Helen Lewis

Helen Lewis (2016-2009) was a dancer and choreographer, well regarded as a pioneer of modern dance in Northern Ireland, where she moved to in 1947 after her liberation from Auschwitz concentration camp. A member of the Lyric Players and founder of the Belfast Modern Dance Group, she introduced an experimental European style of contemporary dance never before seen in Northern Ireland. In 1993, this contribution to dance was recognised with an honorary doctorate from Ulster University, and later, in 2001, when she received an MBE.

The photographs in this collection were kindly donated by her son Robin Lewis, and depict moments of Helen Lewis with her family, leading a dance workshop, and receiving her doctorate from Ulster University.