Ben Sommers (1906–1985) was a leading philanthropic figure in the world of dance, and president of the

Capezio Capezio is the trade name of Capezio Ballet Makers Inc., an American manufacturer of dance shoes, apparel and accessories. History In 1887, Salvatore Capezio, an Italian cobbler emigrated to the United States, opened a shoe repair shop near th ...

dance and theatre shoe company from 1940 to his death. He established the Capezio Foundation in 1951, which focused on dance, especially the regional ballet movement. In 1957, he founded the Capezio Awards which recognise the lifetime achievements of those in dance, including

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer, teacher and choreographer, whose style, the Graham technique, reshaped the dance world and is still taught in academies worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over s ...

Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...

Alvin Ailey Alvin Ailey Jr. (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989) was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Cent ...

and

Agnes de Mille Agnes George de Mille (September 18, 1905 – October 7, 1993) was an American dancer and choreographer. Early years Agnes de Mille was born in New York City into a well-connected family of theater professionals. Her father William C. deMill ...

. Sommers was also founder of the Association of American Dance Companies. In 1978, the same year he managed to persuade the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

to issue stamps commemorating dance, he established National Dance Week, followed by International Dance Week in 1985. Born in New York City, Sommers became a stock boy at Capezio at the age of 14 and worked his way up to become company president in 1940. One of his earliest achievements was supplying shoes to the 1923

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' were a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934, 1936, 1943, and 1957. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as '' The Ziegfeld Foll ...

production. In 1962 Sommers married Estelle Loshin, née Goldstein, (1919–1994). Like him, she was a dancewear specialist who in 1947 transformed her first husband's store, Loshin's, into a retailer of leotards and other outfits. From 1964 to 1975 Estelle managed the Capezio Fashion Shop, where she innovated

spandex Spandex, Lycra, or elastane is a synthetic fiber known for its exceptional elasticity. It is a polyether- polyurea copolymer that was invented in 1958 by chemist Joseph Shivers at DuPont. Name The name ''spandex'', which is an anagram of t ...

bodywear, and from 1970 until her death in 1994 she was vice president and head administrator for the Capezio Dance-Theatre shops. Sommers died at

Lenox Hill Hospital Lenox Hill Hospital (LHH) is a nationally ranked 450 bed non-profit, Tertiary care, tertiary, research and academic medical center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, servicing the tri-state area. LHH is one of the reg ...

on 30 April 1985, after suffering a heart attack shortly after attending that year's Capezio Awards.

References

1906 births 1985 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists {{US-business-bio-1900s-stub