American Masters

"American Masters"is

supported in par Man

THE JOFFREY HAS ALWAYS REFLECTED WHAT AMERICAN DANCE CAN BE. IT'S ABOUT THE MELDING OF DIFFERENT IDEAS.

Woman

THIS WAS A COMPANY RUN BY ROBERT JOFFREY AND GERRY ARPINO.

Man

THEY EXCITED AUDIENCES. THEY GOT OUR HEARTBEATS GOING.

Woman

ROBERT JOFFREY TOOK THAT IDEA OF BALLET OFF THE PEDESTAL. GERRY ARPINO TOOK THE CLASSICAL VOCABULARY AND STRETCHED IT IN A WAY WHICH WAS VERY AMERICAN AND VERY MODERN. IT LOOKED DIFFERENT, AND IT FELT DIFFERENT.

Man

THEY HAD THE INTENSITY, THE LOVE, THE JOY, AND THEN WE TOOK THAT TO THE STAGE. AND THE PEOPLE CAME JUST LIKE BEES TO HONEY.

Woman

WE WERE CLASSICALLY TRAINED AND THEN WE WERE EXPECTED TO DO EVERYTHING ELSE.

Man

I MEAN, IT WAS TENSE. IT WAS STRESSFUL. SOME OF US WERE LIKE, "WHAT AM I DOING HERE, FLITTING AROUND ON MY TOES?"

Woman

IT WAS A POLITICAL FEELING TO GO TO THE JOFFREY. IT FELT KIND OF DANGEROUS.

Man

THERE WAS A $690,000 A YEAR GRANT THAT THEY KNEW WAS GOING TO END. AND THEY LOST THE HEART OF THE COMPANY. DEVASTATING. ALL WE COULD DO WAS START OVER AGAIN. IT WAS AN AMAZING TIME. WE DIDN'T REALIZE THAT WE WERE LIVING THROUGH A REVOLUTION IN AMERICAN DANCE. THE TWO OF THEM HAD THIS RELATIONSHIP TO THE ART FORM ITSELF. IT WAS EXTRAORDINARY.

Woman

YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE THE GUTS. YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE THE GRIT -- THEY HAD GRIT. THEY LOVED THE ART FORM WITH SUCH A PASSION THAT NOTHING WAS GOING TO STAND IN THEIR WAY.

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

Narrator

IT'S OCTOBER 2009, AND THE JOFFREY BALLET IS PREPARING FOR ONE OF ITS BIGGEST AND MOST COMPLICATED PRODUCTIONS. LAR LUBOVITCH'S "OTHELLO."

Man

READY, AND BACK, AND BACK AND BACK AND BACK. LET'S TRY TO GET THE ARM AND THE LEG THERE. THE ARM HAS FINISHED THE MOVEMENT IN ONE BEAT, SO WE'RE GOING BACK RATHER THAN BACK... FABRICE AND APRIL, LET ME SEE THE FIRST DOCK DUET LIFT.

April

"OTHELLO"WAS MY FIRST MAJOR ROLE, LIKE A FULL-LENGTH BALLET, SO THAT WAS HUGE FOR ME TO START WITH.

ORCHESTRA PLAYING

April

THE JOFFREY, BECAUSE IT IS SO DIVERSE, AND WE DO SO MANY DIFFERENT WORKS, YOU ALMOST NEED TO HAVE DIFFERENT KINDS OF DANCERS TO DO THE DIFFERENT BALLETS. SO THERE'S THE TALL, THERE'S THE SHORTER, THERE'S THE MORE ATHLETIC.

Narrator

ROBERT JOFFREY GREW UP IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, IN THE 1930s, THE SON OF AN AFGHANI ENTREPRENEUR AND AN ITALIAN MOTHER. HE WAS MESMERIZED BY SEEING PERFORMANCES OF THE EARLY 20th-CENTURY MASTERPIECES BY DIAGHILEV'S BALLETS RUSSES TOURING COMPANY. HE RESOLVED THAT HE WOULD ONE DAY RUN HIS OWN BALLET COMPANY.

Joffrey

WHEN I WAS 10, I REMEMBER GOING TO MY TEACHER AND SHE SAID, "YOU MUST FIRST LEARN HOW TO DANCE. THEN, PERHAPS, YEARS AND YEARS LATER, YOU COULD HAVE A COMPANY."

Woman

HE'S TRAINED BY MARY ANN WELLES, WHO UNDERSTOOD WHAT MODERN DANCE WAS, APPLIED MODERN DANCE TO BALLET IN HER CLASSES, THOUGHT ABOUT MOVEMENT IN WAYS THAT WERE COMPLETELY AMERICAN. SHE HAD A VERY ECLECTIC BACKGROUND. BUT OBVIOUSLY WHAT SHE DID IS JUST INSPIRE ALL HER STUDENTS. BEFORE I HAD EVER MET BOB JOFFREY, I KEPT HEARING FROM MISS WELLES, "MY DARLING BOYS." AND WHO WERE "MY DARLING BOYS"? THEY WERE BOB AND GERRY ARPINO.

Narrator

GERALD ARPINO WAS IN THE COAST GUARD, STATIONED IN SEATTLE IN 1945. HE WAS 22 AND MET THE 16-YEAR-OLD ROBERT JOFFREY THROUGH A FAMILY CONNECTION. ARPINO HAD NEVER SEEN A BALLET BUT WAS QUICKLY INITIATED INTO THE WORLD OF DANCE BY JOFFREY.

Anawalt

WHEN YOU LOOK AT PICTURES OF GERALD ARPINO AS A YOUNG MAN, IT IS OBVIOUS THAT HIS BODY WAS PERFECT FOR BALLET.

Narrator

JOFFREY AND ARPINO FORMED A PARTNERSHIP THAT WOULD LAST A LIFETIME.

Anawalt

THEY LOVED EACH OTHER, AND THEY CALLED EACH OTHER "COUSINS"FOR A WHILE THERE. BUT EVERYONE KNEW THAT THEY WEREN'T COUSINS.

Narrator

IN 1948, JOFFREY AND ARPINO MOVED TO NEW YORK, THE CAPITAL OF DANCE, TO PURSUE THEIR DREAMS. WHEN HE FIRST ARRIVED IN NEW YORK, JOFFREY FOUND THE BALLET WORLD DOMINATED BY TWO COMPANIES -- AMERICAN BALLET THEATER AND NEW YORK CITY BALLET, BOTH LARGELY BEHOLDEN TO EUROPEAN AND RUSSIAN TRADITION. JOFFREY'S VISION WAS TO CREATE A TRULY AMERICAN BALLET COMPANY.

Joffrey

I ALWAYS FELT THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT THAT WE REPRESENT OUR COUNTRY AND THAT WE HAVE BALLETS THAT ARE CREATED BY AMERICANS AND ON AMERICAN THEMES AND, WHEN POSSIBLE, USING AMERICAN MUSIC.

Martinet

HE WAS IN A STUDIO ON SIXTH AVENUE. HE WAS TALKING OF A COMPANY, BUT MOSTLY I ADORED HIS CLASSES, WE ALL DID. HE WAS GREAT ON MAKING YOU AWARE OF YOUR OWN PLACEMENT AS A DANCER. THE ARMS AND LEGS AND ALL THAT. HE WOULD EXPLAIN HOW IT SHOULD BE DONE.

Woman

HE WANTED TO ORGANIZE THE COMPANY AND START TOURING. SO HE BEGAN REHEARSING WITH US. I DON'T KNOW THAT WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE ANYTHING LASTING. BUT HE PICKED A FEW OF US, THREE BOYS AND THREE GIRLS, SO, UH... THAT'S HOW IT BEGAN.

Narrator

IN 1956, THE NEWLY FORMED ROBERT JOFFREY THEATRE DANCERS SET OFF ON A TOUR OF AMERICA.

Joffrey

I RENTED A STATION WAGON. ACTUALLY, IT WAS A GIFT FROM ONE OF THE DANCERS WHO STUDIED WITH ME, FROM HER MOTHER. AND THEN WENT ON A TOUR, ONE-NIGHT-STAND TOUR. AT THAT TIME, I COULDN'T EVEN GO AND SEE THE COMPANY BECAUSE I WAS TEACHING. I REMEMBER WAVING GOODBYE TO THEM, AND OFF THEY WENT, WITH THE COSTUMES IN THE BACK OF THE STATION WAGON AND THE SIX DANCERS.

