Which choreographer created the original Broadway dances for West Side Story?

Jerome Robbins created the original Broadway choreography for West Side Story.

The musical opened in 1957 with a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Robbins directed and choreographed the production, using dance to express rivalry, identity, attraction, and violence between the Jets and the Sharks.

West Side Story relocates the basic conflict of Romeo and Juliet to mid-20th-century New York City. Its choreography was unusually integrated into the storytelling: gang members communicate through movement, and the dances reveal social tensions before characters explain them in dialogue.

The original production won the Tony Award for Best Choreography for Robbins. He later choreographed the 1961 film adaptation, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. The Broadway musical’s score includes “Tonight,” “America,” and “Somewhere.”