Research Catalog

Details

Additional authors

1. Kroll, Jack

Description

1. 3 sound discs (ca. 107 min.) : digital; 4 3/4in.

Summary

1. Disc 1 (ca. 49 min.) [Begins abruptly.] Jerome Robbins discusses his early exposure to art, culture and dance; his modern dance training and its effect on his choreography; the choreographic process and the dancer-choreographer relationship; dancing in the corps de ballet at Ballet Theatre and working with choreographer Bronislava Nijinska; his version of the ballet Les Noces (1965) in comparison with Nijinska's; the development of his ballet role, Hermes; his use of memory to restore his choreography; his recent revival of the ballet Fancy free (1944) and the critical response; the changing vocabulary of choreography; external influences on his choreography; his inspiration for the ballet, Antique epigraphs (1984); the development of an American form of ballet; his creation of Fancy free during World War II; its costuming; more on his childhood and early development as a dancer; the influence of choreographer Senia Gluck-Sandor; performing for the Yiddish Art Theatre in Brothers Ashkenazi; his early impression of ballet; his study of ballet and other dance forms and how it led to his first job as a Broadway chorus dancer [disc ends abruptly].
2. Disc 2 (ca. 48 min.) [Begins abruptly.] Robbins discusses his early work on Broadway; his ability as a performer and his various ballet roles; Mikhail Baryshnikov's dancing in contrast with Rudolph Nureyev's; more on his early ballet roles; the alliance between ballet and Broadway dancing and later specialization of the two dance forms; the work of choreographers such as Bob Fosse and Michael Bennett in relation to his own work; the genesis of Fancy free; his early forays into choreography and early interests in American literature and in painting; the World War II draft and its effect on his career; his offers to work in Hollywood and response; innovations in Broadway choreography during the 1930s and 40s; directing his first Broadway show, On the town (1945); touring with Ballet Theatre; his upcoming Broadway show and the initial audience responses during rehearsals out of town; the response to Fancy free on opening night and his reaction [disc ends abruptly].
3. Disc 3 (ca. 10 min.) [Begins abruptly.] Robbins speaks about his work and life during the 1940s through early 1950s; interviewer Jack Kroll inquires about Robbins' experiences during the McCarthy era; Robbins speaks of a book he is writing which includes the subject and a brief discussion ensues [disc ends abruptly].

Donor/Sponsor

1. Oral History Archive.

Series statement

1. Jerome Robbins Collection

Subject

1. Audiotapes > Robbins, J
2. Choreography > Reconstruction
3. Ballet > Production and direction
4. Noces (Choreographic work : Robbins)
5. Fancy free (Choreographic work : Robbins)
6. Robbins, Jerome > Interviews

Call number

1. *MGZTL 4-3092 JRC

Note

1. Interview conducted by Jack Kroll on Dec. 5, 1988 in New York, N.Y. possibly for two articles for Newsweek: "Dancing through life," and "Jerome Robbins' Broadway," Mar. 6, 1989 p. 56 and 52-54.

Access (note)

1. Permission required.

Funding (note)

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

Author

1. Robbins, Jerome, interviewee.

Title

1. Interview with Jerome Robbins. Dec. 5, 1988 [sound recording]

Imprint

1. 1988.

Series

1. Jerome Robbins Collection

Access

1. Permission required.

Funding

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

Local note

1. Archive original: *MGZTCO 3-3092 JRC
2. Preservation master: *MGZTP 10-3092 JRC
3. Dubbing master: *MGZTD 4-3092 JRC

Local subject

1. Choreography -- Reconstruction.
2. Audiotapes -- Robbins, J.

Added author

1. Kroll, Jack, interviewer.

Research call number

1. *MGZTL 4-3092 JRC