Jerome Robbins was a visionary choreographer and director who revolutionized both ballet and musical theatre, creating a distinctly American movement vocabulary that bridged high art and popular entertainment.
Defining moments and milestones
Jerome Robbins began as a dancer with Ballet Theatre in 1940, quickly transitioning to choreography with the breakthrough success of Fancy Free (1944), which established his signature blend of classical technique and American vernacular movement. His collaboration with Leonard Bernstein on West Side Story (1957) revolutionized musical theatre by making dance central to narrative and emotional expression. Simultaneously, he became a principal creative force at New York City Ballet, where alongside George Balanchine he created a vast repertory of ballets ranging from witty, jazz-inflected works to profound explorations of human connection, cementing his status as one of the most consequential artists of the American performing arts.
Created and choreographed West Side Story (1957), which won the Tony Award for Best Musical and fundamentally transformed the role of choreography in musical theatre
A chronological journey through key moments
Recordings featuring Jerome Robbins, George Balanchine in the Society index
Additional recordings will appear here as the catalog expands.