Lew Christensen

Lewellyn Farr Christensen, known professionally as Lew Christensen, was born on May 6, 1909, in Brigham City, Utah, and died on October 9, 1984, at Peninsula Hospital in Burlingame, California, following an apparent heart attack. A ballet dancer, choreographer, and director, he maintained a career spanning several decades and became closely associated with George Balanchine and the San Francisco Ballet, which he directed from 1952 until his death.

Christensen came from a family with roots in both dance and music. His grandfather, Lars Christensen, had emigrated from Denmark and taught folk and social dances. Christensen began studying dance with his uncles and music with his father at the age of ten, receiving early ballet instruction from Italian teacher Stefano Mascagno. His brother Willam introduced Lew and their third dancing brother, Harold, to vaudeville performance. The three brothers eventually secured engagements in the Broadway musical The Great Waltz, and it was during this period that Christensen became a student at Balanchine's newly founded School of American Ballet. In 1935, he and Harold joined the Metropolitan Opera's American Ballet Ensemble.

Balanchine recognized Christensen's talent early and placed him among his first lead male dancers. Christensen performed principal roles in Orpheus and Eurydice and Apollon Musagète, and he became the first American to dance the role of Apollo. His Broadway appearances extended beyond The Great Waltz to include Miss Pocahontas, The Devil and Daniel Webster, and Liberty Jones, with his stage work spanning 1934 to 1941.

In 1936, Lincoln Kirstein founded Ballet Caravan with the aim of providing American ballet dancers with employment during off-seasons. Christensen served the company as a lead soloist, choreographer, and ballet master until 1940. His choreographic output for Ballet Caravan during this period included Pocahontas in 1936, Filling Station in 1938, Charade in 1939, and Pastorela in 1941. Filling Station drew on his vaudeville background, incorporating acrobats, tap dancing, and deadpan humor. In 1941, Christensen and his wife, ballet dancer Gisella Caccialanza, whom he married in 1940 or 1941, toured South America with Ballet Caravan. The couple had one child, Chris, born in 1953.

At the onset of World War II, Christensen was drafted into the United States Army. After returning to New York in 1946, he joined Ballet Society, the company founded by Balanchine and Kirstein that would later become the New York City Ballet, where he served as a ballet master. In 1948, he joined his brothers at the San Francisco Ballet, though he continued to act as ballet master for the New York City Ballet until 1950. He became associate director of the San Francisco Ballet in 1949 and co-director alongside his brother Willam in 1951. When Willam departed in 1952 to establish the ballet program at the University of Utah, Lew assumed sole directorship of the company, a position he held until 1984.

Under his leadership, the San Francisco Ballet developed into an internationally recognized neoclassical company. Christensen choreographed more than 110 works for the organization and brought choreography from Balanchine's repertoire to the company. During his tenure, the San Francisco Ballet completed its first national and international tours. He also maintained a productive relationship between the San Francisco company and the New York City Ballet throughout his directorship.