Research Catalog

Title

Interview with Jerome Robbins. Feb. 1977 [sound recording]

Author

Robbins, Jerome

Publication

1977.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

Tomkins, Calvin, 1925-

Description

1 sound disc (ca. 63 min.) : digital; 4 3/4 in.

Summary

• Track 1 (ca. 33 min.) Jerome Robbins discusses becoming a dancer; the choreographer Michel Fokine and dancing various roles for him; his work in ballet and on Broadway from 1940 through 1949; his first contact with George Balanchine and their later association; Robbins' ballet, The guests (1949) and Maria Tallchief's dancing; the creative atmosphere at New York City Ballet as fostered by Balanchine; his collaboration with Balanchine on Jones Beach (1950) and other ballets; the development of the company's ballets as they are performed over time [ends abruptly].
• Track 2 (ca. 30 min.) Robbins discusses the writing of his autobiography; Tomkins and Robbins discuss possible books Robbins could write; Robbins discusses the use of dancer Nora Kaye in his ballet, The cage (1951); how modern dance stimulated his interest in choreography; television's effect on theater and on dance; the audience for ballet; Tomkins and Robbins discuss the trend toward the performance of earlier, classical forms of ballet. Robbins discusses leaving Ballet Theatre in 1956 and then working on Broadway; the advantages of each venue; the formation in 1958 of his own dance company, Ballets: U.S.A.; the technical skills of Broadway performers; the collaborators' aim in creating the musical, West Side story (1957) and their difficulty in getting the show produced; his work on the film version; the individual contributions to West Side story and more on its movie and theatrical versions; the creation of his ballet, Dances at a gathering (1969), its cast and its relationship to the prevailing work of the period [ends abruptly].

Donor/Sponsor

Oral History Archive.

Series Statement

Jerome Robbins Collection

Subjects

• Bernstein, Leonard, 1918-1990 > West Side story
• Dances at a gathering (Choreographic work : Robbins)
• Robbins, Jerome > Interviews
• Audiotapes > Robbins, J
• Balanchine, George
• Musical comedies > West Side story

Note

• Interview conducted by Calvin Tomkins in Feb. 1977.
• Handwritten on container: J.R. Calvin Tompkins Feb. 77 for New Yorker.

Access (note)

• Permission required.

Funding (note)

• Preservation made possible in part with public funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Call Number

*MGZTL 4-3072 JRC

OCLC

NYPT03-R29

Author

Robbins, Jerome, interviewee.

Title

Interview with Jerome Robbins. Feb. 1977 [sound recording]

Imprint

1977.

Series

Jerome Robbins Collection

Access

Permission required.

Funding

Preservation made possible in part with public funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Local Note

Archive original: *MGZTCO 3-3072 JRC

Preservation master: *MGZTP 10-3072 JRC

Dubbing master: *MGZTD 4-3072 JRC

Local Subject

Audiotapes -- Robbins, J.

Musical comedies. West Side story.

Added Author

Tomkins, Calvin, 1925- Interviewer

Research Call Number

*MGZTL 4-3072 JRC