Robert Swerdlow has been an active member of the artistic community for close to sixty years where he has contributed as an accompanist, composer, lyricist, producer and director. His musicals, dance compositions and theatre pieces have been performed by major companies and artists in North America and Europe. As an accompanist in the past, he has worked with Les Studios, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, the École de danse contemporain de Montréal. In the past he has worked with L'École supérieure de ballet du Québec, The National Ballet of Canada, The National Ballet School, Ballet B.C., Les Ballets Jazz, The Royal Winnipeg, Alberta Ballet, La La La Human Steps, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Paris Opera, Metropolitan Opera Dance Co., Tokyo Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, The Joffery, Monte Carlo Classic Ballet, and Ottawa Ballet, where he was director of development and resident composer.
He began in the late fifties and early sixties in Montreal with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in the early days, and also with Elsie Salomons, Séda Zaré, Elizabeth Leese, Sonia Chamberlain, Eva von Gencsy; then to New York to play for Martha Graham, Merce Cunnigham, Agnes de Mille, Anthony Tudor, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, etc, etc.; then on to Europe for Roland Petit, Erik Bruhn, Alicia Alonso, Rosalia Chladek, John Babilée, Rosella Hightower, Alice Nikitina, Serge Golavine, and the legendary Lubov Egorova.
Among Mr. Swerdlow’s most noted compositions are “33”, a full-length ballet commissioned by the State Conservatoire Ballet Company of Vienna, performed throughout Europe as part of Les Jeunesses Musicales programme for dancers; “The Playing Field”, commissioned by The National Ballet School, based on William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” and performed regularly by the National Ballet School’s graduating students; “The Tin Soldier Ballet”, based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale starring Frank Augustyn, performed at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa each Christmas from 1992-95.
His musical, Justine, for which he wrote the music, book and lyrics ran for over one year in Toronto and then went to Off-Broadway where it won a prestigious Obie award, and remains to this day remains one of the longest running Canadian musicals to ever play New York. As a result, he is one of the few Canadians to receive the honour of being inducted into the Dramatist Guild of America.
Mr. Swerdlow founded and was artistic director of Toronto’s famed “Global Village Theatre” for seven years. This avant-garde establishment housed a company of twenty performing artists and produced over one hundred original Canadian theatre pieces and dance works between 1969 and 1976, including Toronto’s first permanent production of Michele Tremblay’s “Hosanna”.
During this period, he created “Modern Fables”, a children’s performance group, which toured Ontario primary schools for over twenty years, and introduced Gilda Radner to the theatre-going public.
His songs have been recorded by such artists as Kris Kristofferson, Salome Bey, Bobbi Chapman, Tony award winning Alexis Smith and Québec singers Ginette Reno and Lyne Tremblay.