The legacy of Jerome Robbins
EST Side Story is a musical that is renowned as much for Jerome Robbins’ dynamic dance numbers as it is for Leonard Bernstein’s wonderful score. Directed and choreographed by Robbins, this retelling of Romeo and Juliet, set amongst the gangs of 1950s New York, is considered to be a landmark musical in terms of its innovative use of script, score and choreography to tell a story.
It’s exciting, therefore, that Opera Australia’s forthcoming production of West Side Story – to be performed on an outdoor stage, on Sydney Harbour – will see the choreography from the original 1957 Broadway production recreated by Julio Monge, a Puerto-Rican born choreographer, actor and director, considered to be one of the foremost interpreters of Robbins’ work. Sally Clark caught up with Monge back in November, when he was in Sydney for the production’s auditions, to find out more about what it was like to work with the legendary Robbins, and what advice he has for young dancers.
Sally Clark: How did you come to be entrusted with the job of passing on Robbins’ choreography for?
