Chita Rivera, Stephen Sondheim and Harold Prince shared the 2013 Jerome Robbins Award on February 18, 2013 at the Baryshnikov Arts Center.  A full evening of performances, hosted by Frank Rich and featuring stars from Broadway as well as dancers from New York City Ballet were included in the presentation.

On September 30, the 2011 Jerome Robbins Award was shared by 30 former or current New York City Ballet principal ballerinas, 4 posthumously, who danced several principal roles in Jerome Robbins’ ballets.  Vital to the decades of Jerome Robbins' creative life at New York City Ballet, the honorees are: Heléne Alexopoulos, Alexandra Ansanelli, Merrill Ashley, Yvonne Borree, Maria Calegari, Suzanne Farrell, Judith Fugate, Melissa Hayden (deceased), Jillana, Nora Kaye (deceased), Allegra Kent, Gelsey Kirkland, Darci Kistler, Maria Kowroski, Tanaquil Le Clercq (deceased), Sara Leland, Lourdes Lopez, Kay Mazzo, Patricia McBride, Yvonne Mounsey, Kyra Nichols, Janet Reed (deceased), Jenifer Ringer, Melinda Roy, Stephanie Saland, Margaret Tracey, Violette Verdy, Heather Watts, Miranda Weese, Wendy Whelan. The awards were presented by  Chita Rivera at an all-Robbins program of the New York City Ballet.

The ballerinas offered remembrances of working with Mr. Robbins, which were included in that evening's program.

