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
Third Street (San Francisco) Third Street (San Francisco) Third Street, formerly Kentucky Street in the Dogpatch and Railroad Avenue in the Bayview, is a north-south street running through the Downtown, Mission Bay, Potrero Point, Dogpatch, and the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood in San Francisco, California. The road turns into Kearny Street north of Market Street and connects into Bayshore Boulevard, south of Meade Avenue Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants play at AT&T Park on the intersection Third and King. The majority of the street is served by the T Third Street light rail line. It was the first new light rail line in San