Louis H Chalif

Louis H. Chalif (1876-1948) was a renowned Russian ballet dancer and educator born in Odessa, Russia, who immigrated to the United States in 1904. He founded the Louis H. Chalif Normal School of Dancing in New York in 1905, one of the earliest schools in the United States to instruct teachers in dance, and became known as 'the dean of New York dance teachers' and 'the first Russian ballet master to teach in America.' He authored numerous dance textbooks and composed or arranged approximately 1,200 dances across multiple styles including ballet, ballroom, folk, and character dance.