HELÉNE ALEXOPOULOS: I first learned of Jerry when, as a very young girl, I read his name on the album cover of West Side Story. I played that record over and over while dancing and singing around our living room pretending to be Anita. It had been a secret childhood fantasy of mine to play Anita so when Jerry finally decided to let City Ballet do West Side Story, I was thrilled beyond belief. Fittingly, it was the last role Jerry cast me in before he passed away and with this last gesture, he made my dream come true. I will always be grateful for having been a “Jerry dancer” and having been touched by his genius.
ALEXANDRA ANSANELLI: The opportunity to be in the presence of a genius like Jerry was an exposure that has influenced my life beyond the studio. Jerry had an individual mindset and translated his vision by teaching and provoking the deepest and most sensitive qualities of the human spirit. His insatiable love for movement and music was expressed so naturally that his dances were never awkward; they just flowed from your soul, and united every individual involved at the purist emotional level.
MERRILL ASHLEY: Jerry gave me a huge opportunity when he cast me as the lyrical Purple Girl in Dances at a Gathering. At the time everyone thought of me as a technician, who could only dance quickly. So, by taking a chance and casting me against type, he not only helped advance my career, but he helped me learn more about presence, how to use stillness, and interact with other dancers on stage. He was a master at bringing out those qualities.
YVONNE BORREE: I'm truly grateful for being given the opportunity to work with Mr. Robbins. He taught me the importance of how to relate and create different relationships within each of his ballets. Mr. Robbins knew just how to bring forth a deep level of energy and naturalness with each dancer he was working with in the moment.
MARIA CALEGARI: Working with Jerry and dancing his ballets had an enormous impact on my development as a dancer. His demand for a spontaneous, effortless and honest performance led me to a deeper search within myself. That simplicity finally allowed me greater freedom as a performer, which was a true joy. I will always be so grateful to him for sharing his artistic genius with me and for the many beautiful ballets we worked on together.
SUZANNE FARRELL: Jerry was always polite, helpful, and accommodating. I enjoyed learning and dancing his ballets very much. In 1985, he approached me to dance in a new ballet he was choreographing, which would become In Memory Of... I told him my hip had been bothering me, and I wouldn’t be able to dance five hours a day. I wouldn’t be able to predict how my hip would feel, but I would love to dance in his ballet. He was extraordinarily considerate of me, sometimes even choreographing my role on another dancer so as not to tax my hip. During one rehearsal, he was trying to decide what to do next and asked “Isn’t your hip bothering you yet?” I answered with a smile, “No Jerry, I’m having a good day.” He had a wonderful sense of humor and I am grateful to have worked with him and called him my friend.
JUDITH FUGATE: I had just been cast in the corps de ballet of Concerto Barocco. After my first performance, Jerry came backstage and said, "You were upstage left at the beginning, correct?" I answered, "Yes", not knowing what to expect. He said, "I watched you through the whole ballet" and walked away. Shortly after that, he gave me my first soloist role in The Goldberg Variations so I assume he liked what he saw.
JILLANA: Jerry had called us into a very early rehearsal on stage, at City Center. Only the work light, which is dreary enough, was on. Everyone was extremely tired from a performance the night before. I put purple makeup under my eyes in hopes he would think the dark circles were real. I believe he saw through me, but let us go early anyway. I was very popular with the rest of the cast that day!
ALLEGRA KENT: I used to think an umbrella was for keeping dry in the rain. For Jerry, an umbrella was an object of affection, a magical plaything, a partner. That an umbrella should be used just for keeping dry was a mundane under-appreciation of its essential umbrella-ness, a diminishing of its true potential. He drew humor and the unexpected and the astonishing from an umbrella the same way he drew it from us, his dancers. That was his genius, and it continues to delight and amaze and astonish us — rain or shine.
GELSEY KIRKLAND: Jerome Robbins was a person who didn't mind teaching you a theatrical lesson. When I was very new to the company he let me know in a rehearsal of Dances at a Gathering something that hadn't occurred to me — that in a pas de deux there were two people, not one. When I was working on Scherzo Fantastique, he let me know that, although I may not like hearing it, the ballet was not about a Princess. When I was working on The Cage, he finally let me know that I was really progressing in my acting abilities and that he was truly impressed with the intensity of my attack on the male species.
DARCI KISTLER:  I loved working with Jerry! He had a great sense of humor and was very easy to work with. Jerry would show you exactly what he wanted and all I had to do was imitate him. I feel so honored to have shared so many hours in a studio working and dancing for Jerry. It was such a joy and privilege to dance so many of his ballets during my career. Jerry taught me "less is more".
MARIA KOWROSKI: The one thing I remember Jerry saying was to take it easy but also that dancing should feel natural. During a rehearsal for the pas de deux in Brandenburg, he said to me, "It's like you’re walking through a garden and you just happen to bump into one another." The feeling was supposed to feel organic and natural. I always felt the most relaxed in a Robbins ballet and it seemed it was the only way to dance the role. Sometimes I would go up to the main hall in my costume before the performance and go through the role so I could be that much more calm and grounded in the ballet. It was so special to see Jerry work in a studio. I remember learning The Concert and watching him do the Mad Ballerina's first entrance. I always find that entrance the most difficult, probably because I saw him do it so well. I wish I had more time with him because I know I could have learned so much from him and continued to grow as an artist.
SARA LELAND: I remember that during rehearsals for the premiere of Dances at a Gathering, Jerry had a difficult time convincing me not to use all of my energy. It nearly killed him to impress upon me that “less is more” or can be more. I think it added a new dimension to my dancing – more femininity. In the beginning he did not know if he would use me in the first cast. But he must have been successful in his approach with me, because he used me in the first cast after all.
LOURDES LOPEZ: Jerry taught, what he himself lived, a commitment to dance that involved questioning and looking past the art form’s traditional parameters to imagine a more potent form of theater, one capable of poetically expressing a deep felt humanity. His work is an unyielding demonstration of courage and attainment.
KAY MAZZO: Jerry Robbins is the first person I ever worked for. Although he was always kind and sweet to me, he scared me to death! Dancing in his company, Ballets: USA, at the age of 15, gave me no other choreographer to compare him with at that time, so I will give you my 15 year old opinion of him — complicated, shy, cool, a perfectionist, and a true choreographic genius. I still feel the same way about Jerry today and I will be forever grateful and privileged to have known him and have danced in his beautiful ballets.
PATRICIA McBRIDE: I remember Jerry’s intensity working with him on many of his old and new works; his caring to make it the best it could be; and also his lighter side — his laughter, the way his face would light up when he messed up showing a step, or if you did something that would make him laugh! I’ll never forget the way he moved in those sneakers! Thank you Jerry for your love and caring and for all those amazing ballets you’ve left for the future! You are in my heart forever!
