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Lewitzky Dance Company records
0203
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Music Library
Title: Lewitzky Dance Company records
Creator:
Lewitzky Dance Company
Creator:
Lewitzky, Bella
Identifier/Call Number: 0203
Physical Description:
310 Linear Feet
366 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1932-2019
Date (bulk): 1966-1997
Abstract: Based in Los Angeles, California, the Lewitzky Dance Company was formed in 1966 by Bella Lewitzky and gave its last performance
on May 18, 1997. The archive consists of papers, films, photographs, costumes, programs, posters, stage plots, and sound recordings.
It covers the Company's archived and working papers from all offices, including the Manager, Booking and Production offices.
Language of Material:
English
.
The Lewitzky Dance Company records contains photographs, audio and video recordings, costumes, and documents from the roughly
50-year period of activity of the Lewitzky Dance Company. Sound and video recordings and photographs document the hundreds
of performances, rehearsals, and demonstrations. There is also a large collection of programs and posters from the Company's
productions, booking contracts, internal documents, financial statements, press clippings, and correspondences. Some parts
of the collection relate to Lewitzky's personal life and professional activity outside of the Company, including the Olympic
Arts Festival and The Dance Gallery. Also included in this collection are Lewitzky's personal papers and papers produced and/or
donated after the dissolution of the company in 1997.
Bella Lewitzky was born January 13, 1916, in Los Angeles to Russian immigrants. She spent her early childhood in a utopian
socialist community in the Mojave Desert before moving with her family to Los Angeles. In 1934, she joined Lester Horton's
modern dance company. She rapidly ascended the ranks of Horton's company from novice dancer to lead dancer. On June 22, 1940,
she married fellow Horton dancer and architect Newell Reynolds. In 1946, she and Horton founded the Dance Theater of Los Angeles.
In 1955, Lewitzky gave birth to her and Reynolds' only daughter, Nora, who would also dance for the Lewitzky Dance Company
(founded in 1966). Over the next 31 years, the Company produced over 50 dances and toured extensively throughout North America
and the world. Lewitzky herself danced in many of the company's productions until she stopped dancing professionally in 1978.
In 1989, she was awarded the California Governor's Award for Lifetime Acheivement; in 1996, she was named a recipient of the
National Endowment for the Arts' National Medal of Arts. Lewitzky was also actively involved in the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival
and the efforts to build a venue called The Dance Gallery in downtown Los Angeles.
Lewitzky passed away on July 16, 2004 in Pasadena, California.
The Lewitzky Dance Company was founded in 1966 by Bella Lewitzky and produced more than 50 dance productions over its period
of activity. The Company, under the direction of Lewitzky, its Artistic Director, and Larry Attaway, its Music Director, was
known for its intellectual approach to dance with a particular emphasis on kinetic movement in space and the relationship
between different forms of art. The company toured extensively, visiting 43 U.S. states and 20 foreign countries. In 1990,
the Company rejected a $72,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in protest of a line that requires grantees
to promise not to create obscene work. The Company would ultimately receive the grant after Lewitzky sued the agency and had
the clause removed. On May 17, 1997, the Lewitzky Dance Company gave its last performance after 31 years of activity.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.
The collection contains published materials; researchers are reminded of the copyright restrictions imposed by publishers
on reusing their articles and parts of books. It is the responsibility of researchers to acquire permission from publishers
when reusing such materials. The copyright to unpublished materials belongs to the heirs of the writers. Permission to publish,
quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
[Item/Box/Folder number], Lewitzky Dance Company records, Collection no. 0203, Music Library, USC Libraries, University of
Southern California
Gift of Bella Lewitzky, June 30, 1997.
Rudy Perez Archive, Collection no. 0309, Music Library, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
The Lewitzky Dance Company Archive was initially processed by Melinda Hayes upon its acquisition by USC in 1997. In the summer
of 2011, it was reprocessed and this finding aid was produced by Rebecca Hirsch (Project Archivist), Sarah Guidas, Stacey
King and Philip Meyer.
The USC Libraries Special Collections unit transferred custody of the Lewitzky Dance Company Archive to the USC Libraries
Music Library on January 12, 2022. However, most of the collection's box labels still list Special Collections as the holding
repository.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Choreographers -- United States -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Dance companies -- United States -- History -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Dance companies -- United States -- Management -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Dancers -- United States -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Modern dance -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- History -- Archival resources
Audiotapes
Costumes (character dress)
Ephemera
Financial records
Magnetic tapes
Manuscripts
Pamphlets
Photographs
Posters
Programs (documents)
Slides (photographs)
Sound recordings
Videotapes
Lewitzky Dance Company -- Archives
Lewitzky, Bella -- Archives
Horton, Lester -- Archives
Reynolds, Newell Taylor -- Archives