TitleJerome Robbins interviewed by Deborah Jowitt
NamesRobbins, Jerome (Interviewee)Jowitt, Deborah (Interviewer)John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (U.S.) (Associated name)
CollectionJerome Robbins Video Archive
Dates / OriginDate Created: 1995-07-11
Table of ContentsReel 1 (ca. 57 min.). Topics include: the initial opposition of his Russian Jewish family to his occupation of dancer; beginning to choreograph; the genesis of his first ballet, Fancy free, created with composer Leonard Bernstein; his first contacts with George Balanchine; joining Ballet Theatre; his wish to treat American themes in dance; joining Balanchine's New York City Ballet; creating The guests, The cage, and Dances at a gathering for New York City Ballet; his belief that his choreographic invention draws upon and is replenished by his experiences outside the dance world; the difficulty of finding a producer for West side story; his interest in the human qualities of his dancers; working with the ensemble in Goldberg variations; New York City Ballet's understanding of his work, as evidenced in the revival of Watermill; the performances of Edward Villella and Jean Guizerix in Watermill; his collaboration with Bernstein on The dybbuk; his re-use of a Debussy score in Antique epigraphs; the use of space in Antique epigraphs and Afternoon of a faun; finding inspiration for Ives, songs in the paintings of Maurice Prendergast; the magic of dance gesture; filming West side story; collaborating with Balanchine on Firebird and Pulcinella; his decision to end his work on musicals; his opinion of Fiddler on the roof; co-directing the film of West side story; collaborating with Twyla Tharp on Brahms/Handel -- Reel 2 (ca. 49 min.). Topics include: his flair for character roles; dancing for Michel Fokine at Ballet Theatre; dancing the title roles of Balanchine's Prodigal son and Tyl Ulenspiegel; his decision to retire from performing; Nikolaj Hübbe's interpretation of Riff in West side story suite; his comfort with ballet as a language; working with students of the School of American Ballet on 2 & 3 part inventions; capturing the quality of spontaneity in his choreography; Kyra Nichols' performance in Goldberg variations; Mikhail Baryshnikov's intelligence as a performer; Baryshnikov's performance in Balanchine's Harlequinade; reconstructing his own dances for Jerome Robbins' Broadway; his involvement with American Theatre Laboratory; his work The poppa piece; his work as a stage director; choreographing to minimalist scores by Philip Glass and Steve Reich; Tanaquil Le Clercq's versatility as a dancer; his ballet In memory of..., created for Suzanne Farrell; his dislike of assigning specific meanings to his choreography; his keen awareness of his Russian heritage; his establishment of the Lena Robbins Archive (now the Jerome Robbins Archive) at the Dance Collection; his resistance to having his own works recorded; his favorite works among his own oeuvre; receiving feedback from Balanchine; his heroes Gluck-Sandor, Antony Tudor, and Balanchine; his belief that interviews are accurate only for the moment in which they occurred.
Library locationsJerome Robbins Dance DivisionShelf locator: *MGZIDVD 5-171
TopicsRobbins, Jerome -- InterviewsBernstein, Leonard, 1918-1990Balanchine, GeorgeVillella, Edward, 1936-Guizerix, JeanPrendergast, Maurice, 1858-1924Tharp, TwylaFokine, Michel, 1880-1942Hübbe, NikolajNichols, KyraBaryshnikov, Mikhail, 1948-Glass, PhilipReich, Steve, 1936-Le Clercq, TanaquilFarrell, Suzanne, 1945-Gluck-Sandor, SeniaTudor, Antony, 1908-1987Ballet Theatre (New York, N.Y.)New York City BalletAmerican Theatre Laboratory (New York, N.Y.)Fancy free (Choreographic work : Robbins)Guests (Choreographic work : Robbins)Cage (Choreographic work : Robbins)Dances at a gathering (Choreographic work : Robbins)Goldberg variations (Choreographic work : Robbins)Watermill (Choreographic work : Robbins)Dybbuk (Choreographic work : Robbins)Antique epigraphs (Choreographic work : Robbins)Afternoon of a faun (Choreographic work : Robbins)Ives, songs (Choreographic work : Robbins)Firebird (Choreographic work : Balanchine and Robbins)Pulcinella (Choreographic work : Balanchine and Robbins)West Side story (Motion picture)Brahms/Handel (Choreographic work : Robbins and Tharp)Prodigal son (Choreographic work : Balanchine)Tyl Ulenspiegel (Choreographic work : Balanchine)West Side story suite (Choreographic work : Robbins)2 & 3 part inventions (Choreographic work : Robbins)Harlequinade (Choreographic work : Balanchine)In memory of ... (Choreographic work : Robbins)Choreographers -- United States -- 20th century
GenresDanceInterviewsVideo recordings
NotesContent: Title from original container; location and date spoken on tape.Venue: Videotaped in the library of Jerome Robbins' home in New York, N.Y., on July 11, 1995.
Physical DescriptionVideocassetteExtent: 2 videocassette (Digital Betacam) (108 min.) : sound, color ; 1/2 in.
DescriptionInterview conducted for Kennedy Center's Oral History Archive. Jerome Robbins (1918-1998) looks back on his multifaceted career as dancer, choreographer, and stage and film director.
Type of ResourceMoving image
LanguagesEnglish
IdentifiersRLIN/OCLC: NYPY05-F10190NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b16111735Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 43916a70-75e9-0138-11c8-0e3eb9f35de1
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