Lawrence Leritz

Lawrence Leritz (born September 26, 1962) is an American dancer, singer, actor, producer, fitness expert and choreographer. Born in Alton, Illinois, Leritz made his stage debut in the children's chorus of the world stage premiere of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical State Fair at The Muny, starring Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, directed by James Hammerstein, supervised by Richard Rodgers and choreographed by Tommy Tune. Leritz moved to New York City on scholarships to the Harkness Ballet, Joffrey Ballet and School of American Ballet, studying with Alexandra Danilova and Stanley Williams. Leritz was invited to work with the dance choreographers George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Alvin Ailey, Robert Joffrey, Ruth Page, Frederic Franklin, John Neumeier, Lee Theodore, Joe Layton and Sir Frederick Ashton. Leritz's first major dance companies included The New York City Ballet, where during a company class, he was discovered by Balanchine ballerina Violette Verdy. Violette invited Lawrence to...