West Side Story: From the Dark Ages to Perfectionism. A masterpiece by a leading choreographer of the 20th century

A traitor who accused his comrades' names in the Red Scare.

Jerome Robbins became a soloist with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre, and made his debut as a choreographer in 1944 at the young age of 26 with the ballet "Fancy Free." This ballet about sailors disembarking in New York was later made into a stage musical and then a film (" Dance in New York ") in 1949. Robbins subsequently choreographed "The King and I" (1951) and "Peter Pan" (1954) on Broadway, earning him the title of musical world's darling. This led to the stage version of "West Side Story" in 1957, but the 1950s were a time when a dark destiny awaited Robbins.

This was the "Red Scare" that also hit Hollywood. The Committee on Un-American Activities, which was established in 1938 primarily to monitor espionage activities by Nazi Germany within the United States and the activities of Japanese Americans on the West Coast, shifted its target to the American Communist Party, which had gained strength after the Great Depression. After World War II, the committee's activities to crack down on Communist Party members and sympathizers became known as the "Red Scare," and eventually the crackdown extended to Hollywood filmmakers. Directors, screenwriters, actors and others who were named as "suspicious" were summoned to public hearings, and ten of them were imprisoned as traitors, becoming known as the "Hollywood Ten."

Filmmakers who were called to public hearings were forced to "inform" about Communist Party members or "comrades" who shared Communist ideology. Those who refused were imprisoned for contempt of Congress, including screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, who made films such as " Roman Holiday " (1953), and others; the story was made into a film titled " Trumbo: Hollywood's Most Hated Man " (2015). Charles Chaplin and others fled to Europe to escape compulsion. Meanwhile, directors such as Elia Kazan, who made films such as " East of Eden " (1955), who escaped punishment by informing on others, were branded as "traitors" for many years to come.

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Jerome Robbins was also once inclined towards the American Communist Party, and was summoned to appear before a public hearing. It is unclear why he became inclined towards the Communist Party; perhaps his sister's husband was an ardent Communist, or perhaps Robbins, who was bisexual, trusted the Communist Party's tolerance towards minorities. However, Robbins eventually admitted to being a Communist at the hearing, and "informed" the committee of the names of his comrades who belonged to a Marxist group. It is said that the committee threatened to "expose the fact that he was bisexual," but in the end, his patriotic testimony was accepted, and Robbins was able to return to his work as a dancer and choreographer. However, there were those in the show business world who could not forgive his betrayal, and Arthur Laurents, the creator of "West Side Story," also expressed his displeasure.