Helen Lewis MBE
We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of our Patron, Helen Lewis.
Helen, who was awarded an MBE for her contribution to the development of contemporary dance in Northern Ireland, had a long association with the Crescent Arts Centre, as a dancer, choreographer, teacher and friend.
Born in Czechoslovakia in 1916, she was influenced by leading figures in European dance, most notably Rudolf Laban and Mary Wigman. In Prague, she studied with Laban’s pupil, Milca Mayerová, with whom she danced until the outbreak of the Second World War.
In her memoir A Time To Speak, Helen writes of her experiences from 1942—45 when she endured the Nazi concentration camps: Theresienstadt, Auschwitz and Stutthof, and lost her husband and mother.
After the war, Helen emigrated to Belfast in 1947, where she settled with her husband Harry and her sons, Michael and Robin.
In 1956 Helen choreographed for the Belfast Ballet Club and was later a founder member of the Belfast Modern Dance Group featured in a BBC Television series in 1967.
Helen also had a long association with the Lyric Theatre which continued until the mid-1970s where she choreographed many works in collaboration with the acclaimed theatre director Sam McCready, former artistic director of the Lyric.
Moore Sinnerton directed an hour-long documentary on Helen’s life and work as did the presenter Joan Bakewell in a BBC documentary ( A short interview with Helen can be viewed on Youtube).
Helen will be remembered not only for her extraordinary contribution to the cultural life of Northern Ireland but for her artistic passion, warm personality and profound humanity.
We send our sincere condolences and heartfelt sympathy to her family, friends and the many acquaintances whose lives she touched.
“Through dance people can come together who wouldn’t have come together in other circumstances”. (Helen Lewis)