YVONNE MOUNSEY: I loved Jerry — we had a very good relationship and he liked me! After he had done The Cage and given me the role of the Queen, he started calling me "Queenie". My first ballet with Jerry was Age of Anxiety in which I had a small role. In rehearsal, I had to walk on stage and take my place which I did. Jerry turned to me and said, "What do you think you're doing Yvonne...Swan Lake?!" Jerry loved me in The Concert. The pianist was there playing Chopin's Prelude and I was the wife. He laughed every time I came on and would say, "Do it again!"
KYRA NICHOLS: I had never been in any of Jerry’s ballets, not even in the corps, when I got called to the first Four Seasons rehearsal. I never thought I was a “Jerry dancer” so it was odd to be called and I was really nervous. The rehearsal was just me and Jerry and the pianist and he would start moving and I would just do what he was doing right behind him. We just sort of seemed to dance around the studio...he could dance to the right or left, I could dance to the right or left. It felt very natural to me, like dancing in the basement when I was growing up, just dancing by myself to the music. We fit together, the way we moved. He was never angry at me...it just clicked and from then on I guess I was a Jerry dancer.
JENIFER RINGER: When I danced for Jerry, even in the studio, it felt like a very private performance and I felt like I could be utterly myself dancing for him the movements he had created. Perhaps my favorite memories of Jerry are of dancing beside him: working on the quiet, lyrical movements of the solo in 2 & 3 Part Inventions; sitting side by side, gazing in the mirror and making funny faces together while we did the “Hats” section of The Concert; getting the syncopated rhythms of the Yellow Girl’s mazurka in Dances at a Gathering just right. It was during a stage rehearsal of that particular solo that Jerry yelled out, “Hey!” stopping me and the music mid-count. I stood still in the silence that followed, wondering if I had done something so wrong that he had been required to stop the rehearsal. Jerry laughed a little, shrugged and said, “It’s fun!” And it really was.
MELINDA ROY: From the small walls of the practice room to the Great Wall of China, Jerry taught me so much about dance and about life. One favorite memory of mine is when he had me meet him at a little antique shop on Columbus Avenue called Alice’s Underground. I was having trouble with the hat scene from The Concert. He made me try on hats with him in front of a mirror so that I could really see and feel the role and bring that back to the rehearsal process. He was very supportive and, in later years, even let me wear two hats for the part that I designed and made myself. If he ever felt that I was not reaching my full potential, or I was holding back for some reason, he would make me scream at the top of my lungs and press me until I was shaking and then he would say, “Okay, Lindy, now let me see you dance like that!” As scary as some of his methods could be, I loved what he was able to reach in and pull out of me and everyone else in his creative realm. I always had a great relationship with Jerry and I’m so grateful for the lessons I’ve learned from this incredible genius.
STEPHANIE SALAND: The quality of trust and understanding of shared artistic values that evolved during our time together at NYCB, and afterwards, stands to the foreground for me. Jerry’s works at NYCB became an intrinsic part of my education as well as establishing a critical balance for what was to become my repertory. His choreographic process, the layering and nuance of a human as dancer was something that appealed to my orientation and was a natural fit. The very particular Robbins practice of having the dancer mark a rehearsal heightened and instructed all of us by allowing us to visit the material in a new perspective. The end result translated to a deepening understanding of the range and textures available. Finally, midway in my career, I found a friend and advocate in Jerry that was a sustaining part of my life. Sometimes I find myself wishing for another conversation or just a passing visit.
MARGARET TRACEY: Watching Dances this past season, I was brought back into Jerry's world and felt so privileged to have been a part of his time. Working with him, one had to be fully present; never worrying about the past or over-analyzing the future. He insisted on complete authenticity from each of us and dancing his ballets meant that you had to get out of your own way in order to serve the work. Jerry's deep respect for the art form and all that NYCB represented taught us all how fortunate we were to be a part of something far greater than ourselves — what a gift.
VIOLETTE VERDY: Jerry was, without any question, on a quest for perfection. All artists have doubts and in his case, it was extreme, because in a way, I don’t know how much success was important to him, but love was. As a perfectionist, he doubted himself to the very end... Perfectionism was a way to reach a form of love. Jerry’s musicality and taste were so high that his doubts and demands, both troubling and endearing, affected all of us differently. But remembering the admiration and affection Balanchine had for him, as he had brought him back to us, elicited our understanding and patience. George and Jerry — those two together were something really very extraordinary and rare. To Jerry’s humility in this case, Balanchine told me that he himself was not really the American choreographer and that the great one was Jerry.
HEATHER WATTS: In 1969 I arrived at SAB, a fifteen year old Ford Foundation scholarship student, starry-eyed with my dream of becoming a Balanchine ballerina. Mr. Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein were ever present at their glittering new school in Juilliard, and it was there in Studio 2 that I fell forever in love with Stanley Williams’ teaching. A trim, immaculately bearded man in a Nehru shirt would often stand quietly in the doorway, intently watching Stanley’s class...it was Jerome Robbins, who had just triumphantly returned to New York City Ballet with Dances at a Gathering after a decade-plus absence. Mr. Balanchine took me into the company, and one of my first rehearsals was with Jerry — that intent man in the doorway became a daily part of my life at NYCB. He was driven and focused, a brilliant theatrical force, and he could out-Faun, out-Cage, and out-Concert the best of us...and I do mean the female roles! If you didn’t have the opportunity to see Jerry do the daffy ballerina’s entrance in The Concert, then I am not sure you ever really saw the ballet. He was an inspiring and exacting influence. What a time, George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins at New York City Ballet — it was a glorious ride.
MIRANDA WEESE: My initial experiences with Jerry consisted of him honestly believing that who he saw on stage and called to learn a role in his ballet and who showed up in the work room were two different people and in a way he was right. My approach to rehearsing at that time was a very internally calculated process that focused mainly on technical proficiency and mastering steps. It was only on stage that I would allow myself to be more at ease, spontaneously creative and free. As a result, many of my rehearsals with Jerry began and, less than an hour later, ended with, "It's not believable, you're not ready but keep working on it". What then started to seem like a tedious amount of understudying became, in actuality, an amazing opportunity to simply observe, listen and learn not only about Jerry, his process and his works, but about myself as well.
WENDY WHELAN: The last twelve years of Jerry's life happened to be the first twelve years of my professional career and much of this time we spent working together on his ballets. The philosophy he built into so much of his work is ingrained in me and will continue to influence all that I do. He taught me how to add color and contrast, much like a painter, to my dancing. He showed me how to lighten or darken my persona with the weight of a stare or the twinkle of an eye. He taught me the power of stillness... He asked me to dance for my friends and to let them dance for me, and he relished in the divine simplicity of this profound exchange. He admired my approach and my dedication, and he believed in me as an artist. He liked me — I could make him laugh and smile in the end, and that brought me tremendous pleasure.
MELISSA HAYDEN, NORA KAYE, TANAQUIL Le CLERCQ and JANET REED are remembered with love and profound respect for their irreplaceable contribution to the arts and especially Jerry’s legacy.

