I found this book particularly fascinating and fun to read because it enriched and filled in gaps in my knowledge of modern dance from 1962 to 2011. I was active in the New York City dance scene some of the time from 1958 to 2004, and I knew, or knew of, or saw perform, many of the people that are a part of this book.
The format of the book is unique. It is jointly written by Daniel Lewis and Donna Krasnow. Each chapter begins with a paragraph written by Lewis, followed by information about that period in Danny’s life in a biography format drawing on “60 archival boxes of photos, programs, letters, newspaper articles, reviews, posters. And even old airline tickets.” Danny also gave Krasnow a list of people to contact and interview. Included in the book are sections called “Through His Friends Eyes.” Krasnow identifies the friend and how he/she knew Danny and then provides a direct passage from the friend.
As is pointed out in the preface, “[Danny’s] life covered every aspect of the field – dancer, teacher, choreographer, collaborator, artistic director, administrator, mentor and benefactor.” By the time I finished the book I had an inside look at all these facets of his life. While I have only briefly met Danny, I think at a Juilliard alumni event, I do remember watching him in class at Juilliard. I was a second-year student and he was a first-year student. The first year I had to take modern dance technique developed by Jose Limon and technique by Martha Graham, but the second year I did not. I was clearly a Graham person, but one day (and I am not sure why) I was watching the Limon class and was struck with how beautifully Danny moved across the floor in various combinations.
It was really interesting to learn that during his Juilliard student years:
Danny was teaching as a substitute for Jose when he couldn’t be there and demonstrating regularly for his classes, so Danny had a strange kind of in-between role as student and faculty. He was still friends with the students as well as having close ties with Martha Hill and Jose Limon. Finally in 1967, Danny was hired by Martha as a regular faculty member when he was only twenty-three years old.
Krasnow describes in the preface how she took classes with Danny, and the importance of his unique approach to teaching the Limon technique. She describes his gift so clearly, and I quote:
He situated the technique in a larger vision of Limon as the choreographer, the musician, and the artist. We were learning exquisitely gorgeous movement phrases with intricate rhythms, precarious balances, and complex multilimbed coordinations, but all the while, Danny was expressing in analysis and imagery the principles of the work: fall and recovery, suspension, opposition, isolation, and always weight and breath . . . .
After reading about Danny’s style of teaching, I certainly wondered if I wouldn’t have liked Limon technique much more if I had had classes with Danny. How fortunate for Juilliard students who came just a year or so after me, that Martha Hill recognized Danny’s talents and had him teaching!
It was also in his first year at Juilliard that he began touring with the Limon Company. Danny shares that “the experience of touring, performing and having dances created on me by a master artist shaped me not only as a dancer, but as a choreographer and person.” In this section of the book we learn a lot about Jose Limon and the company. I have loved seeing a number of Limon’s works, particularly There is A Time, The Moor’s Pavone, and Missa Brevis, so I found this section right on target. Danny became Artistic Director of the Limon Company from 1972–1974.
One of the most helpful parts of the book is a chart that gives the timeline of Danny’s life from his birth to the present. Since the book isn’t written in strict chronological order, it is helpful to refer back to this.
From 1987 to 2011 Danny was the Dean of Dance at New World School of the Arts (NWSA). I really loved reading about, and have huge admiration and respect for, the innovative way that Danny developed the dance program at the NWSA. It was very interesting to read how he slowly built the program. He would re-evaluate the curriculum each year and see ways to improve it. One unique aspect was that the school always kept a “broad range of dance styles from various cultures.” The program began first as a high school and then developed into a college program with its first graduating class of ten students in 1992.
Among the students who studied at NWSA is Robert Battle, who is now the director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Battle’s section on “Through His Friends Eyes” was one of my favorites. Battle reports, “Danny told me that one day I should have my own company.” Indeed Battle did have his own company, and now he leads one of the major dance companies in the United States. Battle also shares:
When I returned to NWSA to set a work … sitting in the office talking with him was like watching a circus act. Danny would be doing multiple things at once – on the phone, solving problems and making things possible. I came to appreciate this quality in my own life, the job of juggling many balls at once . . . .
When Battle spoke at Danny’s retirement ceremony, he said, “I can only quote the words of Patrick Henry, ‘I know of no other way of judging the future but by the past,’ and so I seriously doubt Danny is retiring.”
As a friend of Danny’s on Facebook, I can see this is true. Danny continues to play an active role in the dance community in a variety of different ways.
My goal in this review is to point out a few of the parts of the book that strongly resonated with me and to encourage you to read the book for yourself. I have left out much about the time Daniel directed his own company and many important people in the dance community such as Anna Sokolow that he worked with or the numerous things he did while at NWSA . Learn more by ordering the book and by following some of the links at the bottom of this blog. The book is easily available via Amazon. [1] I enjoyed reading it on my Kindle here in Costa Rica. Thank you, Danny, for your outstanding contribution to dance and for making the documentation of your life work available for the dance community!
Other recommended links:
https://daniellewisdance.com/videos/ [2]
https://daniellewisdance.com/awards/ [3]