Narrator

THESE NATIONAL TOURS PARALLELED THE MID-CENTURY AMERICAN TOURS BY DIAGHILEV'S BALLETS RUSSES, THE ORIGINAL SOURCE OF INSPIRATION FOR A YOUNG ROBERT JOFFREY.

Joffrey

WE WERE ON WHAT WE CALL COMMUNITY CONCERT TOURS, IN WHICH THEY WOULD HAVE A VIOLINIST AND A SINGER, AND WE WERE THE DANCE ATTRACTION, SO IT WAS IMPORTANT THAT WE WOULD HAVE A RANGE OF DANCE. AND SOMETHING CLASSICAL IN A TUTU. THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS I CREATED "PAS DES DEESES."

PIANO PLAYS

Martinet

"PAS DES DEESES"WAS LIKE THE GOOD LUCK CHARM FOR THE COMPANY. WE ALWAYS STARTED WITH "PAS DES DEESES." THEN WE HAD A DRAMATIC BALLET AND THEN A MORE ADVENTUROUS BALLET, AND THEN WHAT DIANNE CONSOER SO ELEGANTLY CALLED "A PIECE OF ZESTFUL CRAP."

CHUCKLES

JAZZ BAND PLAYS

Woman

THAT TOUR WAS HARD. IT WAS HARD. WE WERE TRAVELING LIKE 350 MILES A DAY. WE DID EVERYTHING OURSELVES -- WE DID OUR OWN MAKEUP, WE DID OUR OWN COSTUMES. WE PRESSED, WE WASHED.

Consoer

WE PLAYED IN THE HIGH SCHOOLS, THE GYMS, AND SOME COLLEGES, TOO. AND THEN AFTERWARDS THE LITTLE KIDS WOULD PILE INTO THE DRESSING ROOM FOR AUTOGRAPHS. WE FELT LIKE STARS.

Ruiz

I FOUND OUT I WAS GOING TO HAVE A BABY. I DIDN'T TELL THE DANCERS. I DIDN'T WANT ANYBODY FEELING SORRY FOR ME. AND I WAS REALLY TRAVELING, BEING SICK LIKE CRAZY. I DON'T KNOW HOW I MADE IT. SHE WAS BORN, THOUGH, A VERY HEALTHY BABY, BUT I PERFORMED FOR SEVEN MONTHS. THE AUDIENCES, SOME OF THEM HADN'T SEEN BALLET MUCH BEFORE, SO THEY WERE VERY QUIET, VERY INTERESTED, VERY APPRECIATIVE, I WOULD SAY.

Woman

THEY WERE CALLED "THE JOHNNY APPLESEEDS OF DANCE," BECAUSE THEY MOVED, DANCED, FROM TOWN TO TOWN, ALL OVER. HE CREATED BALLET ALL OVER THIS COUNTRY.

Man

GERRY JUST CAME ALIVE ON STAGE. HE HAD THIS ENERGY AND THIS GREAT SMILE. YOU KNOW, HE HAD THIS THICK, BLACK, CURLY HAIR AND VERY CHISELED FACE. REALLY A HANDSOME GUY, MASCULINE.

Arpino

I GREW UP IN STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK. CAME FROM AN ITALIAN FAMILY AND VERY MACHO. THEY THOUGHT BALLET IS A SISSIFIED ART. SO MY MOTHER WOULD GO TO MASS TO SAVE ME FROM MY CHOSEN DOOM.

Martinet

AS A DANCER, HE HAD A BEAUTIFUL BODY, VERY BEAUTIFUL. AND BEAUTIFUL WHAT WE CALL "BALLON"-- THE REBOUNDING IN JUMPS AND BEAUTIFUL LANDINGS LIKE A TIGER. GERRY HAD A WONDERFUL TECHNIQUE, AND CONSIDERING THAT HE STARTED SO LATE, HE WAS A REMARKABLE DANCER. HE ALSO HAD A VERY DRAMATIC, DARK PERSONALITY ON STAGE. BUT IN THOSE DAYS, GERRY WAS ONE OF US. BOB WAS BOB. BOB WAS, YOU KNOW, YES, HE WAS BABY BROTHER. HE WAS EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO A TEACHER, BUT HE WAS ALSO THE DIRECTOR.

Tomasson

BOB WAS VERY SPECIFIC ABOUT WHAT HE WANTED. NOT ONLY CHOREOGRAPHICALLY, BUT ABOUT EVERYTHING -- ABOUT HOW THE COSTUME LOOKED, HOW YOUR MAKEUP WAS. YOU KNOW, HE WAS DETAIL, DETAIL, ALL THE TIME.

Narrator

BY THE EARLY '60s, THE JOFFREY BALLET WAS STARTING TO MAKE A NAME FOR ITSELF. BUT ROBERT JOFFREY KNEW THEY NEEDED A FINANCIAL SPONSOR TO GET TO THE NEXT LEVEL. IN 1962, JOFFREY MET STANDARD OIL HEIRESS REBEKAH HARKNESS AT A DINNER PARTY IN NEW YORK, AND THE FORTUNES OF THE COMPANY TOOK A DRAMATIC TURN.

Man

REBEKAH HARKNESS WAS A PERSON WHO WAS FASCINATED BY BALLET, PARTICULARLY THE MUSIC, BECAUSE SHE LIKED TOPOSE MUSICIC SO THAT HER SUPPORT OF THE JOFFREY BALLET IN THE BEGINNING WAS A VERY NATURAL OUTCOME OF THIS FEELING.

Watts

REBEKAH HARKNESS PROVIDED BOB WITH A TIME AND A PLACE IN WHICH TO DO HIS WORK, AND THAT WAS THE OLD FIREHOUSE IN WATCH HILL. IT WAS A VERY CHARMING BUILDING, IT HAD TWO OR THREE STUDIOS. AND THERE WERE SEVERAL CHOREOGRAPHERS UP THERE THAT PARTICULAR SUMMER.

Anawalt

SO HE HAD THIS AMAZING GIFT OF WATCH HILL AND OF HER SUPPORT FOR ENDLESS REHEARSALS, HIS DANCERS STAYING IN A NICE PLACE.

Tomasson

A LOT OF BALLETS WERE CREATED THERE, AND THAT'S WHEN HE STARTED BRINGING IN CHOREOGRAPHERS FROM THE MODERN DANCE COMMUNITY, WHICH, IN THE BEGINNING, I HAD A BIT OF A HARD TIME WITH BECAUSE I WAS NOT TRAINED THAT WAY.

DRUM BEATING

Tomasson

I FOUND IT CHALLENGING AND FASCINATING. I ENJOYED IT VERY MUCH.

Woman

HE HAD A QUOTE -- "CLASSICAL BALLET SHOULD BE THE CENTER NOT THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF YOUR MOVEMENT." AND HE FELT, IF WE WERE CLASSICALLY TRAINED, THEN ANY CHOREOGRAPHER THAT HE BROUGHT IN, WE COULD ADAPT AND LEARN TO MOVE TO THAT CHOREOGRAPHER'S SPECIFICATIONS. SO HE INSISTED ON THAT CLASSICAL CENTER AND TRAINING. AND THEN WE WERE EXPECTED TO DO EVERYTHING ELSE.

Watts

YOU END UP AT THE END OF THE SUMMER WITH A WHOLE NEW REPERTOIRE.

Joffrey

AND IT REALLY WAS A LOVELY PLACE, AND WE CREATED "TIME OUT OF MIND" BY BRIAN MacDONALD, "FEAST OF ASHES" BY ALVIN AILEY. GERALD ARPINO DID A BALLET. I DID A BALLET FOR THE COMPANY. SO IT WAS A VERY INTERESTING PERIOD AND IT WAS AN ENORMOUS STEP. AND FROM THAT, WE WERE THEN INVITED TO GO ON A TOUR OF THE MIDEAST.

Narrator

THE JOFFREY'S MIDEAST TOUR STARTED IN DECEMBER OF 1962 AND WAS SPONSORED BY THE U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT AND FUNDED BY THE REBEKAH HARKNESS FOUNDATION.

