Bella Lewitzky
In 1966 she formed the Lewitzky Dance Company, for which she continues to create dances. Under her artistic guidance, the company has become one of the leading international modern dance companies, performing to critical acclaim in 43 states across the U.S. as well as 20 countries on five continents. The originality, humanity and unconventional qualities for which Lewitzky's dances are famous have often found their way into the management of her company. At a time when it is fashionable for dance companies to be based in New York -- and dangerous not to be -- she has kept her company operating out of her native Los Angeles for thirty years. It also led to a controversial episode in 1990, when she crossed out the anti-obscenity clause on the acceptance form of a $72,000 NEA grant. She eventually had to sue NEA-chairman John E. Frohnmayer to have the grant reinstated. The New York Times quoted her as saying in response, "I've been struggling in dance for 28 years. To exist merely to exist is stupidity. To exist to make art is a pretty grand act." Although she no longer performs, her creative energy continues unabated, with each year seeing the creation of at least one eagerly awaited new dance. She has not stopped caring about her art form, a fact borne out by the numerous awards she has received for service to dance and the advisory and honorary positions she holds on boards and councils of prestigious arts institutions across the nation. Bella Lewitzky is Los Angeles's own gifted artist, extraordinary educator, caring, humanitarian and champion of freedom of expression. Taken largely from Lewitzky Dance Company press materials.
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Born
to Russian immigrant parents in the Mojave Desert, Bella recalls
being a highly kinetic youngster. During high school in San
Bernardino she attended her first dance class where "the teacher
gave us a combination of tap, acrobatics, song and dance. It was
amateurish training but in my eyes there was no value-label on it
because it involved dancing, and therefore I loved it." A
subsequent visit to the Ballet Russe proved to be a real shock. To
Bella the movements seemed so stratified and rigid to be nearly
grotesque, and the seeds of distinction between dance as an art or
dance as entertainment were subtly sowed. "Today there are fewer
differences between modern dance and ballet, but in those years they
were almost mutually exclusive."
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Bella...And Bella She Was
Photo, right : Terese Capucilli was deeply influenced by Bella
When new music was needed he often wrote it himself. He taught his dancers to design costumes, to make masks, to experiment with make-up and lighting. One student, Newell Reynolds, began courting Bella and a year later they married. While Bella rose to become principal soloist of the Horton troupe, Newell grew interested in theatrical architecture, studied, and eventually worked with R. M. Schindler and Welton Becket. Their union produced a lovely dancer, Nora. Dreams often need to be realized, and in 1966 Bella formed the Lewitzky Dance Company. At first it was just women but soon men necessitated their inclusion and now over 30 years later, the Company has become one of the leading modern dance companies in the world, performing to critical acclaim in 20 countries on five continents and 43 of our United States. Chronologically the above seems a relatively simple through line. Not so! It would be remiss not to mention a few fascinating distractions like dancing in WHITE SAVAGE, assisting Agnes DeMille on the film OKLAHOMA, assisting Hanya Holm on THE VAGABOND KING, understudying Janet Collins in OUT OF THIS WORLD (NY). "I even danced at the Follies Bergere... (pause)... and I hated every minute of it." says Bella with a wry smile. (The PageTemp Cliping)