Page 36 - Fiddler on the Roof Playbill

Credits

Choreography

Jerome Robbins is world renowned for his work as a choreographer
of ballets as well as his work as a director and choreographer in
theater, movies, and television. Although he began as a modern
dancer, his start on Broadway was as a chorus dancer before joining
the corps de ballet of American Ballet Theatre in 1939, where he
went on to dance principal roles in the works of Fokine, Tudor,
Massine, Balanchine, Lichine, and de Mille. His first ballet, Fancy Free
(1944) for ABT, still in many repertoires, celebrated its fiftieth
birthday on April 18, 1994. While embarking on his career in the theater, Mr. Robbins
simultaneously created ballets for New York City Ballet, which he joined in 1949, and
became an Associate Artistic Director with George Balanchine. Mr. Robbins has
directed for television and film as well, with his co-direction and choreography of West
Side Story winning him two Academy Awards. After his Broadway triumph with Fiddler
on the Roof in 1964, Mr. Robbins continued creating ballets for New York City Ballet. He
shared the position of Ballet-Master-in-Chief with Peter Martins until 1989. He has
created more than 60 ballets, including Afternoon of a Faun (1953), The Concert (1956), Les
Noces (1965), Dances At a Gathering (1969), In the Night (1970), In G Major (1975), Other
Dances (1976), Glass Pieces (1983) and Ives Songs (1989) which are in the repertories of the
New York City Ballet, the Ballet de l'Opera de Paris, and major dance companies
throughout the world. His most recent ballets include A Suite of Dances with Mikhail
Baryshnikov (1994), 2 & 3 Part Inventions (1994), West Side Story Suite (1995) and
Brandenburg (1996), all of which premiered at New York City Ballet. In addition to his
two Academy Awards, Mr. Robbins's awards and citations include four Tony Awards,
five Donaldson Awards, two Emmy Awards, the Screen Directors' Guild Award and
the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. Mr. Robbins is a 1981 Kennedy Center
Honors Recipient, was awarded the Commandeur de L'Order des Arts et des Lettres, is
an honorary member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and
was awarded a National Medal of Arts as well as the Governor's Arts Awards by the
New York State Council on the Arts. Some of his Broadway shows include On the Town,
Billion Dollar Baby, High Button Shoes, West Side Story, The King and I, Gypsy, Peter Pan, Miss
Liberty, Call Me Madam, and Fiddler on the Roof. In 1989, Jerome Robbins's Broadway won
six Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Director. He was most recently
awarded the French Chevalier dans l'Ordre National de la Legion d'Honneur. Jerome
Robbins passed away in 1998.