It is an orchestral suite in nine movements adapted for large symphony orchestra from parts of his musical West Side Story.

Bernstein decided to revisit the music, selected 9 excerpts, and put them together into a single piece, titled Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.

A romantic horn melody follows soon after, which resolves into a high cry by the upper strings, with the cellos and low woodwinds playing descending passages.

The original horn melody is then passed onto the seconds and violas, accompanied by the firsts, piano, and harp.

The Scherzo is made up of a playful melody by the woodwinds and violins, often dotted by other instruments with their own small section.

It seemingly repeats multiple times, but the section concludes with a recap, and a final uttering of the cry in "Somewhere".

Interruptions coming from the rest of the orchestra dot the section, until an earlier part of "Mambo" is restated.

The bass clarinet starts off with the melody, with hints of violin pizzicato and high woodwinds dotting the section.

It first starts very low, building steadily as higher instruments join, until a percussive E♭–A–E♭ breaks in.

Other instruments join in the melody, until a trumpet takes over, by playing repeated crescendo passages which pop at the end of the phrase.

A swung section is then played by the woodwinds and low strings, dotted by percussive hits from other instruments.

"Finale" echoes the second section of "Somewhere", as a high romantic melody is played by the upper strings.