“Dance with Demons: The Life of Jerome Robbins” by Greg Lawrence. Hardcover​​​​

“Dance with Demons: The Life of Jerome Robbins” by Greg Lawrence • Hardcover • Putnam, First Edition, 2001 • 352 Pages ——————— The life and accomplishments of the renowned choreographer and director are illuminated in this in-depth portrait, from his work on the King and I to the complexities of his personal life. The sum total of Robbins's work as reported here is staggering; his decades at the heart of the golden ages of American ballet, musical theater, theater and film, as director or choreographer, often in collaboration with such giants as Leonard Bernstein and George Balanchine, left the American public a cultural gold mine. Lawrence interviewed hundreds of dancers, actors, directors, family members and other contemporaries, whether they loved or hated him, recognized both Robbins's genius and his clearly tortured soul. Most of the remarks herein tell us far more about the speaker than about the subject, but as such, they form an indelible picture of the various eras during which Robbins worked. —————————————- REVIEWS “He wasn't a lovely man. He was evil.” -- Maria Karnilova “I learned an enormous amount about this complicated, brilliant man and constantly found myself emotionally churned up....”-- Howard Kissel, theater critic and columnist, New York Daily News “Reading Dance With Demons, you feel like you're being swept up into a glorious made-up mad tea party....” -- Nanette Fabray “To watch Jerry was to watch magic.”-- Los Angeles Times, May 27, 2001