From a gifted child in New Jersey to a trailblazing choreographer, Jerome Robbins revolutionized dance and storytelling on stage.
In the midsummer of 1923, a wide-eyed, bushy-browed four-year-old captivated audiences with two original piano compositions, earning his first glowing review in the Jersey City paper, which praised his performance for demonstrating “a comprehension of music far beyond that of even most adults.” Looking back, this endearing Kindergarten performance at Hudson City Academy can be seen as the first step in what would become a remarkable career for the young Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz.
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Born into a hardworking Jewish family and raised in Weehawken, New Jersey, Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz—who would later become the legendary Jerome Robbins—was nurtured and encouraged to explore his innate artistic gifts. Though both of his parents were immigrants, they supported the dreams of both him and his older sister Sonia. His father, Harry Rabinowitz, immigrated to the states from Poland in 1904, working his way up from making only five dollars a month at a delicatessen, where he slept on a shelf behind the counter, to co-owning a manufactory called Comfort Corset Company with his brother-in-law.
Jerome’s family managed to send him to New York University for one year, but due to the financial strain of the Great Depression, they could no longer afford it. Robbins took this opportunity to finally pursue his dream of becoming a dancer; luckily, his older sister Sonia already had her foot in the door from being one of the first students of renowned modern dance pioneer, Isadora Duncan. Through his sister’s connections and a strong determination to pursue his dreams, the aspiring young Robbins secured a corps de ballet position at Ballet Theatre (later known as American Ballet Theatre), where he would eventually rise to perform soloist roles and choreograph for the company.
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Robbins was given the opportunity to choreograph a new ballet, which resulted in Fancy Free, a vibrant work about three sailors on shore leave in New York City. In a New York Times article, Robbins shared, “I know Fancy Free came out of my feeling that we could dance out of our own American material.” With Leonard Bernstein’s energetic score and Oliver Smith’s evocative scenery, the ballet premiered in 1944 to a thunderous reception, earning 22 curtain calls on opening night. As Damian Woetzel, former New York City Ballet principal dancer who performed Fancy Free, reflects, “these were true American voices that were addressing what it meant to be American, through dance and music.”
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Fancy Free didn’t just succeed—it spawned a cultural phenomenon. The ballet inspired the Broadway musical On the Town, further cementing Robbins’ dual legacy in both ballet and theater. Around this time, he also made a personal shift, changing his last name from Rabinowitz to Robbins, a choice aimed at connecting with an American audience.
On Broadway, Robbins became a transformative force. He reshaped musical theater, moving away from the glamorous but lighthearted style of George Gershwin and Cole Porter. Instead, his works tackled character and narrative with remarkable depth. Productions like Billion Dollar Baby (1945) and High Button Shoes (1947) displayed his commitment to storytelling.
Then came West Side Story in 1957, a groundbreaking work that fused ballet with gritty, street-smart choreography. It was a significant change for Broadway. “You know how there’s Mount Everest and then there are mountains?” Martin Charnin, an original Jet, once said. “As far as I’m concerned, there’s West Side Story and then there are musicals.”
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Beyond Broadway, Robbins left a profound mark on the ballet world. At New York City Ballet, he created works like The Cage (1951) and Age of Anxiety (1950) as well as In the Night (1970), which Houston Ballet performs February 27 – March 9; these masterpieces showcase Robbins’ ability to pair narrative with movement, a hallmark of his style.
Though his accolades—four Tony Awards, two Academy Awards, the Kennedy Center Honors, and even the Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor—are numerous, it is his lasting impact on dance and theater that secures his place as a towering figure in American art. Robbins’ emphasis on storytelling through movement continues to inspire choreographers to blur genres and push boundaries. From Broadway stages to ballet companies around the world, his works remind us of the power of character and emotion in dance.