The Lewitzky Point of View (Historical Context)

Time-line:

1916-1919 WWI

1929-late 1930’s Great Depression

1937 Works Progress Administration Project

1939-1945 WWII

Bella Lewitzky in costume for Horton's Tierray Libertad! in 1941

        In addition to Bella’s passion for dance, she had always taken a stand on social and political issues just like her father. According to Moore’s article, Lewitzky “picketed for labor issues,” protested the U.S. government’s involvement with the fascist regime of Spain, and voiced for minority and women’s rights when it was not popular to do so. She was an active member of the Arts, Sciences and Professions Council. For this group, she mobilized the dance and entertainment segment of the membership into social action projects, specifically to eliminate the racist practice of denying minority groups admittance in dance studios and in the movie industries.

Bella Lewitzky and Herman Boden in The Beloved, 1948

        In 1946 after Bella founded the Dance Theatre with Lester Horton, they created dances “critical of religious fanaticism, bigotry, the violent anti-Semitism of Nazi Germany, and the abuse of women.” The most well-known example is “The Beloved,” a duet for Bella and Herman Boden, co-choreographed by Horton and Bella in 1948 based on a newspaper article about a man in the Midwest who had beaten his wife to death with a Bible because of some suspected infidelity. Sidney Burke, a dance critic, was deeply moved by the "artistic and political maturity of the piece" and "by the incomparable Bella Lewitzky, whose tremendous technical powers... are completely sublimated into the content of the dance itself." This dance did not only spoke about Bella and Horton’s artistic power but also made a politically significant statement about domestic violence and the suppression of women at the time. The video of “The Beloved” can be viewed here.

The following is a video of Bella reconstructing the dance with Diana Macneil and John Pennington.

     

        In my research process I also came across several pieces of information that every effectively helped me to tie Bella Lewitzky’s experience in dance to what was happening around the world at the time. The following is one example:

• After World War I and preceding World War II, the Great Depression hit which was considered the most widespread and deepest depression of the 20^th century that caused unemployment in the U.S. to rise to 25%. Back in Los Angeles, the Horton dancers participated vigorously in WPA theatre and dance programs while Bella was especially active in WPA events dancing in not only Horton’s but also other choreographers’ works.  The WPA (Works Progress/Project Administration) was a government program established as a form of work relief with respect to the rising unemployment during the Great Depression. The arts program of the WPA arose from “the realization that in time of need, artists, just like laborers, were entitled to employment in their craft at public expenses.”

More historical information could also be found in the scholarly journal "Bella Lewitzky: A Legend Turned Real" by Elvi Moore