Daniel Lewis (born July 12, 1944) is a U.S.

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

and dance teacher, currently the Dean of Dance at the

New World School of the Arts The New World School of the Arts (NWSA) is a public magnet high school and college in Downtown Miami, Florida. Its dual-enrollment programs in the visual and performing arts are organized into four strands: visual arts, dance, theatre (comprising ...

Career

Lewis was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and graduated from the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. Beginning in 1962, Lewis danced with the

José Limón José Arcadio Limón (January 12, 1908 – December 2, 1972) was a dancer and choreographer from Mexico and who developed what is now known as 'Limón technique'. In the 1940s, he founded the José Limón Dance Company (now the Limón Dan ...

Dance Company for 12 years, originating many roles. As Limón's assistant, Lewis completed the choreography of the

Waldstein Sonata Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53, known as the ', is one of the three most notable sonatas of his middle period (the other two being the ''Appassionata'', Op. 57, and ''Les Adieux'', Op. 81a). Completed in summer 1804 and sur ...

. In addition, Lewis danced with the companies of Ruth Currier, Felix Fibich, Stuart Hodes, Sofie Maslow, David Wood, Norman Walker,

Matthew Diamond Matthew Diamond (born November 26, 1951) is an American film and television director, producer and choreographer best known for directing '' Dancemaker''. Life and career Matthew Diamond was born in New York City, the son of Irwin and Pearl (n� ...

Charles Weidman Charles Weidman (July 22, 1901 – July 15, 1975) was a renowned choreographer, modern dancer and teacher. He is well known as one of the pioneers of modern dance in America. He wanted to break free from the traditional movements of dance fo ...

Anna Sokolow Anna Sokolow (February 9, 1910 – March 29, 2000) was an American dancer and choreographer. Sokolow's work is known for its social justice focus and theatricality. Throughout her career, Sokolow supported the development of modern dance arou ...

, the American Dance Theater, the Juilliard Dance Ensemble, Contemporary Dance System, and Daniel Lewis Dance. In 1960 he worked a follow spot in the lighting at the

East 74th Street Theater The East 74th Street Theater, sometimes spelled as the East 74th Street Theatre, was an Off-Broadway theater at 334 East 74th Street in Manhattan, New York City, United States. History Frank Day Tuttle, a theatrical and radio producer and dir ...

for

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...

's ''

Oh, Kay! ''Oh, Kay!'' is a musical with music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and a book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse. It is based on the play ''La Présidente'' by Maurice Hennequin and Pierre Veber. The plot revolves around the adve ...

'' (with

Linda Lavin Linda Lavin (; October 15, 1937 – December 29, 2024) was an American actress and singer. Known for her roles on stage and screen, she received several awards including three Drama Desk Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Obie Awards, and a T ...

Penny Fuller Penny Fuller is an American actress. She received two Tony Award nominations for her performances on Broadway stage: for '' Applause'' (1970), and ''The Dinner Party'' (2001). For her television performances, Fuller received six Emmy Award nomin ...

, and Marti Stevens appearing as actors). Donna H. Krasnow, Daniel E. Lewis (2020)
''Daniel Lewis; A Life in Choreography and the Art of Dance''
/ref> He danced in the

Yiddish Theatre Yiddish theatre consists of plays written and performed primarily by Jews in Yiddish, the language of the Ashkenazi Jewish community. The range of Yiddish theatre is broad: operetta, musical comedy, and satire, satiric or nostalgic revues; melodr ...

from 1960 to 1964. He danced in the CBS Productions of ''And David Wept'' (choreography by José Limón), ''Dreams'' (choreography by Anna Sokolow), ''Lamp Unto My Feet'', and ''Camera Three'', along with many PBS and WNET (NYC) programs. Lewis joined the dance faculty of the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

in 1967, and was assistant to the school's Director of Dance,

Martha Hill Martha Hill (December 1, 1900 – November 19, 1995) was an American dance instructor with wide influence. She founded innovative programs at Bennington College and Connecticut College, and was the first Director of Dance at the Juilliard ...

, between 1984 and 1987. He also served as an adjunct professor at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

and a professor at

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

for six years. In 1987, Lewis joined the

of the

Miami Dade College Miami Dade College (MDC) is a public university, public college located in Miami, Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1959, MDC operates eight campuses and numerous outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade Count ...

as founding Dean of the Dance Department. Lewis established the dance division's eight-year

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

(BFA) program. In 1988, he formed Miami Dance Futures, Inc., a production company for the Miami Balanchine Conference, the Dance History Scholars’ Conference, the National High School Dance Festival and the Daniel Lewis Dance Sampler. In 2012, Lewis received an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts Degree from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

Published works

*''Daniel Lewis, A Life in Choreography and the Art of Dance'', McFarland & Company Publishers, 05/30/2020 *''The Illustrated Dance Technique of Jose Limon'', Princeton Book Company Publishers, (''also translated in German, Spanish and Japanese'') *''Dance in Hispanic Cultures'', M.E. Sharpe (June 1, 1994) *''Daniel Lewis: A life in Choreography and the Art of Dance'', McFarland Publishers (May 30, 2020)

References

External links

Daniel LewisMiami Dance FuturesDaniel Lewis Dance Web Site
* ttps://daniellewisdance.com/1984-new-york-times/ NYT Anna Sokolowbr>"NWSA to honor Daniel Lewis for 24 years as dance dean" ''Biscayne Bay Tribune''"Lord of the Dance"

"Dance Magazine May 2011""Miami Herald May 29, 2011""Dance Teacher Mag February 2011"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Daniel 1944 births American choreographers Juilliard School alumni Living people People from Brooklyn Artists from Miami New York University faculty Amherst College faculty Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni