Norman Walker

Norman Walker was born in 1934 in New York.

He studied drama at the High School of the Performing Arts (HSPA) and City College of New York. He began training in classical ballet with Robert Joffrey and Valentina Perejslavic, and in modern dance with May O’Donnell and Gertrud Shurr, as well as with Martha Graham. He made his debut with O’Donnell’s dance company in 1953 and was its principal dancer until 1955. He also performed with Pearl Lang’s and Yuriko’s companies. In 1956, he created his first choreography, Four Cantos, for HSPA where he had studied as a boy and where he also began teaching ballet. In 1960, he established a company of his own which performed until 1971. Already in 1961, it made its Jacob’s Pillow debut, and a year later, Walker stage a solo night in New York as part of the festival. Walker’s company travelled extensively in the US and Europe. During the 1960s and ‘70s, Walker not only worked with his company but also choreographed for many others, including the Boston Ballet and Harkness Ballet.

In 1969, Walker was appointed Batsheva’s artistic director and served in that capacity for a year. That year, he choreographed Dance Concerto No. 5 for the company. In 1975, he was named as Director of Jacob’s Pillow, a post which he held for five seasons.
Since the 1980s, Walker has continued to choreograph for ballet, theater and opera productions. Hitherto, he has choreographed more than 210 works for companies worldwide. He continues to teach dance and has even directed Adelphi University’s Theatre Arts Department.