San Francisco Ballet group of his students, he founded the Utah Civic Ballet (now known as Ballet West) in 1963; the company remained under Christensen's directorship until 1978. Under Balanchine's tutelage at American Ballet, Lew Christensen became the first American-born "danseur noble". The United States Army drafted Christensen to fight in World War II. After the war ended, he joined Balanchine's and Lincoln Kirstein's Ballet Society (soon to become New York City Ballet), eventually becoming ballet master; he served in the role from 1946 until 1950. In 1951, he joined his brother Willam as co-director of San Francisco Ballet. When Willam moved to
Loews Regency San Francisco Loews Regency San Francisco Loews Regency San Francisco, formerly the Mandarin Oriental, San Francisco, is a luxury hotel that occupies the top 11 floors of 48 story office tower of 345 California Center at 222 Sansome Street in the financial district of San Francisco, California. Initially planned as condominiums, the twin towers of hotel were situated at 45-degree angles relative to the rest of the building with several glass skybridges that offer views of the San Francisco Bay Area. In February 2015, the hotel was sold to Loews Hotels and renamed the Loews Regency San Francisco. As of February 2015