orig. Jerome Rabinowitz
born Oct. 11, 1918, New York, N.Y., U.S.
died July 29, 1998, New York City
U.S. dancer, choreographer, and director.
He joined Ballet Theatre (later American Ballet Theatre ) as a dancer in 1940. His first choreographic success was Fancy Free (set to a musical score by On the Town (1944). He joined the New York City Ballet in 1948 and soon became associate director (1950–59), creating many works for the company. For the Broadway stage he choreographed successful musicals such as The King and I (1951; film, 1956), West Side Story (1957; film, 1961), Gypsy (1959; television, 1993), and Fiddler on the Roof (1964). Returning to the New York City Ballet, he was resident choreographer and ballet master (1969–83) and then codirector with {{link=Martins, Peter">Peter Martins until retiring in 1990. His choreography is marked by a blend of modern, academic, and popular dance styles in a variety of American idioms.
Jerome Robbins in Fancy Free , 1944.
Fred Fehl