Tomasson

WE WENT TO BEIRUT, THEN TO JORDAN, THEN TO DAMASCUS, AND THEN WE SPENT SEVEN WEEKS IN INDIA. BUT AFGHANISTAN WAS SOMETHING REALLY SPECIAL.

Anawalt

ROBERT JOFFREY'S FATHER CAME FROM AFGHANISTAN. A PRACTICING MUSLIM, PRAYED FIVE TIMES A DAY, AND ROBERT JOFFREY, HE GOES TO KABUL AND HE PERFORMS. I JUST CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE WHAT THAT MUST HAVE MEANT TO HIM.

Tomasson

I STILL REMEMBER KABUL QUITE VIVIDLY. FIRST OF ALL, IT WAS FREEZING COLD. THEY HAD A BRAND-NEW THEATER AND WHEN WE ARRIVED THERE, WE DISCOVERED THERE WAS NO HEATING SYSTEM IN THE THEATER.

CHUCKLES

Tomasson

MY FEET WERE COMPLETELY NUMB FROM COLD. BUT THERE WAS A FULL AUDITORIUM. WHEN WE FINISHED SOMETHING, WE ALL SORT OF FELT, NOBODY'S APPLAUDING. UNTIL WE DISCOVERED THEY WERE APPLAUDING BUT THEY ALL HAD THEIR GLOVES ON AND MITTENS ON SO WE COULDN'T HEAR ANYTHING.

Narrator

THE BALLETS DEVELOPED AT WATCH HILL WERE PERFORMED ON THE TOUR, INCLUDING THREE BY GERALD ARPINO. BY NOW, GERRY ARPINO HAD BECOME THE JOFFREY'S HOUSE CHOREOGRAPHER, PROVIDING BALLETS FOR THE COMPANY WITHOUT THE EXPENSE OF HAVING TO BUY THEM.

Watts

AND THAT WAS A GREAT THRILL TO SEE HIM EMERGING AS A CHOREOGRAPHER WITH WORKS LIKE "ROPES" AND "INCUBUS"AND "SEA SHADOW." THESE WERE WONDERFUL EARLY WORKS.

Narrator

WITH THE HARKNESS FOUNDATION FINANCIAL SUPPORT, THE COMPANY WAS SOARING. IN OCTOBER 1963, THEY PERFORMED AT THE WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESIDENT KENNEDY AND ETHIOPIAN EMPEROR HAILE SELASSIE. A MONTH LATER, AT THE VERY HEIGHT OF COLD WAR TENSIONS BETWEEN THE U.S. AND THE U.S.S.R., THE COMPANY SET OFF ON A MONTH-LONG TOUR OF THE SOVIET UNION.

Man

GERRY ARPINO WAS QUITE CONVINCED THAT WE WERE BEING SPIED UPON AND THEY WANTED TO KNOW EVERYTHING THAT WE WERE TALKING, AND, IF POSSIBLE, WHAT WE WERE THINKING AND DOING. SO GERRY SAT ON HIS BED AT NIGHT AND HE SAID, "YOU WOULD THINK THAT RUSSIANS, WHO CARE SO MUCH ABOUT BALLET, WOULD AT LEAST HAVE THE RESPECT FOR AMERICAN DANCERS TO PUT A DECENT LIGHT BULB IN THEIR ROOM." AND HE TOLD US HE DID THIS, AND THE NEXT DAY HE TRIUMPHANTLY SAID, "AND THEY CHANGED THE LIGHT BULB, SO YOU SEE, I WAS RIGHT!"

Tomasson

WHEN YOU THINK OF THE DANCERS IN RUSSIA, WHEN WE WERE THERE, I THINK THEY BASICALLY DANCED THE CLASSICS. "SWAN LAKE"AND "GISELLE" AND ALL THOSE BALLETS. AND BALLETS THAT HAD BEEN CREATED BY RUSSIAN CHOREOGRAPHERS. SO, FOR US TO BRING REPERTORY THAT WAS TOTALLY NEW TO THEM, FOR THE DANCERS TO SEE THAT, I THINK, WAS FASCINATING. A LOT OF CURIOSITY ABOUT THAT AND WANTED TO TALK TO US AS MUCH AS THEY COULD OR WERE ALLOWED.

Ewing

IT WAS AN ABSOLUTELY NEW PACKAGE THAT THE RUSSIAN PUBLIC WAS BEING ASKED TO LOOK AT. AND THEY CAME JUST LIKE BEES TO HONEY.

Sutherland

WE'RE HAVING DINNER AND THE RUSSIAN MAN CAME DOWN AND SAID, "KENNEDY'S BEEN SHOT." AND ABOUT FIVE MINUTES LATER, OUR AMERICAN INTERPRETER CAME DOWN AND SAID, "THE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN KILLED." WELL, THAT ENDED -- WE DIDN'T DANCE. OF COURSE, THEY CANCELED THE PERFORMANCES AND EVERYTHING. AND, UH... WE DIDN'T DANCE FOR A WEEK.

BAND PLAYS

Sutherland

REMEMBER, THIS WAS A POLICE STATE. THEY WOULD COME UP TO US IN THE STREET AND OPEN THEIR COAT. THEY HAD PICTURES IN THEIR BOSOMS AND THEY WOULD OPEN UP THEIR BLOUSES AND SHIRTS AND COATS. PICTURE OF KENNEDY. AND THEY WOULD JUST DO LIKE THIS. WE DIDN'T SPEAK THE LANGUAGE, BUT THAT'S ALL THEY NEEDED. WHICH WAS... YEAH. IT'S KIND OF HARD TO BE IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY WHEN YOUR PRESIDENT HAS BEEN ASSASSINATED.

Ewing

WHEN WE WERE IN RUSSIA, IT WAS KNOWN AS THE JOFFREY BALLET, BUT IT WAS BEING FINANCED TOTALLY BY THE REBEKAH HARKNESS FOUNDATION.

Sutherland

MRS. HARKNESS COMPOSED, SHE SCULPTED, SHE TOOK BALLET LESSONS, SHE PAINTED. AND ALL OF THESE PEOPLE HAD PERSUADED HER THAT YOU'RE A WONDERFUL DANCER, YOU'RE A GREAT COMPOSER. SO SHE DID ALL THIS. SO SHE KIND OF HAD THE IDEA, "I MUST ALSO BE A GREAT ARTISTIC DIRECTOR," YOU KNOW?

Martinet

SHE WAS VERY SWEET BUT SHE WAS NOT A REAL TALENT. AND I ALWAYS FELT THAT SHE WOULD HAVE GIVEN A FEW OF HER MILLIONS TO BE IN THE SHOES OF THE LEAST ONE OF US. NOT EVEN THE STAR OF THE COMPANY, BUT THE LEAST ONE, TO BE A REAL DANCER.

Watts

I WAS A BIT SUSPICIOUS OF IT BECAUSE I'M ALWAYS A LITTLE BIT WORRIED ABOUT WHEN SOMEONE MAKES A GIFT. THERE ALWAYS HAS TO BE SOMETHING GIVEN IN EXCHANGE.

Ewing

REBEKAH HARKNESS THOUGHT, "WELL, THIS IS THE COMPANY THAT I'VE PUT TOGETHER WITH THE REPERTORY AND THAT I'VE PAID FOR SO MANY OF THE COSTUMES, SO I REALLY THINK IT OUGHT TO BE THE HARKNESS BALLET." AND SHE REALLY WANTED IT TO BE NAMED THAT. AND JOFFREY AND ARPINO AND I WERE TOTALLY OPPOSED. BUT WE DIDN'T REALLY HAVE A LOT OF CARDS IN OUR HAND BECAUSE THE CONTRACTS WERE ALL DONE UNDER HER NAME AND EVERYBODY WAS CONTRACTED TO THE HARKNESS FOUNDATION.

Narrator

UNWILLING TO SURRENDER CONTROL OF THE COMPANY HE FOUNDED, ROBERT JOFFREY LAUNCHED A COUNTERATTACK AGAINST THE TAKEOVER TO RALLY SUPPORT IN THE DANCE COMMUNITY. REBEKAH HARKNESS RESPONDED BY HIRING AWAY MOST OF THE CURRENT JOFFREY DANCERS TO LAUNCH HER OWN COMPANY.

