Research for the Choreographer of 'West Side Story'
The Choreographer of the Musical 'West Side Story' was called Jerome Robbins. Jerome Robbins was an American choreographer, director, dancer, and theatre producer who worked in classical ballet, on Broadway, and in films and television. He was born in 11th October 1918 in Manhattan. Sadly, he passed away at the age of 79 due to a Stroke.
Among his numerous stage productions he worked on were On the Town, Peter Pan, High Button Shoes, The King and I, The Pajama Game, Bells are ringing, West Side Story, Bells are ringing, Gypsy and Fiddler on the roof. Robbins was a five time Tony Award winner and recipient of the Kennedy Centre Honours. He received two Academy Awards, including the 1961 Academy awards for best director with Robert Wise for West Side Story.
The son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Rabinowitz studied chemistry for one year at New York University before embarking on a career as a dancer in 1936. He studied a wide array of dance traditions, appeared with the Gluck Sandor–Felicia Sorel Dance Centre, and danced in the chorus of several Broadway musicals. In 1940 he joined Ballet Theatre (now American Ball Theatre), where he soon began dancing such important roles as Petrouchka. (About this time he and his parents changed the family name to Robbins.) In 1944 Robbins choreographed his first, spectacularly successful ballet, Fancy Free, with a musical score by the young composer Leonard Bernstein. This ballet, featuring three American sailors on shore leave in New York City during World War 2, displayed Robbins acute sense of theatre and his ability to capture the essence of contemporary American dance using the vocabulary of classical ballet. Later that year Robbins and Bernstein, in collaboration with the lyricists Betty Comeden and Adolf Green, expanded Fancy Free into a successful Broadway musical called On the Town.
His Broadway career is well represented by West Side Story, a musical that transplants the tragic story of Romeo and Juliet to the gritty milieu of rival street gangs in New York City. Robbins conceived, directed, and choreographed this work, which featured a musical score by Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and set designs by Robbins’ longtime collaborator Oliver Smith. West Side Story was immediately recognised as a major achievement in the history of the American musical theatre, with its innovative setting, electric pacing, and tense, volatile dance sequences. Robbins received the 1958 Tony Award for best choreography for the Broadway version and Academy Awards for his choreography and co-direction (with Robert Wise) of the highly successful 1961 Film version. The original musical was successfully revived on Broadway in 1980. He directed and choreographed the popular musical Gypsy in 1959 and the even more successful Fiddler on the Roof in 1964.
The Choreographer of the Musical 'West Side Story' was called Jerome Robbins. Jerome Robbins was an American choreographer, director, dancer, and theatre producer who worked in classical ballet, on Broadway, and in films and television. He was born in 11th October 1918 in Manhattan. Sadly, he passed away at the age of 79 due to a Stroke.
Among his numerous stage productions he worked on were On the Town, Peter Pan, High Button Shoes, The King and I, The Pajama Game, Bells are ringing, West Side Story, Bells are ringing, Gypsy and Fiddler on the roof. Robbins was a five time Tony Award winner and recipient of the Kennedy Centre Honours. He received two Academy Awards, including the 1961 Academy awards for best director with Robert Wise for West Side Story.
The son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Rabinowitz studied chemistry for one year at New York University before embarking on a career as a dancer in 1936. He studied a wide array of dance traditions, appeared with the Gluck Sandor–Felicia Sorel Dance Centre, and danced in the chorus of several Broadway musicals. In 1940 he joined Ballet Theatre (now American Ball Theatre), where he soon began dancing such important roles as Petrouchka. (About this time he and his parents changed the family name to Robbins.) In 1944 Robbins choreographed his first, spectacularly successful ballet, Fancy Free, with a musical score by the young composer Leonard Bernstein. This ballet, featuring three American sailors on shore leave in New York City during World War 2, displayed Robbins acute sense of theatre and his ability to capture the essence of contemporary American dance using the vocabulary of classical ballet. Later that year Robbins and Bernstein, in collaboration with the lyricists Betty Comeden and Adolf Green, expanded Fancy Free into a successful Broadway musical called On the Town.
His Broadway career is well represented by West Side Story, a musical that transplants the tragic story of Romeo and Juliet to the gritty milieu of rival street gangs in New York City. Robbins conceived, directed, and choreographed this work, which featured a musical score by Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and set designs by Robbins’ longtime collaborator Oliver Smith. West Side Story was immediately recognised as a major achievement in the history of the American musical theatre, with its innovative setting, electric pacing, and tense, volatile dance sequences. Robbins received the 1958 Tony Award for best choreography for the Broadway version and Academy Awards for his choreography and co-direction (with Robert Wise) of the highly successful 1961 Film version. The original musical was successfully revived on Broadway in 1980. He directed and choreographed the popular musical Gypsy in 1959 and the even more successful Fiddler on the Roof in 1964.
Good research - just ensure you put all of your research into your own words!
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