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 Playhouse San Francisco Playhouse San Francisco Playhouse (formerly SF Playhouse) is a non-profit theater company in San Francisco, California, founded in 2003 by Bill English and Susi Damilano. The theater stages nine plays yearly, including Broadway plays, musicals, and world and regional premieres. San Francisco Playhouse has been home to several notable world premieres, including "Bauer" by Lauren Gunderson, "Ideation" by Aaron Loeb, "Grounded" by George Brant, and "Seared" by Theresa Rebeck. As part of its mission to shape and promote the growth of performing arts in the Bay Area, San Francisco Playhouse created the Rising Star Program, which provides theatre