Ewing

IT WAS QUITE AN OVERT ACT, AND WE WERE ENRAGED, ENRAGED WITHOUT ANY POWER. SO AT THAT MOMENT, THE JOFFREY BALLET BECAME THE HARKNESS BALLET. AND SUDDENLY, THE DANCERS THAT JOFFREY HAD BEEN TRAINING FOR YEARS AND THE BALLETS THAT ARPINO WAS PUTTING TOGETHER, THERE WAS NO NUCLEUS, THERE WAS NO ENTITY ANYMORE.

Tomasson

I REMEMBER GOING TO BOB AND I SAID, "I DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY." OUR SALARIES AT THAT TIME WERE SO SMALL THAT I HAD NOTHING SAVED, I NEED TO WORK. SHE'S OFFERING ME WORK. AND HE SAID, "TAKE IT." I HAVE NO IDEA WHEN I WILL HAVE A COMPANY. SO YOU JUST TAKE WHATEVER YOU CAN, AND GOOD LUCK." AND THAT WAS IT. IF HE HAD SAID, "HANG WITH ME, IN SIX MONTHS, I'LL BE BACK," WE WOULD HAVE. AND I HAVE TO SAY, FROM THAT POINT ON, YOU KNOW, BOB WAS REALLY NEVER THE SAME.

Anawalt

IT WAS TERRIBLE. I MEAN, HE REALLY DID COLLAPSE, AND I DON'T THINK THAT ANYBODY THOUGHT THAT HE WOULD RESURRECT AGAIN. DEVASTATING. AND, UH, ALL WE COULD DO WAS START OVER AGAIN. AND SINCE IT HAD BEEN DONE ONCE, FIGURED IT CAN BE DONE AGAIN. BUT THERE WERE ONLY THE THREE OF US AND TWO DANCERS THAT WERE LEFT.

Joffrey

WE WERE VERY FORTUNATE AT THAT TIME TO RECEIVE A GRANT FROM THE FORD FOUNDATION. AND THAT WAS A GREAT HELP TO US. AND I HAD THE SCHOOL, AND THE SCHOOL HAD BEEN PRODUCING YOUNG DANCERS, SO THERE WAS A GROUP OF DANCERS WHO WERE ALMOST READY TO GO IN THE COMPANY. AND LUCKILY THEY WERE READY, AND THAT FORMED THE NEW COMPANY.

Singleton

I GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL WHEN I WAS 17. MOVED TO NEW YORK AND I WAS ON SCHOLARSHIP HERE. AND IT SORT OF COINCIDED WITH THE TIME THAT MR. JOFFREY HAD JUST LEFT HARKNESS. SO HE WAS BACK AT THE SCHOOL TEACHING, AND GERRY ARPINO -- IT WAS ODD. EVERYBODY ALWAYS CALLED GERRY "GERRY," BUT ROBERT JOFFREY WAS "MR. JOFFREY."

Woman

THEY VERY MUCH WENT THEIR SEPARATE WAYS AROUND THE COMPANY AND IN THE STUDIOS. MR. JOFFREY WAS OFTEN VERY, VERY BUSY AT HIS DESK WITH EITHER FUNDRAISING OR ADMINISTRATIVE THINGS, WHERE ARPINO WAS IN THE STUDIO ALL THE TIME.

Narrator

THOUGH JOFFREY AND ARPINO WERE NO LONGER LOVERS, THEY CONTINUED TO LIVE TOGETHER FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.

Man

THE TWO OF THEM HAD THIS RELATIONSHIP TO THE ART FORM ITSELF THAT IT SEEMED TO ME WAS EXTRAORDINARY AND THAT HELD THEM TOGETHER AND FOCUSED THEM IN A WAY THAT WAS REALLY QUITE REMARKABLE WHEN YOU CONSIDER HOW DIFFERING THEIR TALENTS WERE AND THEIR PARTICULAR WORKING WITHIN THEIR RELATIONSHIP. I WAS AT THE HIGH SCHOOL OF PERFORMING ARTS. IN THE JUNIOR YEAR, YOU HAVE CONCERTS, AND MR. JOFFREY CAME TO SEE THE CONCERT. I REMEMBER HIM WALKING THROUGH THE STUDIO, ACTUALLY, OF PERFORMING ARTS HIGH SCHOOL AND EVERYONE BUZZING, "OH, THAT'S ROBERT JOFFREY, THAT'S ROBERT JOFFREY!" AND HE CHOSE CHRISTIAN HOLDER TO BE AN APPRENTICE AND MYSELF TO START SCHOLARSHIP. I THINK MR. JOFFREY WAS VERY HURT BY THAT HARKNESS BREAK AND BY THOSE DANCERS AND THE PEOPLE THAT HE HAD TRAINED. AND I THINK MR. JOFFREY WAS REALLY AFRAID TO BECOME CLOSE TO DANCERS AGAIN. BOY, HE WAS AN ENIGMA, REALLY. HE HAD GREAT... HE HAD GREAT FLAIR. HE COULD SEDUCE YOU WITH HIS KNOWLEDGE FOR ART IN GENERAL, NOT JUST BALLET. HE WAS ALSO RECLUSIVE. MANY OF US HAD WANTED HIM TO BE WITH US IN THE STUDIO, TO TEACH CLASS, TO REHEARSE. BUT HE SOMETIMES HAD TO BE COAXED TO SHOW UP. BUT WHEN HE DID SHOW UP, HE WAS MAGNIFICENT.

PIANO PLAYING

Man

ONE! AND PLIE. RELAX... NOW, HOLD! PLIE AND GO! THAT'S IT.

Woman

MR. JOFFREY WOULD COME INTO THE STUDIO -- WHEN HE CHOREOGRAPHED, WHICH WAS NOT VERY OFTEN -- BUT HE WOULD KNOW EXACTLY WHAT HE WANTED. GERRY WOULD COME INTO THE STUDIO WITH A GENERAL IDEA. OR HE'D SAY, "SHOW ME THIS STEP BUT TURN IT BACKWARDS." OR, "DO IT THREE TIMES INSTEAD OF ONE TIME."

Singleton

GERRY ARPINO WAS VERY VOLATILE. GERRY'S ITALIAN, AND EVERYTHING IS, A-A-A-AAAH! VERY, UM... EMOTIONAL. ONE MINUTE YOU COULD BE THE GREATEST THING ON TWO FEET, AND THE NEXT MINUTE YOU LOOK LIKE CRAP. WHILE ROBERT JOFFREY WAS THE ARCHITECT OF THE JOFFREY BALLET -- ITS LOOK, ITS STYLE, ITS REPERTOIRE -- GERALD ARPINO WAS THE ARCHITECT OF THE JOFFREY BALLET DANCERS. HOW HE GOT DANCERS TO MOVE, THE ENERGY, THE ATTACK, THE MELDING OF CLASSICAL BALLET WITH THE SORT OF MORE MODERN INFUSED WORK IN THE TORSO. THIS WAS GERALD ARPINO. HERE ON STAGE HERE, A MAGNIFICENT BALLET, JUST BACK FROM MOSCOW. THE CHOREOGRAPHY IS BY GERALD ARPINO. THE ROBERT JOFFREY BALLET.

Anawalt

RIGHT INTO THIS NEW COMPANY, ARPINO IS ON FIRE. AND WHAT DO YOU SEE? YOU SEE ALL THESE BALLETS IN WHICH MEN ARE DOCH MORE THINTHAN PICKING UP WOMEN AND HEFTING THEM LIKE LUGGAGE FROM ONE SIDE OF THE STAGE TO THE OTHER. THEY ACTUALLY HAVE ROLES TO PLAY.

Woman

HE WAS VERY INFLUENCED BY SOVIET BALLET PARTNERING. UNTIL THE BOLSHOI BALLET CAME HERE, AMERICAN DANCERS, MALE DANCERS, DID NOT USE TWO ARMS AND LIFT THEIR PARTNER WAY OVER THEIR HEADS. AND GERRY LIKED THAT, THE OVERHEAD LIFT.

