Joel, Lydia 1914-....

Lydia Joel (1914-1992), dancer, educator, editor, writer, and producer was best known for her work for Dance Magazine and on the faculty of the School of the Performing Arts in New York City.

Joel graduated from New York University with a degree in English, but also pursued her interest in dance. She studied ballet at the School of American Ballet and modern dance with Harald Kreutzberg and Hanya Holm. As a performer, Joel appeared at Bennington in 1937, where she danced in the premiere of Holm's Trend. Joel moved to Texas the following year, where she embarked on a teaching career, first at Texas Christian University, and later at Southern Methodist University, from 1938 to 1944. During this period, she also headed her own dance company.

Joel, whose first husband died in 1946, had returned to New York, where she joined the staff of Dance Magazine in 1947 in the advertising department. By the time she left in 1969, Joel had become the Editor-in-Chief of the magazine. During her tenure, the staff increased from four to fifteen and the circulation more than doubled. In 1973, she began to teach at the School of the Performing Arts, where Joel served as teacher, Dance Department chairwoman, and, eventually, as vice principal. She produced the school's annual concerts, taught both in the classroom and studio, and was instrumental in arranging a performance by several dance students at the Spoleto Festival in Italy in 1982. The character of "Lydia Grant" played by Debbie Allen, in both the movie and television series, Fame, was based upon Lydia Joel. Upon her retirement from the School of the Performing Arts, Joel began an ambitious project of to develop a television series, Dance Diary. Although she did extensive research, wrote several scripts, and received grants to produce the program, the series never aired.

From the description of Lydia Joel papers, 1906-1993, 1973-1993 (bulk). (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 79409382