American Masters: Jerome Robbins—Something to Dance About

Seldom have biography and choreography, personality and performance, idea and ideology been so thrillingly interwoven. Watching the development of Robbins’ career and the arc of his life is like watching the creation of one of his major pieces. Step by step, he constructs a philosophy and aesthetic of dance. Observing personal choices and professional risk-taking, we learn that the public version of an artist’s life is constructed on a web of sometimes contradictory emotions, beliefs and choices. As he discusses his blend of ballet and Broadway, we understand better what the arts mean to performers as well as to audiences. He invents. He experiments. He collaborates. He trains others. In the process he transforms dance culture in America and the world. It is difficult to imagine dance in any setting without Robbins. Now it is difficult to imagine Robbins without this documentary, and for that a Peabody Award goes to American Masters: Jerome Robbins—Something to Dance About.