Jerome Robbins is a choreographer who historically incorporated his jazz into his ballet techniques and was able to break through the blockade of Euro Russian dance in theatres.
West Side Story (1957) is a story similar to the theme of Romeo and Juliet, where forbidden lovers test the status quo of their street gangs in the setting of an Upper West Side neighborhood in New York City. Jerome Robbins choreographed and co directed this work.
The King and I (1951) is a story of Anna Leonowens and her time at the Siamese court as the governess to the children of King Mongkut where Robbins dance was challenged in his culture diverseness. This ballet work was integrated by Robbins with Cambodian classical dance style.
Peter Pan (1954) is about Peter Pan, a boy who didn't want to grow up and so spent his life
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New York at this time was important to the messages shown in the choreography put together by Jerome Robbins. At this time which was New York in the 1950’s the world at this time was going through particular prejudices against groups of different ethnic backgrounds. For example, in New York, there was a middle class mainly caucasian living with the increasing mass of puerto rican immigrants which caused tension between groups. This time period is shown through the movement in the traveling of the dancers in West Side Story. Each gang represented the groups with tensions in New York. When dancing, the viewer can see the rivalry between gangs as they danced as units against each other. This is especially prevalent in the men dancing very violent and strongly. This chaotic and fatal rivalry shows how the world was dealing with racism and how New York especially had been exposed to this hate. The movements raise awareness for equality and the ridiculousness of separate groups hating each other when in reality they could love, just like the romeo and juliet-like
Mark Morris branched out and established himself as a successful choreographer in 1980 and established the Mark Morris Dance Group. He established this company after moving to New York City, his first major choreographed work, Rattlesnake Song, garnered critical acclaim by r...
Within Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise’s film West Side Story (1961), elements of crime and drama are noted; however, even as the sub-genres play-out in the movie, it is evident that this piece is a dance-musical. This essay will demonstrate how this work is deemed predominantly under the musical genre, as well as how the sub-genres appear in the picture.
In 1596, William Shakespeare published the tragic tale of two star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet. The origins of this story are uncertain but Shakespeare’s chief source for his adoption of the story was from “…The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet, a poem by Arthur Brooke (1562). He also knew the story from Palace of Pleasure, by William Painter, which appeared in several editions prior to 1580.”(Boyce 563) Shakespeare’s classic tale is about “two young lovers caught in the crossfire of a senseless family feud.”(Shakespeare 3) This feud between the two families ultimately is the cause of the two lovers untimely demise. In 1996, Baz Luhrmann produced a modern film of the classic tragedy entitled William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet. Adding familiar images and common ideas, Luhrmann brought the classic story to modern times. Though Romeo + Juliet has many differences from the original version from Shakespeare, it supports the original characters, themes, dialogue, and key issues of the classic tale of the star-crossed lovers.
Differences are what make people who they are. If everyone was the same, life would be boring. People have been saying this for as long as anyone can remember. However, differences can oftentimes be fatal. The ways in which diversity and divisions affect people and their relationships can be shown in Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, as well as the film West Side Story, directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise. Romeo and Juliet takes place in the 1500s in the city of Verona. This tragic play tells the story of two teenagers from opposing families, the Capulets and the Montagues, who fall in love with each other against all odds. Eventually, the tensions between their families are too intense for them to bear, and the lead lovers of the story, Romeo and Juliet, commit suicide. West Side Story follows a similar plot, with a less dramatic finale. Tony and Maria come from rival gangs in New York City in the 1960s. Tony comes from the gang known as the Jets, made up of all caucasian Americans, while Maria belongs to the Sharks, a Puerto Rican group that the Jets do not think belong in America. Tony and Maria fall in love as well and must deal with the challenges that arise in having a star-crossed relationship. Both the play and the film address hatred, stubbornness, and ignorance that can cause horrible results for blooming relationships. Of course, there are other themes present within these two works that can drastically disturb relations, however, the evidence most clearly points towards rivalries as the central factor.
Musical theatre is a type of theatrical performance combining music, dance, acting and spoken dialogue. Written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, ‘West Side Story’ is a classic American musical based on William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. The through-composed score and lyrics are used to portray different characters and their cultures, the rivalry between the Jets and Sharks, and the emotions felt as the story progresses. This essay will be exploring the music and how effective the score is in realising the world and characters of the musical. Furthermore, it will discuss how Bernstein and Sondheim relate characters’ diverse ethnicities to particular musical ideas and motifs.
