Grover Dale danced beside the legends — Jerome Robbins, Michael Kidd, Michael Bennett, Gene Kelly — yet his name rarely makes the spotlight.

He went from a small-town kid with makeshift tap shoes… to a Broadway dancer in West Side Story… to a Hollywood performer in The Unsinkable Molly Brown and The Young Girls of Rochefort.

And just when it seemed his rise couldn't go further, he shifted behind the scenes — choreographing, directing, and helping redefine how choreographers are credited and paid.

But his story isn't just about success — it's about loyalty, erasure, and what really happened when one of Broadway's biggest shows won big… without saying his name.

This episode of The Rest of the Story on the Hey, Dancer! podcast traces how a kid from McKeesport became the dancer Jerome Robbins kept turning to — and the advocate who changed how dance is remembered.

Many of the photos and materials in this episode come directly from Grover Dale's recent autobiography, A Boy Like That: Hits, Misses, Messes, and Miracles as I Danced Across the Stages of Broadway and Hollywood (2024). It's an insightful, heartfelt look at his extraordinary career — and it served as my primary source for this episode. Highly recommended reading for any dancer, choreographer, or lover of musical history.

Images and excerpts from the book are used here under Fair Use for educational and documentary purposes.

Here's a link to the book!

Check out my ⁠⁠Return to Dance docuseries!⁠⁠

Support my Instagram — where I post daily dance inspo, insights and fun! ⁠⁠@backtogreat