Man

I DON'T THINK HE HAD THE EDUCATION THAT MR. JOFFREY HAD. HE WANTED ENERGY AND CONNECTION TO THE AUDIENCE. AND THERE WAS A HUGE AUDIENCE FOR THAT. MAYBE IT WASN'T FOR EVERYONE, BUT HE GAVE A CERTAIN SEGMENT OF THE AUDIENCE WHAT THEY WANTED. HE WOULD GO IN AND HE WOULD, YOU KNOW, "BABY, DO ME A JUMP LIKE THIS ACROSS THE FLOOR." SO DANCERS WOULD DO IT, AND HE WOULD SORT OF TAKE WHAT THEY DID AND SOMEBODY WOULD ALWAYS DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT. SO HE WAS REALLY A MASTER AT TAKING WHAT WAS THERE.

Anawalt

WHEN YOU WENT TO THE JOFFREY, THERE WAS VIBRANCY, THIS PALPABLE YOUTH. IT WAS A POLITICAL FEELING TO GO TO THE JOFFREY. IT FELT KIND OF DANGEROUS AND EXCITING.

Narrator

IN 1966, THE COUNTRY WAS EMBROILED IN THE VIETNAM WAR AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT WAS IN FULL SWING. EVEN IN THE RAREFIED FIELD OF BALLET, THE OUTSIDE WORLD WAS CREEPING IN. FOR ROBERT JOFFREY, THIS WAS AN IDEAL TIME TO PRESENT A SEMINAL BALLET THAT HE FIRST SAW AS A 12-YEAR-OLD -- KURT JOOSS' "THE GREEN TABLE."

Singleton

WE WERE VERY AWARE OF THE WAR. WE LOST A COUPLE OF DANCERS TO THE DRAFT, AND EVEN ONE WAS KILLED IN VIETNAM. AND THERE WERE PROTESTS. AND I THINK THAT WAS A VERY WISE TIME FOR MR. JOFFREY TO BRING IN "THE GREEN TABLE," WHICH IS AN ANTI-WAR BALLET.

Narrator

JOFFREY RAISED MONEY TO BRING JOOSS TO NEW YORK TO SUPERVISE THE RESTAGING OF HIS CLASSIC WORK. IT WOULD BE THE FIRST TIME AN AMERICAN COMPANY WOULD PERFORM "THE GREEN TABLE."

Joffrey

WHEN I WAS ABOUT 7 YEARS OLD, I SAW A PERFORMANCE OF "GREEN TABLE," AND I REMEMBER TWO THINGS -- I REMEMBER DEATH AND THE GREEN FOLLOW SPOT AND THE MEN WITH WHITE GLOVES. AND I DECIDED A FEW YEARS LATER, I WAS ABOUT 11 -- MADE A LIST OF BALLETS FOR MY COMPANY -- THAT WOULD BE ONE OF THE FIRST BALLETS THAT I WOULD ACQUIRE. THAT'S MARVELOUS. WHERE WAS THAT? IN SEATTLE -- AND YOU DANCED DEATH.

Jooss

WHAT'S YOUR RELATIONSHIP?

Man

WORKING WITH KURT JOOSS ON THIS WAS ONE OF MY HIGHEST POINTS OF MY CAREER. I LEARNED SO MUCH FROM HIM. SO YOU GET THIS. RIGHT?

PIANO PLAYS

Chryst

HE HELPED ME TO BECOME NASTIER THAN I POSSIBLY COULD EVER BE, BECAUSE HE EVEN SAID TO ME, "I DON'T THINK YOU'VE EVER HATED ANYTHING VERY MUCH. SO THINK ABOUT SOMETHING THAT YOU REALLY, REALLY HATE. DON'T TELL ME WHAT IT IS, BUT THINK ABOUT THAT."

Kisselgoff

BOB JOFFREY BROUGHT THIS BALLET TO AMERICANS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, AND IT WAS MARVELOUSLY PERFORMED. BECAUSE THIS IS THE THING ABOUT THE JOFFREY -- THEY WERE VERY VERSATILE DANCERS, ALL CLASSICAL BALLET DANCERS, BUT THEY WERE CAPABLE OF MOVING IN WHAT YOU WOULD CALL A HYBRID STYLE, WHICH CERTAINLY "THE GREEN TABLE"WAS. YOU HAVE TO HAVE THAT EMOTIONAL PUNCH. AND THAT'S A BALLET THAT HAD A LOT OF PUNCH. EVERYTHING IS BUILT INTO THE MOVEMENT. YOU DON'T HAVE TO EMOTE WITH YOUR FACE. IT'S IN THE MOVEMENT.

Man

STARK. IT'S SO STARK. IT WAS SO MEANINGFUL. UNFORTUNATELY, TO KURT JOOSS, HE DIDN'T LIKE, REALLY, TO BE FAMOUS FOR "GREEN TABLE." I MEAN, HE WAS GETTING IT OUT OF HIS SYSTEM IN BETWEEN THE TWO WORLD WARS.

Joffrey

I FIND THE DANCERS GET SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL FROM THE BALLET, BECAUSE, SOMETIMES WHEN YOU JUST DO A BALLET FOR PURE MOVEMENT, FOR THE EXCITEMENT IS ONE THING, BUT BECAUSE THE BALLET HAS A VERY STRONG MESSAGE TO IT, THEY FEEL THEY ARE DOING PERHAPS SOMETHING EVEN MORE THAN DANCE. THEY'RE PERHAPS ENLIGHTENING AN AUDIENCE ABOUT A COMMENT ABOUT OUR TIMES.

Arpino

IT WAS "THE GREEN TABLE" THAT TRULY TURNED THE TIDE, THE LOOK OF THE JOFFREY, IN THAT THEY RECOGNIZED THAT THIS YOUNG AMERICAN COMPANY COULD PRESENT SUCH A POWERFUL, DYNAMIC WORK.

Narrator

ENERGIZED BY THE AUDIENCE RESPONSE TO A WORK WITH POLITICAL AND SOCIAL COMMENTARY, ROBERT JOFFREY DECIDED TO CREATE A NEW WORK THAT SPOKE DIRECTLY TO THE TIMES, BUT NOW USING A WIDER PALETTE OF TOOLS. THE PIECE WAS CALLED "ASTARTE."

Singleton

WHEN "ASTARTE"FIRST STARTED INTO REHEARSALS, NOTHING WAS SAID. THE REHEARSAL SHEET WENT UP AND IT SIMPLY SAID "NEW BALLET." WE WERE NERVOUS AND EXCITED TO BE WORKING WITH MR. JOFFREY. WE HAD NO IDEA WHAT TO EXPECT. THERE WAS NO MUSIC. AND WE SIMPLY STARTED WORKING ON MOVEMENT.

Man

HE MENTIONED THAT HE WAS DOING A WORK AND HE DIDN'T WANT TO DISCUSS IT WITH ME, BECAUSE IT WAS A SECRET. AND HE WANTED TO KEEP IT A SECRET BECAUSE IT WAS SO SPECIAL. SO FOR THE LONGEST TIME, WE WERE JUST IN A STUDIO WORKING WITH MR. JOFFREY WITHOUT BEING GIVEN THE OVERVIEW. AND HE DID THEN SAY, "WELL, IT'S ABOUT THIS BABYLONIAN GODDESS NAMED ASTARTE, AND SHE WAS THE GODDESS OF FERTILITY AND SHE'S SEDUCING A MORTAL MAN." YOU KNOW, LITTLE BITS AND PIECES. HE SAID, "I REALLY WANT TO DO SOMETHING WITH FILM. I FEEL THAT FILM IS THE GREAT ART OF THE AMERICAN CULTURE."

Singleton

SO WE STARTED FILMING AND THAT'S WHEN THEY SORT OF EXPLAINED THAT THERE WERE GOING TO BE A CAMERA IN THIS BALCONY AND IN THIS BALCONY IN THIS WING AND THIS WING, AND THAT'S WHEN HE SAID THE BACKGROUND WAS GOING TO BE MOVING AND THE BAND WAS GOING TO BE IN THE PIT, AND THAT WAS WHEN MAX AND I SORT OF GOT THE WHOLE PICTURE. FROM THE MOUNTAIN... IT WAS GOING TO BE A PSYCHEDELIC ROCK BALLET.

Man

YOU'LL HAVE THE LIVE DANCERS DOING WHAT THEY DO ONSTAGE, WHILE YOU HAVE THEIR MOVEMENTS PRERECORDED SO THAT YOU CAN PLAY ON THE SCREEN IN MONUMENTAL SIZES THEIR ARMS AND FACES AND MOVEMENTS.

