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Jerome Robbins

His Life, His Theater, His Dance

About The Book

In this authoritative biography, Deborah Jowitt explores the life, works, and creative processes of the complex genius Jerome Robbins (1918-1998), who redefined the role of dance in musical theater and is also considered America's greatest native-born ballet choreographer.
This meticulously researched and elegantly written story of a life's work is illuminated by photographs, enlivened by anecdotes, and grounded in insights into ballets and musical comedies that have been seen and loved all over the world.

About The Author

Photo Credit: Heige Reistad

Deborah Jowitt has been the principal dance critic for The Village Voice since 1967. Her articles on dance have appeared in numerous publications, among them The New York Times and Dance magazine. She was chair of the Dance Critics Association and a founding member of Dance Theater Workshop. She was recipient of a Bessie, the New York Dance and Performance Award, and of the prestigious dance book award, the de la Torre Bueno Prize. She has lectured and conducted workshops in the United States and abroad and is currently on the faculty in the Dance Department of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where she has taught since 1975. Jowitt was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2002 to write the critical biography Jerome Robbins: His Life, His Theater, His Dance.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster (August 8, 2005)
  • Length: 640 pages
  • ISBN13: 9780684869865

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Raves and Reviews

"This is the definitive biography."
-- The Houston Chronicle

"To read Ms. Jowitt's extraordinarily revealing book is to be in the presence of Jerome Robbins."
-- Edward Villella

"It is candid yet balanced, insightful about his work and revelatory about his theater. It lays bare the tension between Robbins the person and Robbins the artist."
-- Los Angeles Times

"Jowitt's fascinating biography of the innovative director of Broadway musicals and choreographer of masterpieces for the New York City Ballet...trenchantly reveal[s] Robbins's relationship with his own beliefs....Compelling."
-- The New York Times Book Review (front page)

"Ms. Jowitt's book has the authenticity that comes only from being there."
-- Twyla Tharp

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