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
San Francisco graft trials also went on strike. On May 7, 1907, what would later be called "Bloody Tuesday", six streetcars carrying armed guards attempted to leave the carbarn. An enraged mob threw rocks and bricks, gunfight erupts between guards and men shooting from nearby vacant lots. From inside carbarns, strikebreakers opened fire on crowd. Two dead, 20 wounded. The contract for handling the baggage for attendees of a national convention of the Epworth League in San Francisco was given to a non-union company. During the prior year, a union company was hired during another convention in San Francisco to handle the baggage, but