Singleton

WHEN WE FINALLY GOT THIS WHOLE PICTURE AND SCOPE, I WAS TERRIFIED. I WAS LIKE, "OH, MY GOD, THIS IS BIG." AND I WAS NERVOUS. I MEAN, WHAT IF I FAIL THIS MAN? WHAT IF I GET ONSTAGE AND JUST BLOW IT? YOU KNOW, IT WAS NERVE WRACKING. MAX WAS A LITTLE MORE... HE WASN'T AS NERVOUS. MAX WAS KIND OF BIGGER THAN LIFE, AND HE LOVED BEING THE CENTER OF ATTENTION AND DRAMA.

Ewing

MAX ZOMOSA COMING OUT OF THE AUDIENCE TO WALK UP ON STAGE IN ORDINARY CLOTHES.

Singleton

HE'S CRAWLING OVER PEOPLE, AND PEOPLE ARE SAYING, "SIT DOWN, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" AND PUSHING HIM OUT OF THE WAY. WHEN HE'D WALK UP THE STAIRS, HE'D HEAR, "

Gasp!

Singleton

WHAT'S HE DOING?"

Ewing

SO HE WOULD TAKE OFF MOST OF HIS CLOTHES DOWN TO HIS SHORTS AND A TUNIC.

Kisselgoff

IT'S AN AMBIGUOUS WORK BUT THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT ITS IMPACT. AND THE IMPACT HAS TO DO WITH THE FORM, AND THE CONTENT FITS THE FORM. IT'S A LIGHT SHOW, IT'S SEXY. IT'S FREE. IT'S OUTRAGEOUS. AT THE END, THE DUET FINISHES. THE SET MOVES. HE GOES OUT THE ACTUAL STAGE DOOR. AND THEN THERE'S A FILM PROJECTED WHICH SHOWS HIS PROGRESS INTO THE STREET.

Singleton

YOU COULD FEEL THE AUDIENCE LIKE, "

Gasp!

Singleton

WHAT IS GOING ON?" BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST THE BACK OF THE STAGE. YOU'RE ALL THE WAY OUT TO PEOPLE IN CARS GOING BY ON... 56th STREET. THAT WAS NOT A COMMON PRACTICE, TO SEE THE BARE BACK OF THE STAGE. IT WAS SHOCKING.

Woman

ROBERT JOFFREY WAS ABSOLUTELY ECSTATIC WHEN THAT FIRST CURTAIN CAME DOWN. THE AUDIENCE GAVE THE REACTION THAT HE WAS HOPING THAT THEY WOULD GIVE. AND HE WAS VERY HAPPY -- AND I THINK RELIEVED. BECAUSE HE TOOK A BIG RISK. AND EVERY CITY THAT WE TOURED IN AFTER THAT WANTED IT. THE REASON IT HAD SO MUCH IMPACT IS BECAUSE IT WAS AUTHENTIC. IT CAME OUT OF JOFFREY'S EXPERIENCES IN THOSE CLUBS IN NEW YORK. IT CAME OUT OF HIM LOOKING AT PSYCHEDELIC PATTERNS. IT CAME OUT OF HIM THINKING ABOUT, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A GODDESS? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A MORTAL MAN? WHAT DOES SEXUALITY MEAN?

Migdoll

I WAS ASKED BY TIME MAGAZINE TO COME UP WITH SOME STUDIES FOR THEIR COVER. BECAUSE THEY HAD SEEN "ASTARTE" AND THEY ADORED IT.

Singleton

I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT, AND IT WAS MONDAY MORNING, EARLY, THE PHONE RANG. "WHO'S CALLING US, CRACK OF DAWN MONDAY MORNING, OUR DAY OFF?" AND IT WAS AN OLD HIGH-SCHOOL FRIEND OF MINE AND SHE'S PRACTICALLY INCOHERENT. LIKE, "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" FINALLY I GOT OUT OF HER, I WAS ON THE COVER OF TIME MAGAZINE, AND I DIDN'T BELIEVE HER. SO I SAID, "I NEED TO THROW MY SWEATS ON AND GO DOWN TO THE CORNER, 14th STREET, NEWSSTAND, AND SEE IF THIS IS TRUE." SO THERE I AM, MONDAY MORNING, NO MAKEUP ON, HAIR A WRECK, IN SWEATS. I'M STANDING AT THE NEWSSTAND LOOKING AT THESE TIME MAGAZINES GOING, "OH, MY GOSH, THAT'S ME!" I'M STANDING THERE GOING, "THAT'S ME!" AND THE NEWS MAN IS LOOKING AT ME, GOING, "YEAH, RIGHT."

Narrator

BY 1969, STUDENT OPPOSITION TO THE VIETNAM WAR WAS PEAKING AND THE ARTISTIC COMMUNITY WAS STARTING TO RESPOND. THERE WAS A MORATORIUM FOR THE WAR IN 1969 WHEN WE ALL EXITED AFTER OUR SHOW AND HAD VOTIVE CANDLES AND WE WALKED DOWN SEVENTH AVENUE TO TIMES SQUARE AND WE SANG "ALL WE ARE SAYING IS GIVE PEACE A CHANCE." AND WE MEANT IT, YOU KNOW. IT SEEMS A LITTLE LIKE A CLICHE NOW, BUT WE MEANT IT.

Chryst

KENT STATE HAPPENED AND THEY ACTUALLY KILLED KIDS. AND THAT WAS VERY STRONG. AND SOME OF US WERE LIKE, "WHAT AM I DOING HERE? WHY AM I FLITTING AROUND ON MY TOES?"

Narrator

DURING THE JOFFREY SUMMER RESIDENCE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY, GERRY ARPINO STARTED WORK ON A PIECE THAT WAS A DIRECT RESPONSE TO THE TIMES -- "TRINITY."

Arpino

I'M VERY MUCH A TOPICAL CHOREOGRAPHER AND DIRECTOR IN THE SENSE THAT I TUNE IN TO WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MY COUNTRY AT A PARTICULAR TIME. I'M VERY AWARE OF MY PEOPLE.

Holder

WE WERE ENCOURAGED TO IMPROVISE, TO USE STEPS THAT WE USE SOCIALLY AT DISCOTHEQUES AND THINGS LIKE THAT, AND THEN HE WOULD EDIT IT.

Chryst

THE "TRINITY"WAS CHRISTIAN HOLDER, DERMOT BURKE, AND MYSELF. AND I GUESS WE REPRESENTED THREE DIFFERENT THINGS FOR GERRY.

Holder

AT THAT TIME, I HAD BEEN INITIATED INTO TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION. AND I WAS WANDERING AROUND BACKSTAGE IN ROBES, AND BELLS ON MY TOES, AND INCENSE IN THE DRESSING ROOM AND THE WHOLE THING. THAT'S WHY THAT CHARACTER'S SORT OF LIKE A WHIRLING DERVISH. ME, I WAS THE REBEL OF THE GROUP. THAT'S WITH THE FISTS THRUSTING IN THE AIR, BEING DEFIANT, AND TRYING TO STAND AGAINST WAR, AGAINST KILLING, AGAINST HATRED, AGAINST PREJUDICE, AGAINST EVERYTHING. I WAS A SEXUAL REVOLUTIONARY. I REPRESENTED FREE LOVE, "LOVE THE ONE YOU'RE WITH." IT WAS VERY DEMANDING WORK. IT WAS ONE OF THE HARDEST BALLETS I EVER DID. IT WAS LIKE BEING ASKED TO RUN A 3-MINUTE MILE. I USED ALL OF THESE FORCEFUL GESTURES THAT YOU SEE. IT WAS A TIME OF COMMUNICATION. THAT'S WHAT THE '60s REPRESENTED TO ME. NO ONE WAS LISTENING TO OUR YOUNG PEOPLE. THEY FREED US FROM OURSELVES BY SAYING, "LISTEN TO US. LISTEN TO OUR MUSIC." AND THEREFORE I TRIED TO CAPTURE JUST A BIT OF THAT IN "TRINITY." AND THE TRIBUTE AT THE END IS TO THE WAR. IT'S A HEARTBEAT THAT'S GOING. THE VOTIVE CANDLES REPRESENTED PEOPLE THAT WE HAD LOST. PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN DRAFTED, PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN SENT OVERSEAS TO FIGHT. AND SO IT WAS PROFOUND FOR US.

