Words on Dance: Jerome Robbins and West Side Story

As part of The Jerome Robbins Centennial, a worldwide celebration of the legendary director-choreographer’s centennial, we are proud to present (exactly 100 years after his birth on October 11, 1918) an in-depth look at the artist and his best-known work, West Side Story—conceived, directed, and choreographed by Robbins, with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim—which premiered on Broadway in 1957.
 
Celebrated performers from the 1961 Academy Award–winning film version of West Side Story—including Rita Moreno (“Anita”—a role for which she won an Academy Award), George Chakiris (“Bernardo,” a role for which he won an Academy Award), Russ Tamblyn (“Riff”), and Eliot Feld (“Baby John”)—will talk about Robbins’s choreography and their experiences working with him on the film, which he codirected and choreographed. The conversation, which will include clips from West Side Story along with home movies taken on the set of the film, plus rare TV interviews and dance footage, will be moderated by the noted Broadway and film director-choreographer Rob Marshall.
 
The Paley Center’s partner and coproducer for this event is Words on Dance (Deborah M. Kaufman, producer).
 
Special thanks to the Jerome Robbins Foundation for their generous support of this event. 

Thanks also to Viceroy L’Ermitage in Beverly Hills.

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Events and participants are subject to change.