Diane Lewis

For over 40 years Diane Lewis chaired the Dance Department at Hochstein School. She was also the artistic Director of the Hochstein Dance Ensembles and won the 1994 Faculty Service Award at Hochstein.

Ms. Lewis trained in the Vaganova technique, and has worked professionally with Kathleen Crofton, Rudolph Nureyev, Bronislava Njininska, David Lichine, Alicia Markova among other prominent ballet masters. She has completed a 35 hour seminar in the Vaganova technique under the direction of Irina Trofinova, head of the St Petersburg, Academy in association with the Canadian National Ballet.

Diane has toured Europe and the United States, as a soloist, with the American Classical Ballet and the Festival Ballet of New York. As a principal dancer with the Festival Ballet of New York, Ms Lewis performed the Mazurka opposite the famous Margot Fonteyns Les Sylphide at Eastman theater.

Ms. Lewis holds a Masters Degree in Dance from SUNY Brockport ,a Bachelors Degree in Education from Buffalo State University and was a former member of the New York SUNY Brockport Dance Department for eight years. Her 98 page Master thesis was on developing a ballet syllabus for the adult beginner based on the Vaganova system.

She now enjoys teaching, choreographing, restaging the classics, coaching, and masterclasses.