Murray Louis

Murray Louis (November 4, 1926 – February 1, 2016) was an American modern dancer and choreographer.

Louis was known as one of the most influential American modern dancers and choreographers. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he grew up in Manhattan near Henry Street where he would later attend class at the Henry Street Playhouse and also start his company. He was one out of five children and his mother died when he was eight years old. He was then sent to an orphanage until he was twelve. At this time his sister Ethel, who was studying dance at the time, took him to many modern dance concerts. He graduated from Samuel J. Tilden High School in 1944.

Louis was discharged from the U.S. Navy in 1946 and began to live in San Francisco, California. He then enrolled at Colorado College for a summer session conducted by Hanya Holm in 1949. It was there during one of their workshops where he met Alwin Nikolais, who would later become his mentor and lifelong partner. That year he moved back to New York to pursue a Dramatic Arts degree at New York University and attend class with Nikolais at Henry Street Playhouse. Louis made his debut as the lead soloist in Nikolais’ newly formed Playhouse Dance Company (which would later be renamed the Nikolais Dance Theater). He died in New York City on February 1, 2016 at the age of 89.

Louis was chosen as Associate Director to Nikolais and together they created the Nikolais/Louis dance technique, which would go on to become a major influence on modern dance and is still taught by his students. Louis founded his own company in 1968 known as the Murray Louis Dance Company. His company was then chosen to represent the U.S. State Department on a two-month tour of India in 1968. In 1972 he piloted the “Artist in School” program. He also created two works for Rudolph Nureyev which premiered on Broadway in 1978. Louis additionally worked in television in the United States and Europe. In 1984 the Murray Louis Dance Company collaborated with the Dave Brubeck Quartet and had four very successful seasons, which were broadcast in the United States, Europe and Japan. Some of his choreographed works produced for television station outside of the United States include; Pulcinello for the Batsheva Dance Company on Israeli television and The Tales of Cri-Cri for Mexico City television. In July 1987 PBS televised Nik and Murray, an award winning documentary film by Christian Blackwood, in their American Masters series. The Princeton Book Publishing Company released a video called Murray Louis in Concert, a collection of solos in 1989.

...
Wikipedia