UpDate - Vol. 14, No. 29, Page 4
April 27, 1995
Famed Lewitzky Dance Company to perform May 7

     The Lewitzky Dance Company will present The Best of Modern Dance
at 2 p.m., Sunday, May 7, in Mitchell Hall.
     The performance is part of a residency that also includes a
lecture and demonstration by company founder Bella Lewitzky and a
preview of Sunday's performance at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 5, also in
Mitchell Hall. Admission to the lecture is free.
     Additionally, company members will hold master classes on
Saturday, May 6. Classes for intermediate dancers ages l0 and older
will be held from 10-11:30 a.m. Classes for advanced dancers will be
presented from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. All classes will be held in Pearson
Hall Gymnasium. Call 831-8741 to register for the free classes.
     Since its beginnings in 1966 under the direction of choreographer
and master teacher Bella Lewitzky, the company has performed in 43
states and 20 countries on five continents.
     Lewitzky's choreography extends beyond dance to encompass drama,
discipline, attitude, relationships and rituals. Her dancers "create
drama in space... they appeal always vehemently and often poignantly,"
says Los Angeles Times critic Martin Bernheimer.
     Lewitzky's language of movement is translated to the viewer
expertly and precisely by her technically formidable, exuberant and
sensitive dancers, acclaimed as virtuosos of solo-artist caliber.
     Lewitzky has received a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Fellowship, the annual Dance Magazine Award and commissions from the
National Endowment for the Arts. She is the only non-New York City-
based choreographer in the nation to receive three major grants from
the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The company has earned major grants
from the James Irvine Foundation and the Lila Wallace-Readers' Digest
Fund and three challenge grants from the National Endowment for the
Arts.
     In Los Angeles, Lewitzky is known as a gifted artist,
extraordinary educator, caring humanitarian and champion of freedom of
expression.
     The Lewitzky performance and residency are sponsored by the
University's Performing Arts Series, made possible in part by a grant
from the American Dance Touring Initiative, a program underwritten by
the Lila Wallace-Readers' Digest Fund and administered by Dance/USA.
     The Lila Wallace-Readers' Digest Fund exists to create vibrant
and thriving cultural life that adds vitality to our nation and
provides enriching experiences. It invests in programs in the
performing, visual, literary and folk arts, as well as adult literacy
and urban parks. With annual grants of more than $30 million, the fund
is the largest private supporter of arts and culture in the United
States.
     Ticket prices range from $6 to $15. For more information, call
UD1-HENS or 831-2204.