Willam Christensen
Encyclopedia
Willam Farr Christensen (August 27, 1902 – October 14, 2001) was an American
ballet
dancer, choreographer and founder of the San Francisco Ballet
and Ballet West
in Salt Lake City
, Utah
. He is known for bringing the complete version of the Russian ballet The Nutcracker
to the United States, as well as staging the first American performances of Swan Lake
and Coppélia
. Christensen's Nutcracker was first staged in 1944 in San Francisco
, where the ballet remains an annual tradition, though the production now staged there is not necessarily the Christensen version. Christensen is often credited with helping to rejuvenate American dance.
Christensen left the San Francisco Ballet in the care of his brother, Harold, to help choreograph a stage production at the University of Utah
in the summer of 1948. While there, he was asked to stay on and help the University create a department of ballet. He agreed, and spent the remainder of his life working in Utah and the Intermountain West
. The University of Utah was the first accredited University to have a ballet department in the U.S. While in Utah, Christensen also founded Ballet West. Author Debra H. Sowell
wrote that Willam, Harold, and Lew Christensen
are the closest thing the United States has to a European-style "ballet dynasty". Christensen was raised in Brigham City, Utah
and was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
dancer, choreographer and founder of the San Francisco Ballet
San Francisco Ballet
The San Francisco Ballet is a ballet company, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, under the direction of Helgi Tomasson. SFB is the first professional ballet company in the United States...
and Ballet West
Ballet West
Ballet West, Salt Lake City, Utah was founded in 1963 by Glenn Walker Wallace, who served as its first president. It was called the Utah Civic Ballet company. Willam F...
in Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. He is known for bringing the complete version of the Russian ballet The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
to the United States, as well as staging the first American performances of Swan Lake
Swan Lake
Swan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
and Coppélia
Coppélia
Coppélia is a sentimental comic ballet with original choreography by Arthur Saint-Léon to a ballet libretto by Saint-Léon and Charles Nuitter and music by Léo Delibes. It was based upon two macabre stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Der Sandmann , and Die Puppe...
. Christensen's Nutcracker was first staged in 1944 in San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, where the ballet remains an annual tradition, though the production now staged there is not necessarily the Christensen version. Christensen is often credited with helping to rejuvenate American dance.
Christensen left the San Francisco Ballet in the care of his brother, Harold, to help choreograph a stage production at the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
in the summer of 1948. While there, he was asked to stay on and help the University create a department of ballet. He agreed, and spent the remainder of his life working in Utah and the Intermountain West
Intermountain West
The Intermountain West is a region of North America lying between the Rocky Mountains to the east and the Cascades and Sierra Nevada to the west. It is also called the Intermountain Region.- Topography :...
. The University of Utah was the first accredited University to have a ballet department in the U.S. While in Utah, Christensen also founded Ballet West. Author Debra H. Sowell
Debra H. Sowell
Debra Hickenlooper Sowell is a dance historian and an associate professor of humanities in the Department of Humanities, Classics and Comparative Literature at Brigham Young University . She received her B.A. cum laude and with High Honors from the Honors Program at BYU, where she majored in...
wrote that Willam, Harold, and Lew Christensen
Lew Christensen
Lewellyn Farr "Lew" Christensen was a ballet dancer, choreographer and director for many companies. He was largely associated with George Balanchine and the San Francisco Ballet, which he directed from 1952–1984...
are the closest thing the United States has to a European-style "ballet dynasty". Christensen was raised in Brigham City, Utah
Brigham City, Utah
Brigham City is a city in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 17,899 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Box Elder County. It lies on the western slope of the Wellsville Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range at the western terminus of Box Elder Canyon...
and was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Reviews
- http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40D17F73F59107B93C1A91789D95F4C8585F9NY Times by John MartinJohn Martin (dance critic)John Martin became America’s first major dance critic in 1927. Focusing his efforts on propelling the modern dance movement, he greatly influenced the careers of dancers such as Martha Graham...
, December 3, 1958, of OctetOctet (Christensen)Octet is a ballet made on New York City Ballet by Willam Christensen to Stravinsky's Octet for Wind Instruments . The premiere took place December 2, 1958, at the City Center of Music and Drama.- Original cast : *Barbara Walczak...
]
book
Articles
obituaries
- http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEEDA163EF934A25753C1A9679C8B63NY Times by Jack AndersonJack Anderson (dance critic)Jack Anderson is an American dance critic and author. Since 1978, he has been a contributor of dance reviews and other articles in The New York Times...
October 17th, 2001]