Scope and arrangement
The collection contains oral histories that were compiled by the Jerome Robbins Foundation between 2009 and 2012. The oral histories are held on electronic media and are currently unavailable. The Foundation commissioned three interviewers - Anna Kisselgoff, Lynn Garafola, and Bernie Carragher - to conduct interviews with personal and professional colleagues of Robbins. The interviews are divided into three categories: ballet, personal, and theatrical. The ballet interviews were conducted by Kisselgoff, the personal by Garafola, and the theatrical by Carragher. In addition to the interviews, the Foundation kept a small amount of documentation pertaining to each oral history category, primarily consisting of agreements, release forms, lists of interviewees, and a small amount of correspondence. Each interview is represented by audio files of the interviews and a written summary created by the interviewer.
Many of the interviewees worked with Robbins at the American Theatre Laboratory and Ballets: USA, and on various productions of West Side Story, Jerome Robbins' Broadway, Fiddler on the Roof, and Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Momma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad. Ballet interviews touch on dancers' experiences with Robbins at the New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theater, and on rehearsing The Guests, West Side Story, and Jerome Robbins' Broadway.