Exploring Dance Visions of Star-Crossed Love — Romeo and Juliet Told Through Dance
Marina Harss, dance writer
Shakespeare’s early tragedy Romeo and Juliet has inspired countless adaptations, and its translation into the language of dance holds a special place in the ballet repertoire. In this discussion, acclaimed dance writer and critic Marina Harss explores how choreographers have interpreted this timeless story, particularly since Sergei Prokofiev composed his iconic 1935 score — a musical masterpiece now almost inseparable from the ballet itself. (Surprisingly, Prokofiev originally envisioned a happy ending.) The conversation will delve into landmark productions, including Leonid Lavrovsky’s original Russian staging, Frederick Ashton’s 1955 version for the Royal Danish Ballet, Kenneth MacMillan’s beloved 1965 adaptation and innovative interpretations by Mark Morris and Alexei Ratmansky. And, of course, Jerome Robbins’ West Side Story, set to Leonard Bernstein’s unforgettable score, also takes the spotlight.
This presentation is part of Marina Harss' Exploring Dance series.
Marina Harss
Marina Harss
Marina Harss is a dance writer based in New York City, with her work featured in prominent publications such as The New York Times, The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, The Nation, The Guardian, Ballet Review, Dance Europe, Tanz and Dance Magazine. In 2023, Farrar Straus and Giroux published her critical biography of choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, The Boy from Kyiv: Alexei Ratmansky’s Life in Ballet.
Harss has been recognized with the Robert and Ina Caro Research and Travel Fellowship, was a fellow at the Center for Ballet and the Arts in 2019 and is currently a fellow at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Beyond writing, she has moderated and conducted interviews at public forums on dance, both live and online, at venues such as the Guggenheim Museum, the National Arts Club and the New York Public Library.
In addition to her contributions to dance literature, Harss is an award-winning literary translator, translating fiction and nonfiction from French, Italian and Spanish. Her translations include works by Alberto Moravia, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Dino Buzzatti, Juan Forn and Élisabeth Gille. In 2012, she received the French-American Foundation translation prize for her translation of Gille’s Le Mirador.
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