William Louther

William (Bill) Louther (1942-1998)

Dancer and choreographer. Born in New York, he began studying acting at the local High School of Performing Arts, but switched to the dance department during the first year. He then moved on to Juilliard, where he studied ballet with Antony Tudor and Martha Graham. In 1958, he joined the May O’Donnell’s company and later began dancing with Donald McKayle. In 1963 he danced with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for one season, and in 1964 joined the Martha Graham Dance company, where he danced as a solo until 1966. In 1969, he moved to London and joined the London Contemporary Dance Theatre (LCDT), first as a solo dancer and later also as a Graham technique instructor.
Louther, who had studied Hebrew as a child in New York, accepted the invitation to become Batsheva’s artistic director and held that position from 1972 to 1974. His appointment led to the resignation of Moshe Romano, the company’s rehearsal manager. During that time, he choreographed Divertissements (in the Play Ground of the Zodiac) (1972). He also danced in several roles, including a performance with Rina Schenfeld on After Eden (1972), choreographed by John Butler, and the solo performance Poem (1973), by Anna Sokolow.
In 1975, Louther was appointed director of the Welsh Dance Theater. He resigned the next year and founded a short-lived company in London. In the early 1980s he retired from dancing due to health problems, but continued choreographing and teaching Graham throughout Europe.

Bill Louther passed away in London in 1998.