Man

AT THE SAME TIME THAT JOFFREY REALLY STARTED TO BECOME "THE THIRD COMPANY" IN NEW YORK CITY -- NEW YORK CITY BALLET, AMERICAN BALLET THEATER AND JOFFREY WERE ALL COEXISTING -- NEW YORK CITY BALLET WAS DEFINED BY BALANCHINE, CHOREOGRAPHER. AND AMERICAN BALLET THEATER WAS BEGINNING TO BE DEFINED AS THE CLASSICAL BALLET COMPANY. THEN THERE WAS JOFFREY WHO WAS "THE CURRENT EVENTS"COMPANY. THE COMPOSITION OF THE COMPANY, THE BODY OF DANCERS, WAS SO ECLECTIC. WHEN YOU AUDITION FOR GEORGE BALANCHINE, YOU ARE MEASURED -- PHYSICALLY MEASURED WITH A MEASURING TAPE, AND THE EXTENSION OF YOUR FEET IS MEASURED -- SAME THING WITH BALLET THEATER. IT COMES OUT OF THAT TRADITION, IT IS A BALLET TRADITION. JOFFREY SAID, "I DON'T CARE IF YOU HAVE BIG BREASTS, IF YOU'RE SHORT, IF YOU'RE A DIFFERENT SKIN COLOR." ONE, AND... ALL THESE THINGS BECAME VERY, VERY INTERESTING TO HIM. AND HE KNEW HOW TO MANIPULATE THEM. YOU'RE HERE -- NOW, YOUR HIPS STAY, BUT SOMETIMES YOU MOVE THE TORSO, BUT NOT THE HIPS.

Joffrey

I ALWAYS THINK OF MY DANCERS AS ARTISTIC ATHLETES BECAUSE THEY DEMAND SO MUCH OF THE BODY. AND THEY'RE VERY CRITICAL OF THEMSELVES. THAT'S IT! STAY WITH THAT HIP.

Man

ONE THING ABOUT JOFFREY WAS, HE WAS A GREAT PROGRAMMER. BEING ABLE TO MIX THE GREAT MASTERS OF 20th CENTURY ALONG WITH NEW WORK AND PUT THE NEW AND THE OLD TOGETHER. PROBABLY MORE THAN ANYONE, JOFFREY WAS THE DIAGHILEV OF THE MID-CENTURY.

Narrator

SERGEI DIAGHILEV WAS A RUSSIAN BALLET IMPRESARIO AND FOUNDER OF THE FAMED BALLETS RUSSES TOURING COMPANY.

Man

AT THAT TIME, WHEN DIAGHILEV FORMED HIS COMPANY, THERE WAS A GREAT SURGE IN THE ADVANCEMENT OF MODERN IDEAS AND MODERN ART. AND IT WAS IN THE PERIOD OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR WHERE THERE'S A GREAT DEAL OF EFFORT TO ESCAPE THE PAST AND MOVE FORWARD. THAT ERA WAS THE BEGINNINGS OF MODERN DANCE. AND I THINK JOFFREY UNDERSTOOD THE POWER OF USING THE ART FORM IN A CONTEMPORARY STATEMENT THAT WAY.

Anawalt

WHAT'S SO IMPORTANT ABOUT DIAGHILEV -- AND IT'S NOT THAT FAR REMOVED FROM WHAT JOFFREY BECAME -- IS THE COMBINATION OF CHOOSING MAGNIFICENT CHOREOGRAPHERS AND MAGNIFICENT SET DESIGNERS AND MAGNIFICENT MUSICIANS AND CREATING ORIGINAL WORKS.

Sklute

WHEN ROBERT JOFFREY WAS BUILDING HIS COMPANY, THESE MODERNIST CLASSICS WERE RARITIES. JOFFREY WAS FASCINATED BY THEM. AND JOFFREY ALWAYS BELIEVED IN GOING TO THE SOURCE. YOU KNOW, SO, AS MUCH AS HE COULD, HE WOULD ALWAYS GO TO THE ORIGINAL CHOREOGRAPHERS.

Narrator

ONE OF THOSE ORIGINAL CHOREOGRAPHERS WAS LEONID MASSINE, WHO WAS COMMISSIONED BY DIAGHILEV TO CHOREOGRAPH "PARADE"IN 1917.

Joffrey

SOMETIME IN STRIVING TO CREATE ONLY NEW BALLETS, WE OVERLOOK CERTAIN BALLETS THAT WERE VERY IMPORTANT HISTORICALLY IN DANCE. ONE WAS "PARADE," WHICH WAS A UNIQUE BALLET WHEN YOU THINK IT WAS THE TALENT OF COCTEAU AND PICASSO AND SATIE AND MASSINE. IT WAS, I FELT, SORT OF THE FIRST MULTIMEDIA BALLET. BECAUSE NOT ONLY THE DANCING WAS IMPORTANT, THE ART. IT WAS WONDERFUL CUBISTIC COSTUMES THAT PICASSO DESIGNED WHICH ARE OVER 10 FEET TALL. AND EVENTUALLY WE GOT MASSINE TO AMERICA. AND WE TRIED VERY HARD, WITH THE HELP OF MANY PEOPLE, TO PULL THE BALLET BACK, AS CLOSE AS ONE CAN.

Chryst

AND THAT, TOO, WAS REALLY A BRAVE UNDERTAKING FOR HIM. REALLY BRAVE, BECAUSE... NO ONE HAD REALLY SEEN IT.

PIANO PLAYS

Kisselgoff

AND IN ORDER TO PUT IT ON, BOB JOFFREY WENT TO PARIS TO LOOK AT THE ORIGINAL POSTERS BECAUSE HE WANTED THE RED COSTUME OF THE MAGICIAN, THE CONJURER, TO BE EXACTLY THE RIGHT RED.

Narrator

MASSINE DANCED THE ROLE OF THE CHINESE CONJUROR IN THE ORIGINAL PRODUCTION. FOR THE JOFFREY REVIVAL IN 1973, HE CHOSE GARY CHRYST TO DANCE THIS ROLE. SEE? YOU DID EXACTLY AS IN THE OLD ONE. THAT'S VERY GOOD, WHAT YOU JUST DID THAT OTHER SIDE.

Chryst

IT WAS ALWAYS EXCITING TO BE WITH MASSINE, BUT YOU JUST NEVER KNEW, REALLY, WHERE HE WAS GOING. THAT'S RIGHT. IT'S DA-DA-DA-DA-DUM! DO IT NOW, BIGGER STEP. BA-BA-BA BA-BA-BA-BUM! YOUR EXPRESSION COMES FROM YOUR MOVEMENT! AND NOT YOUR MOVEMENT COME FROM THE EXPRESSION. YOU UNDERSTAND? VICE VERSA. I HAVE TO SAY, WE THOUGHT HE WAS OUT OF HIS MIND. BECAUSE HE'S ASKING US TO DO STRANGE THINGS WITH OUR FACE. "FLEX YOUR CHEEKBONES." WHAT? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? "AND YOU SWALLOW AN EGG AND YOU MAKE YOUR EYES DISAPPEAR." HE WAS A MAGICIAN, SO THE IMAGES WERE THINGS OF, BEING ABLE TO MAKE FIRE COME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH. GRABBING IT OUT OF THE AIR. AND THEN MAKING IT COME OUT. TAKING AN EGG, SWALLOWING THE EGG. AND THEN MAKING IT COME OUT OF THE FOOT. I MEAN, THE IMAGERY WAS WILD. THE MUSIC WAS AMAZING, TOO, THOUGH. BECAUSE IT WAS SO AVANT-GARDE FOR THEM, USING TYPEWRITERS AND SIRENS.

Kisselgoff

I CAN TELL YOU THAT ALL THE ART CURATORS IN THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, AND MERCE CUNNINGHAM, AND THE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THE MODERN DANCE AVANT-GARDE ALL SHOWED UP BECAUSE THIS WAS THE GRANDDADDY OF MODERN ART.