Robert Wilson (concept, movement, video, visual, and lighting design) was described by The New York Times as ìa towering figure in the world of experimental theater.î Wilsonís works integrate a wide variety of artistic media, combining movement, dance, lighting, furniture design, sculpture, music, and text into a unified whole. His images are aesthetically striking and emotionally charged, and his productions have earned the acclaim of audiences and critics worldwide. Wilsonís awards and honors include two Guggenheim Fellowship awards (í71 and í80), the Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship award (ë75), the nomination for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama (í86), the Golden Lion for sculpture from the Venice Biennale (í93), the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize for lifetime achievement (í96), the Premio Europa award from Taormina Arte (í97), election to the American Academy of Arts and Letters (í00), the National Design Award for lifetime achievement (í01), and Commandeur des arts et des lettres (í02).

A native of Waco, Texas, Wilson was educated at the University of Texas and arrived in New York in 1963 to attend Brooklynís Pratt Institute. Soon thereafter Wilson set to work with his Byrd Hoffman School of Byrds and together with this school developed his first signature works including King of Spain (í69), Deafman Glance (ë70), The Life and Times of Joseph Stalin (ë73), and A Letter for Queen Victoria (í74). Regarded as a leader in Manhattanís burgeoning avant-garde, Wilson turned his attention to large-scale opera and, with Philip Glass, created the monumental Einstein on the Beach (í76), which achieved world-wide acclaim and altered conventional notions of a moribund form.

After Einstein on the Beach, Wilson worked increasingly with European theaters and opera houses. In collaboration with internationally renowned writers and performers, Wilson created landmark original works that were featured regularly at the Festival díAutomne in Paris, the Schaub¸hne in Berlin, the Thalia Theater in Hamburg, and the Salzburg Festival. At the Schaub¸hne he created Death Destruction & Detroit (ë79) and Death Destruction & Detroit II (ë87); and at the Thalia he presented the groundbreaking musical works The Black Rider (í91) and Alice (í92). He has also applied his striking formal language to the operatic repertoire including Parsifal in Hamburg (í91) and Houston (í92), The Magic Flute (í91), Madame Butterfly (í93), and Lohengrin at the Metropolitan Opera in New York (í98). Wilson recently completed an entirely new production, based on an epic poem from Indonesia, entitled I La Galigo, which toured extensively and appeared at the Lincoln Center Festival in the summer of 2005.

