Voice of My City: Jerome Robbins and New York
Jerome Robbins was an inveterate observer, seeker, and creator. In diaries, drawings, watercolors, paintings, story scenarios, poems—and, especially, in dance—he reimagined the world around him. And New York dominated that world, where he was born one-hundred years ago and where he lived his entire adult life. Ideas of New York have long inspired artists but often the city serves as a backdrop in an artwork rather than the basis for plot, theme, and meaning. Robbins put the city at the center of his artistic imaginings. From Fancy Free—his breakout hit ballet in 1944—to the musical West Side Story on stage (1957) and screen (1961) and the ballets N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz (1958) and Glass Pieces (1983), Robbins explored the joys, struggles, grooves, routines, and aspirations of New York. And in recreating the city around him on stage, Robbins found a place for himself. Voice of My City traces Robbins’ life and dances alongside the history of New York, inspiring viewers to see the city as both a muse and a home.
September 26th, 2018 - March 30th, 2019 New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, Shelby Cullom Davis Museum, Donald and Mary Oenslager Gallery
Sponsors
This exhibition is made possible by the generous support of Jody and John Arnhold; Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP; Mikhail Baryshnikov*; Edward Brill and Michele Levin; The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation; William J. Earle*; Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz; Michael Gabay; Pat and Alex Gabay; Perry and Marty Granoff; Allen Greenberg*; The Frederick Loewe Foundation, Inc.*; Morgan Stanley; Marie Nugent-Head; Rudolf Nureyev Dance Foundation; Chris Pennington*; Michèle and Steve Pesner; The Jerome Robbins Foundation, Inc.; Meryl S. Rosofsky and Stuart H. Coleman*; Robert A. Schulman*; Randi Schuster; Leo Shull Foundation for the Arts; Barbara J. Slifka*; Ellen Sorrin*; Michael and Susanna Steinberg*; The Geraldine Stutz Trust; William Morris Endeavor; and an anonymous donor. *in loving memory of Aidan Mooney
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts gratefully acknowledges the support of Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman. Additional support for exhibitions has been provided by Judy R. and Alfred A. Rosenberg and the Miriam and Harold Steinberg Foundation.
