Lewitzky Dance Company.

Biographical Note

Bella Lewitzky was born January 13, 1916, in Los Angeles to Russian immigrants. She spent her early childhood in a utopian socialist community in the Mojave Desert before moving with her family to Los Angeles. In 1934, she joined Lester Horton's modern dance company. She rapidly ascended the ranks of Horton's company from novice dancer to lead dancer. On June 22, 1940, she married fellow Horton dancer and architect Newell Reynolds. In 1946, she and Horton founded the Dance Theater of Los Angeles.

In 1955, Lewitzky gave birth to her and Reynolds' only daughter, Nora, who would also dance for the Lewitzky Dance Company (founded in 1966). Over the next 31 years, the Company produced over 50 dances and toured extensively throughout North America and the world. Lewitzky herself danced in many of the company's productions until she stopped dancing professionally in 1978.

In 1989, she was awarded the California Governor's Award for Lifetime Acheivement; in 1996, she was named a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts' National Medal of Arts. Lewitzky was also actively involved in the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival and the efforts to build a venue called The Dance Gallery in downtown Los Angeles.

Lewitzky passed away on July 16, 2004 in Pasadena, California.

Historical Note

The Lewitzky Dance Company was founded in 1966 by Bella Lewitzky and produced more than 50 dance productions over its period of activity. The Company, under the direction of Lewitzky, its Artistic Director, and Larry Attaway, its Music Director, was known for its intellectual approach to dance with a particular emphasis on kinetic movement in space and the relationship between different forms of art. The company toured extensively, visiting 43 U.S. states and 20 foreign countries. In 1990, the Company rejected a $72,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in protest of a line that requires grantees to promise not to create obscene work. The Company would ultimately receive the grant after Lewitzky sued the agency and had the clause removed. On May 17, 1997, the Lewitzky Dance Company gave its last performance after 31 years of activity.

From the guide to the Lewitzky Dance Company records, Bulk, 1966-1997, 1932-1997, (USC Libraries Special Collections)