Wilson continues to direct revivals of his most celebrated productions, including The Black Rider in London, San Francisco, and Sydney, Australia, The Temptation of St. Anthony in New York and Barcelona, Erwartung in Berlin, Madama Butterfly at the Bolshoi Opera in Moscow, and Wagnerís The Ring at Le Chatelet in Paris.

Wilsonís practice is firmly rooted in the fine arts, and his drawings, furniture designs, and installations have been shown in museums and galleries interna-tionally. Extensive retrospectives have been presented at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. He has mounted instal-lations at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, Londonís Clink Street Vaults, and the Guggenheim Museums in New York and Bilbao. His extraordinary tribute to Isamu Noguchi has been exhibited most recently at the Seattle Art Museum, and his installation of the Guggenheimís Giorgio Armani retrospective traveled to London, Rome, and Tokyo. In 2007, Paula Cooper Gallery and Phillips de Pury & Co in New York held exhibitions of his most recent artistic venture, the VOOM Portraits, with subjects including Gao Xingjian, Winona Ryder, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Brad Pitt. The exhibition then opened at ACE Gallery in Los Angeles and will continue to tour this year. His drawings, prints, videos, and sculpture are held in private collections and museums throughout the world. He is represented by the Paula Cooper Gallery in New York City.

Each summer Wilson hosts students and professional artists from around the world at the International Summer Arts Program at the Watermill Center in eastern Long Island ñ an interdisciplinary laboratory for the arts and humanities. In July of 2006, the Watermill Center dedicated a brand new building on its grounds, including rehearsal spaces, dormitories, and residences, and inaugu-rated a year-round programming schedule.

Since graduating from college in 1963, Twyla Tharp has choreographed more than one hundred thirty-five dances, five Hollywood movies, directed and choreographed three Broadway shows, written two books and received one Tony Award, two Emmy Awards, nineteen honorary doctorates, the Vietnam Veterans of America President′s Award, the 2004 National Medal of the Arts, the Jerome Robbins Award, The Kennedy Center Honors and many grants including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur
Fellowship. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

In 1965 Ms. Tharp founded her dance company, Twyla Tharp Dance. In addition to choreographing for her own company, she has choreographed for other companies including: American Ballet Theatre, The Paris Opera Ballet, The Royal Ballet, New York City Ballet, The Boston Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance, The Martha Graham Dance Company, Miami City Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet.

Ms. Tharp′s work first appeared on Broadway in 1980 with WHEN WE WERE VERY YOUNG, followed in 1981 by her collaboration with David Byrne on THE CATHERINE WHEEL at the Winter Garden. Her 1985 production of SINGIN′ IN THE RAIN played at
the Gershwin and was followed by an extensive national tour. In 2002, Ms. Tharp’s award-winning dance musical MOVIN′ OUT set to the music and lyrics of Billy Joel premiered at the Richard Rodgers and ran for three years. A national tour opened in 2004 and also ran for three years. For MOVIN′ OUT Ms. Tharp received the 2003 Tony Award, the 2003 Astaire Award, the Drama League Award for Sustained Achievement in Musical Theater; and both the Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Choreography. For the London production Ms. Tharp won Best Choreography (Musical Theatre) Award of the UK′s Critics′ Circle National Dance Awards 2006. In 2006 Ms. Tharp worked with Bob Dylan’s music and lyrics to create THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’ which played at the Brooks Atkinson.

In film Ms. Tharp has collaborated with director Milos Forman on HAIR in 1978, RAGTIME in 1980, and AMADEUS in 1984, with Taylor Hackford on WHITE NIGHTS in 1985 and with James Brooks on I′LL DO ANYTHING in 1994. Her television credits include choreographing SUE′S LEG for the inaugural episode of PBS′ DANCE IN AMERICA, co-producing and directing MAKING TELEVISION DANCE, which won the Chicago International Film Festival Award; and directing THE CATHERINE WHEEL for BBC Television. Ms. Tharp co-directed the television special BARYSHNIKOV BY THARP, which won two Emmy Awards as well as the Director′s Guild of America Award for Outstanding Director Achievement.

In 1992 Ms. Tharp wrote her autobiography PUSH COMES TO SHOVE. Her second book, THE CREATIVE HABIT: LEARN IT AND USE IT FOR LIFE was published in October, 2003.

Today Ms. Tharp continues to create and to lecture around the world.

