Maria Lewis

Beloved Vancouver born dancer/teacher, Maria Lewis (also known as Mary Louise Crowhurst) attended Kitsilano High School and studied at the Rosemary Deveson School in Vancouver under Nicolai Svetlanoff, Betty Blygh and Jean Jepson. Maria had a notable career with the National Ballet of Canada, the Montreal Ballet, and on various television shows before returning to Vancouver to form the Maria Lewis Ballet Ensemble in 1969. For several years her senior students performed under that name. In 1974, she took over Ballet Horizons and established a new company named Pacific Ballet Theatre. The company grew to semi-professional regional status, with a repertoire of small works in classical style. Lewis retired as Director in 1980. She continued directing and teaching at the Pacific Ballet Theatre School. Her Pacific Ballet Theatre became Ballet British Columbia in 1985. Maria Lewis died in 2004, leaving a legacy of thousands of young dancers whose lives she touched through her 35 years of teaching. She also left a bequest to the Vancouver Ballet Society to create and support its archives of dance in Vancouver and the Scotia Dance Centre to support young choreographers.