In J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, the children must learn that growing up is inevitable no matter what, shown by the experiences of Wendy, John, and the Lost Boys. Wendy chooses to leave Peter and go back to her parents in London, accepting adulthood. John gives up fighting with the pirates, his passion, to return to London and become an adult. The Lost Boys all abandon their father figure, Peter, to go to London with the Darlings and grow up into adults. In other words, growing up is a certainty that the children must accept, just as Wendy did by leaving Peter and returning to London.
"Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up." Second Star To The Right, and Straight On Till' Morning. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.
During the time period of musicals, plays, and movies, there were two big musicals and movies that really got the attention of many individuals. These musicals and movies were Romeo and Juliet, and West Side Story. West Side Story was a love story about a Puerto Rican girl named Maria and a Caucasian male named Tony, as well as gang violence in the streets of New York between the Jets and the Sharks. The musical was performed on Broadway in 1957, which then became a movie in the year of 1961. Romeo and Juliet was a love story between a boy named Romeo and a girl named Juliet. Although there are many similarities and the fact that West Side Story was based off of Romeo and Juliet, their styles and plots differ but are also significantly alike.
... social dance. Many people in today’s society enjoy social; dancing. Chapter eleven dance concert, properly planning and establishing a dance concert is of the utmost importance. The partnership with the lighting designer usually takes priority over all other factors. One of the most important issues concerning customers has to do with mobility. The dancer must be able to move comfortably in the costume. The task of producing a dance concert is an overwhelming and tiring one. Chapter twelve dance in education and career in dance, many dance educators present the argument that teaching and learning dance as an art form is obviously absent from the American student education. There has always been and always will be people who have a love, desire, and passion to instruct and learn the art of dance, will ensure an important place for dance in higher education.
Juliet is set in Verona in about 1594. West Side Story takes in New York City
The language used in these two scenes is quite different. In Romeo and Juliet the majority of the scene is of the two lovers confessing their undying love for each other using beautiful language and many metaphors. They also discuss marriage and serious commitments to each other. In Westside Story, this scene is spent singing to each other, which I find, makes it more romantic but has less tension. They also don’t seem as serious about commitment towards each other.
Love is a beautiful thing, it always works out in the end. Everyone is always happy and no problems occur. West Side Story, a musical by Leonard Bornstein based on Shakespeare 's Romeo and Juliet parallels a love story of two star-crossed lovers. The play takes place in 1961 in New York City. This musical displays importance because it shows that nothing can overcome the power of love. This play is based on a love story between the main characters of Maria and Tony. Theses two are from different gangs that trouble to get along. They are from different gangs that do not get along at all. Roughly two hundred blocks make up Manhattan’s West Side, which stretches from Central Park West to the Hudson River. For the most part, the street youths
Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story share many similar themes. Romeo and Juliet both chronicle a story of overcoming prejudice and hatred, forbidden love, and defying stereotypes that nobody thought could be broken. The two stories are similar in a multitude of ways, even though their settings are centuries apart- Romeo and Juliet set in the 1500’s, and West Side Story set in the 1950’s. Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story both teach a lesson of how prejudice can teach you how to hate, and how one of your rivals may be the one who helps you remember how to love.
West Side Story is a play that has stood test of time. The musical is based on the story West Side Story by Arthur Laurents. Laurents wrote the book as a loose retelling of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The story was included in a book that contained more of Laurents works. The year in which the book of works was released is unknown. The original production was directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins. The production is based on a conception by Robbins. It was composed by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Before West Side Story became the production it is, it was originally going to be called East Side Story. East Side Story was about an interreligious Christian/Jewish relationship between two young lovers. After
These stories are similar in many ways, so much it is kinda hard to miss some of the iconic scenes stolen from Romeo and Juliet. For example the balcony scene happened after the party and was when Romeo and Juliet could talk in secrecy. This happened right outside Juliet's home on a balcony. In West Side Story it is basically the same situation, the scene is right after the dance, they are outside Maria's home and she is on a fire escape. They talk until Anita calls for Marira, and in Romeo and Juliet the nurse interrupts them. The Nurse and Anita are looked at as similar roles in their stories. This shows how the scenes are truly similar. The next similarity is both stories focus around