About Leigh Witchel

Photo of Leigh Witchel by Josef Astor.
 

A 2001 Guggenheim fellow in choreography and the creator of more than fifty ballets, Mr. Witchel is the founder of Dance as Ever. He was born and raised in New York and began his dance training in Boston with Marie Paquetin in 1982 while a student at Brandeis University. After graduating Magna Cum Laude, he returned to New York and continued his training, principally with Jan Miller. He performed with the Eglevsky, American Festival and Lexington Ballets, among other companies.

He began choreographing in 1987and in 1993, Mr. Witchel formed Dance as Ever, which presented a concert of four new works at the Theater of the Riverside Church. In 1998, Dance as Ever and Mr. Witchel were awarded a Choo-San Goh Award for Choreography by the Choo-San Goh & H. Robert Magee foundation to support the creation of three new works premiered in 1999, including a solo for Charles Askegard of the New York City Ballet.

In 2000 Mr. Witchel began working with Peter Boal, creating a repertory of solos for him. Commissions for Mr. Witchel have included ballets for the Louisville Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Ballet Pacifica and Virginia Ballet Theatre. He also assisted in the curating of works for the Y Dance Festival to inaugurate the new dance program at the 14th Street Y in Manhattan. Recent honors include an award in choreography from JDAF Inc. in 2001, a nomination for the 2001 CalArts Alpert Award in the Arts in dance as well as the fellowship in choreography from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in 2001.

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