Jerome Robbins

Jerome Robbins made West Side Story and Fiddler on the Roof and a body of ballet good enough to stand beside Balanchine's, and named names to the House Un-American Activities Committee, which he never stopped being asked about. He was born Jerome Rabinowitz to Jewish immigrants in New York, and his first ballet, Fancy Free in 1944, put three sailors on shore leave on a real New York street and made him famous at twenty-five; it became the musical On the Town within months. He worked in both worlds for the rest of his life - Broadway choreography and direction, and ballets for New York City Ballet, where he was associate artistic director alongside Balanchine. Dances at a Gathering, Afternoon of a Faun and The Concert are in repertory everywhere. In 1953, under threat of being outed as homosexual and of losing his film work, he testified and named eight former colleagues; some never spoke to him again, and he was still being confronted about it at award ceremonies forty years later. He was exacting to the point of cruelty in rehearsal and dancers both feared and sought him out. He left most of his estate to a foundation that funds dance and AIDS charities. He directed as well as choreographed West Side Story on stage and co-directed the film, for which he won two Academy Awards. Fiddler on the Roof ran for more than three thousand performances. He returned to City Ballet full time in 1969 after a decade mostly on Broadway. His diaries and letters were published after his death and are unsparing about the testimony.

• Lived: 1918 CE – 1998 CE
• Nationality: American
• Roles: artist