Choreographer, theatrical director, and dancer Jerome Robbins was born in New York City. He began his career during the 1940s dancing with the American Ballet Theatre and in Broadway musicals. His first major roles for the American Ballet Theatre were in the productions Helen of Troy and Romeo and Juliet. After four years dancing with the company, he decided to focus on choreography, and Fancy Free (1944) was his first major work.
In 1949 Robbins joined the New York City Ballet, dancing in several Balanchine ballets and choreographing 9 ballets in 10 years. During that time he also worked on a variety of Broadway shows, including his first, On the Town (1944) (which was derived from the popular Fancy Free), The King and I (1951), Peter Pan (1954), and the hugely successful West Side Story (1957). Other Broadway successes included Gypsy (1959) and Fiddler on the Roof (1964).
Robbins returned to New York City Ballet in 1969 when he choreographed Dances at a Gathering for the company. Since that time he has remained with the company, adding his own works to the repertory and serving as joint ballet master and codirector with Peter Martins after the death of George Balanchine in 1983. The works he has created for New York City Ballet combine classical ballet with more earthy folk styles. In addition to Dances at a Gathering, his most well-known ballet works include The Goldberg Variations (1971), Watermill (1972), Piano Concerto in G (1975), and Glass Pieces (1983). Robbins won two Oscars in 1961 for the film version of West Side Story.
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