, and then with ballet dancer Enrico C ...
toured South America in 1941.
San Francisco Ballet
Christensen served as associate director of the San Francisco Ballet in 1949, and was co-director in 1951 with his brother Willam. He served as director from 1952–1984.
Christensen transformed the San Francisco Ballet to an internationally recognized
neoclassical company. Although he joined the San Francisco Ballet in 1949, Christensen continued to act as ballet master for the
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...
until 1950. After becoming co-director of the San Francisco company in 1951, he kept a good relationship between it and the New York City Ballet. In 1952, on his brother Willam's departure to establish the ballet program at the
University of Utah
The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...
, Lew became the director of the company. He choreographed over 110 works for the San Francisco Ballet. He brought impressive choreography from Balanchine to the company. With Christensen as director, San Francisco Ballet made its first tours nationally and internationally and received much acclaim.
["Christensen Brothers." ''San Francisco Ballet''. 2008. San Francisco Ballet. Mar. 24, 200]
/ref>
References
Bibliography
*
Further reading
NY Times, October 6, 1952
by John Martin (dance critic), John Martin, June 10, 1953
NY Times
by Jennifer Dunning
Jennifer Dunning (born February 4, 1942) is a writer and critic for ''The New York Times'' on the subjects of dance and ballet. She is the author of the 1985 ''But First a School: The First Fifty Years of the School of American Ballet'', the 1996 ...
, October 10, 1984
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christensen, Lew
1909 births
1984 deaths
American male ballet dancers
Latter Day Saints from Utah
Ballet choreographers
Ballet masters
People from Brigham City, Utah
American people of Danish descent
Musicians from Utah
20th-century American musicians
20th-century American ballet dancers