Harvey Lichtenstein
Encyclopedia
Harvey Lichtenstein is a retired American dancer and arts administrator
, best known for his 32-year tenure (1967–99) as executive director of the Brooklyn Academy of Music
.
Lichtenstein, the son of a Polish immigrant, graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School
in 1947, and from Brooklyn College
in 1951. He danced in the companies of Sophie Maslow
, Pearl Lang
, and Mark Ryder-Emily Frankel. After working in arts management at Brandeis University
, the New York City Ballet
, and the New York City Opera
, he was named executive director of BAM in 1967.
Lichtenstein expanded BAM from a small, non-notable organization into a major New York City
venue. He was known for supporting emerging artists such as Merce Cunningham
, Eliot Feld
, Twyla Tharp
, Bill T. Jones
, and Pina Bausch
. He brought Peter Brook
's epic stage version of the Mahabharata
to Brooklyn, and was an executive producer of its 1989 film version
. Critic John Rockwell
of the New York Times described Lichtenstein as "the most innovative and influential performing arts administrator New York has known."
Since his retirement as president of BAM, Lichtenstein has been director of the BAM Local Development Corporation, which is seeking to develop the area around BAM in Brooklyn into an arts and cultural district. In 1986, he was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit
for his contributions to German-American cultural relations. He received the National Medal of Arts
in 1999.
From 2007 to 2009, the BAM Hamm Archives arranged a series of interviews with Lichtenstein, conducted by John Rockwell. The oral history ranges from the "birth of the artistic consciousness" and early dance career of Lichtenstein through the creation of the Next Wave Festival to Lichtenstein's retirement from BAM. The full transcript and audio files of the oral history can be accessed through the BAM Hamm Archives (BAM.org).
Arts administration
Arts Administration is the business end of an arts organization responsible for facilitating the day-to-day operation of the organization and fulfilling its mission...
, best known for his 32-year tenure (1967–99) as executive director of the Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music is a major performing arts venue in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, United States, known as a center for progressive and avant garde performance....
.
Lichtenstein, the son of a Polish immigrant, graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School
Brooklyn Technical High School
Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly called Brooklyn Tech or just Tech, and also administratively as High School 430, is a New York City public high school that specializes in engineering, math and science and is the largest specialized high school for science, technology, engineering, and...
in 1947, and from Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
in 1951. He danced in the companies of Sophie Maslow
Sophie Maslow
Sophie Maslow was an American choreographer, modern dancer and teacher, and founding member of New Dance Group. She was a first cousin of the American sculptor Leonard Baskin....
, Pearl Lang
Pearl Lang
Pearl Lang was an American dancer, choreographer and teacher renowned as an interpreter and propagator of the choreography style of Martha Graham, and also for her own longtime dance company, the Pearl Lang Dance Theater....
, and Mark Ryder-Emily Frankel. After working in arts management at Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
, the New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Leon Barzin was the company's first music director. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company...
, and the New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
, he was named executive director of BAM in 1967.
Lichtenstein expanded BAM from a small, non-notable organization into a major New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
venue. He was known for supporting emerging artists such as Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham
Mercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance...
, Eliot Feld
Eliot Feld
Eliot Feld is an American modern ballet choreographer, performer and director.-Life and career:Feld was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Alice , a travel agent, and Benjamin Noah Feld, an attorney...
, Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp is an American dancer and choreographer, who lives and works in New York City.-Early years:Tharp was born in 1941 on a farm in Portland, Indiana, and was named after Twila Thornburg, the "Pig Princess" of the 89th Annual Muncie Fair in Indiana.she spend hours working on it to help her...
, Bill T. Jones
Bill T. Jones
Bill T. Jones is an American artistic director, choreographer and dancer.-Early life:Jones was born in Bunnell, Florida and his family moved North as part of the Great Migration in the first half of the twentieth century. They settled in Wayland, New York, where Jones attended Wayland High School...
, and Pina Bausch
Pina Bausch
Philippina "Pina" Bausch was a German performer of modern dance, choreographer, dance teacher and ballet director...
. He brought Peter Brook
Peter Brook
Peter Stephen Paul Brook CH, CBE is an English theatre and film director and innovator, who has been based in France since the early 1970s.-Life:...
's epic stage version of the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
to Brooklyn, and was an executive producer of its 1989 film version
The Mahabharata (1989 film)
The Mahabharata is a 1989 film version of the Indian epic, Mahabharata, directed by Peter Brook. Brook's original 1985 stage play was 9 hours long, and toured around the world for four years. In 1989, it was reduced to under 6 hours for television . Later it was also reduced to about 3 hours for...
. Critic John Rockwell
John Rockwell
John Rockwell is a music critic, editor, and dance critic. He studied at Phillips Academy, Harvard, the University of Munich, and the University of California, Berkeley, earning a Ph.D. in German culture....
of the New York Times described Lichtenstein as "the most innovative and influential performing arts administrator New York has known."
Since his retirement as president of BAM, Lichtenstein has been director of the BAM Local Development Corporation, which is seeking to develop the area around BAM in Brooklyn into an arts and cultural district. In 1986, he was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit
Bundesverdienstkreuz
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is the only general state decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has existed since 7 September 1951, and between 3,000 and 5,200 awards are given every year across all classes...
for his contributions to German-American cultural relations. He received the National Medal of Arts
National Medal of Arts
The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and patrons of the arts. It is the highest honor conferred to an individual artist on behalf of the people. Honorees are selected by the National Endowment for the...
in 1999.
From 2007 to 2009, the BAM Hamm Archives arranged a series of interviews with Lichtenstein, conducted by John Rockwell. The oral history ranges from the "birth of the artistic consciousness" and early dance career of Lichtenstein through the creation of the Next Wave Festival to Lichtenstein's retirement from BAM. The full transcript and audio files of the oral history can be accessed through the BAM Hamm Archives (BAM.org).
External links
- Mary Campbell, Avant-Garde Impresario Harvey Lichtenstein Steps Down, Dance magazine, June 1999
- Ethan Smith, Harvey's Next Wave, New YorkNew York (magazine)New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
, July 19, 1999 - West Germany Honors Harvey Lichtenstein, New York Times, Nov. 13, 1986