TODAY 102 YEARS AGO, Jerome Robbins was born in New York. Like few others, he was a man of the theater and received equal recognition for his ballets and musicals. After his first experiences as a dancer on Broadway, he was engaged at the Ballet Theatre (later the American Ballet Theatre) in 1940. At the age of 25, Robbins made his breakthrough as a choreographer with Fancy Free, which he later expanded into the musical On the Town. Fascinated by George Balanchine, he applied to the New York City Ballet, became associate artistic director of the company in 1949 and created some of his most famous ballets. At the same time, he never left Broadway and he also directed plays, movies, and television programs. In particular, two of his creations – West Side Story und Fiddler on the Roof – became worldwide successes. His most popular ballets include Dances at a Gathering and The Concert. The one delicate and melancholy, the other a comedy that pokes fun at the art form itself, both works testify to his wide stylistic spectrum, his virtuosity, his lyric beauty and his humor. Two days before his 80th birthday, Robbins died of a stroke in New York – the city from which he shaped ballet and Broadway worldwide.

Photo: Jerome Robbin’s Dances at a Gathering,© Stuttgart Ballet