As America’s oldest professional ballet company, San Francisco Ballet has enjoyed a long and rich tradition of artistic “firsts” since its founding in 1933, performing the first American productions of Swan Lake and Nutcracker, as well as the first 20th-century American Coppélia. A lively, vital ensemble, San Francisco Ballet is one of the three largest ballet companies in the United States.

Since its early years under the direction of American dance pioneers and brothers Lew, Willam, and Harold Christensen, San Francisco Ballet now presents more than 100 performances annually, both locally and internationally.

Under the direction of Helgi Tomasson since 1985, the Company has achieved an international reputation as one of the preeminent ballet companies in America. By commissioning new works by some of today’s most sought-after choreographers, giving rise to young talent, acquiring existing works by master choreographers, and introducing new interpretations of classic full-length productions, Tomasson has created a sophisticated, diverse international repertory that offers powerful entertainment for all audiences.

Mikhail Baryshnikov, one of the world’s greatest dancers and champions of dance, has pursued his passion for over 40 years in a range of dance disciplines. A native of Riga, Latvia, he began studying ballet at age nine; as a teenager, he entered the school of the Kirov Ballet, graduating from student to principal dancer in 1969. In 1974, he left Russia to pursue a career with ballet and modern companies around the world, settling in NYC in 1979 as a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre and from 1979 to 1980, with New York City Ballet. 1n 1980 he returned to ABT as artistic director, nurturing a new generation of dancers and choreographers. In his illustrious career, he has danced more than one hundred different works on the world’s greatest stages. Most of the world’s foremost choreographers have created works especially for him, including Jerome Robbins with A Suite of Dances. In addition to his dancing, Baryshnikov has proved himself a capable actor, starring in five films and earning an Oscar-nomination for his performance in The Turning Point. He has appeared numerous times on television, including three Emmy award-winning specials. In 1989, he appeared on Broadway in Metamorphosis, earning a Tony nomination and a Drama Critics Award. From 1990-2002, Baryshnikov was director and dancer with White Oak Dance Project, using his remarkable talents to expand the repertoire of American modern dance. His most recent BAM performances were in 2000 and 1997 with White Oak Project featuring the choreography of Trisha Brown, John Jasperse, and Mark Morris, among others. Baryshnikov is currently devoting his time and energy to the realization of the Baryshnikov Arts Center, dedicated to the development of new and experimental work, scheduled to open in January 2005. He is also performing in a new play created by the acclaimed theater artist Rezo Gabriadze. Among his most recent awards are the Kennedy Center Honors, The National Medal of Honor, Commonwealth Award, and The Chubb Fellowship.

Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is recognized internationally for its innovative programming of dance, music, theater, music-theater, opera, and film. BAM presents leading national and international artists and companies in its annual Spring Season and highlights groundbreaking, contemporary work in the performing arts with its Next Wave Festival each fall. Founded in 1983, the Next Wave is one of the world′s most important festivals of contemporary performing arts. BAM Rose Cinemas features new, independent film releases and BAMcinématek—a curated, daily repertory film program—features classics, retrospectives, and contemporary international films often accompanied by guest speakers.

BAM also serves New York City′s diverse population through a weekend concert series in BAMcafé, community events, literary series, and a wide variety of educational programs. BAM, America′s oldest performing arts center in continuous operation, has presented performances since 1861, and attracts an audience of 400,000 people each year. The institution is led by President Karen Brooks Hopkins and Executive Producer Joseph V. Melillo.

10/06

Ms. Tipton, born in Columbus, Ohio, began her studies at Cornell University in astrophysics, graduated with a degree in English, and moved to New York City where she studied dance and performed with a group called the Merry-Go-Rounders. She began her design career under the tutelage of lighting designer Thomas Skelton and since then has won international acclaim and honors for her work in the performing arts including numerous Tony, Obie, Bessie, and Olivier Awards. In addition to her work in theater and opera, she has worked closely with Mikhail Baryshnikov and such choreographers as Jiri Kylian, Dana Reitz, Paul Taylor, and Twyla Tharp. Her first collaboration with Mr. Robbins took place in 1973 at the Spoleto Festival in Italy where she lit Celebration: The Art of the Pas de Deux. Other collaborations with Mr. Robbins include Antique Epigraphs; Brahms/Handel (with Twyla Tharp); Brandenburg; The Dybbuk Variations; The Four Seasons; In Memory Of...; In the Night; Ives, Songs; Quiet City; A Suite of Dances; Watermill; and West Side Story Suite.