Chryst

JERRY ROBBINS CAME TO SEE THE DRESS REHEARSAL. HE SAID TO MR. JOFFREY, "IF YOU HAVE DONE NOTHING ELSE IN YOUR CAREER, FOR YOU TO HAVE DONE THIS IS SO IMPORTANT FOR DANCE HISTORY."

Wheater

HE WAS A MAN WHO WAS CONSUMED BY DANCE, IN EVERY ASPECT OF IT. IT DIDN'T MATTER WHETHER HE WAS GOING TO THE MET TO SEE ABT, OR STATE THEATER FOR CITY BALLET. HE WOULD BE DOWN AT ST. MARK'S CHURCH. HE WAS ALL OVER, LOOKING AT WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN NEW YORK.

Narrator

ONE OF THOSE DOWNTOWN TALENTS THAT CAUGHT JOFFREY'S ATTENTION WAS THE ICONOCLASTIC CHOREOGRAPHER TWYLA THARP.

Anawalt

TWYLA THARP WAS TWYLA THARP, AND HER COMPANY ALL MOVED LIKE NOTHING ANYONE HAD EVER SEEN BEFORE.

Holder

THAT REALLY GIVES A GOOD IDEA OF HIS VISION, OF HIS EYE, BECAUSE HE HAD A FINGER ON THE PULSE OF SO MANY THINGS THAT WERE GOING ON. AND I CAN'T THINK OF ANYONE WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT, TWYLA... BALLET, POINT WORK? YOU KNOW, IT WOULDN'T -- IT WAS LIKE OIL AND WATER TO MOST PEOPLE.

Narrator

JOFFREY COMMISSIONED THARP TO CREATE A NEW WORK FOR HIS COMPANY, WHICH BRIDGED THE WORLDS OF CLASSICAL BALLET AND MODERN DANCE IN A NEW AND STARTLING WAY. THE PIECE WAS CALLED "DEUCE COUPE."

Holder

TWYLA CAME IN WITH HER GROUP. WE KNEW NOTHING ABOUT HER, I MUST SAY, BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON DOWNTOWN, I'M ASHAMED TO SAY. DON'T BE AFRAID TO TRY THE GREATEST SPORT AROUND CATCH A WAVE CATCH A WAVE

Chryst

AND SO WE HAD TWYLA AND HER LADIES COME AND DO SOME WORKSHOPS. AND WE WERE DANCING TO MUSIC THAT I HAD GROWN UP TO. I REMEMBER, I HAD TO DANCE OFF THE MUSIC AND THAT JUST DIDN'T GEL WITH ME. YOU KNOW, I JUST COULDN'T QUITE DO THAT. I WASN'T QUITE SURE. I WASN'T COMFORTABLE WITH WORKING WITH TWYLA. I HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS GOING ON. AND THE FIRST FIVE MINUTE BREAK, I PICKED UP MY DANCE BAG AND I TROTTED OUT OF THE STUDIO.

McKenzie

IT WAS A TIME BEFORE DANCERS CROSS-TRAINED. YOU WERE EITHER A MODERN DANCER OR YOU WERE A CLASSICAL DANCER. BUT JOFFREY WOULDN'T BUY THAT. SO YOU HAD TO LEARN HOW TO USE THE MODERN TECHNIQUE WITHOUT NECESSARILY HAVING THE FULL SPECTRUM OF TRAINING OF IT. BUT THEN, TWO MINUTES LATER, YOU HAD TO DROP THAT AND DO A CLASSICAL WORK. SHE'S MY LITTLE DEUCE COUPE YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I GOT

Anawalt

WHEN HE ASKS TWYLA TO COME AND DO "DEUCE COUPE" FOR HIM, SHE SAID, "I'LL ONLY DO IT ON ONE CONDITION, THAT I CAN USE MY OWN DANCERS, TOO." THEY COME IN -- HERE SHE HAS HER COMPANY AND SHE HAS HIS BALLET DANCERS AND SHE PUTS THEM TOGETHER BUT SHE ALSO DOESN'T PUT THEM TOGETHER, SO SHE KEEPS THE EXCLUSIVITY OF THE BALLET GOING THROUGH THE ALPHABET WITH THE DIFFERENT POSITIONS. IT'S MORE FUN THAN A BARREL OF MONKEYS THAT TWO-WHEELED BIKE WE'LL RIDE ON OUT OF THE TOWN TO ANYPLACE I KNOW YOU LIKE THAT WAS RADICAL AGAIN. EVERYTHING CHANGED!

Kisselgoff

AND BOB BELIEVED IN HER. AND HE GAVE HER HER FIRST CHANCE. SHE ACQUIRED A HUGE AUDIENCE THROUGH THE BALLET WORLD. AND AFTER THAT, SHE CHOREOGRAPHED SOMETHING LIKE 14 WORKS FOR AMERICAN BALLET THEATER.

Holder

JOFFREY'S VISION NOW IS SORT OF THE STATUS QUO. AT THAT TIME, NO ONE ELSE WAS REALLY DOING THAT.

Chryst

MR. JOFFREY KNEW. HE TOOK A CHANCE, HE ALWAYS DID. HE TOOK THAT CHANCE.

Man

IT WAS AN AMAZING PERIOD OF TIME. THOSE OF US WHO WERE IN IT WERE JUST TIRED, SORE AND HUNGRY. WE DIDN'T REALIZE THAT WE WERE LIVING THROUGH A REVOLUTION IN AMERICAN DANCE. NOW WE GO, "WHOA!" BUT AT THE TIME, IT WAS, "Whoa!"

Narrator

BUT DESPITE THESE ARTISTIC SUCCESSES, BY THE LATE 1970s, THE COMPANY FACED A LOOMING FINANCIAL CRISIS.

Man

WHAT HAPPENED WAS, THERE WAS A $690,000 A YEAR GRANT COMING FROM THE NEA, THAT THEY KNEW WAS GOING TO END. THEY NEVER REPLACED IT. I MEAN, THEY KNEW IT WAS GOING TO END. SO, I'M NOT POINTING FINGERS, I'M JUST SAYING, "OOPS."

Chryst

IN 1979, WE WERE GOING TO HAVE A LONG LAYOFF, A SIX-MONTH LAYOFF. A LOT OF THE SENIOR MEMBERS WERE NOT ASKED TO COME BACK.

Burke

SIX-MONTH LAYOFF. PEOPLE HAD TO EAT. THEY DID DIFFERENT THINGS, THEY WENT DIFFERENT PLACES, AND A LOT OF THEM DIDN'T COME BACK. THEY LOST TRIBAL MEMORY, THEY LOST CULTURE. WELL, THE CULTURE OF THE COMPANY IS THE HEART OF THE COMPANY. AND THEY LOST THE HEART OF THE COMPANY.

Narrator

WITH THE EXIT OF MANY OF ITS STAR PERFORMERS, JOFFREY AND ARPINO NOW TURNED TO UNTRIED, YOUNGER DANCERS, WHO CAME FROM THE JOFFREY II APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.

Sklute

THE VERY FIRST TIME I MET GERALD ARPINO, I HAD JUST BEEN PROMOTED FROM JOFFREY'S SECOND COMPANY, JOFFREY II, INTO THE MAIN COMPANY. I WAS LEARNING A ROLE IN "KETTENTANZ" AND I WAS WORKING MY DARNDEST TO BE NOTICED. WELL, I GOT NOTICED. THE FIRST THINGS MR. ARPINO SAID TO ME WAS, "HEY, YOU WITH THE SPATULAS AT THE END OF YOUR LEGS -- GET OUTTA MY SIGHT." I LOVED IT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, ALL I COULD THINK OF WAS, HE NOTICED ME!

Narrator

INSPIRED BY THE INFLUX OF NEW, YOUNG DANCERS, GERRY ARPINO HAD ANOTHER CREATIVE BURST, CHOREOGRAPHING SEVERAL NEW BALLETS WHICH PLEASED THE CROWDS -- BUT NOT ALWAYS THE CRITICS.

Sklute

HIS WORK MAY NOT HAVE BEEN WHAT THE INTELLIGENTSIA THOUGHT WAS GREAT BALLET. BUT THEY WERE GREAT BALLETS! THEY EXCITED AUDIENCES. THEY GOT OUR HEARTBEATS GOING.

Anawalt

IT'S TRUE THAT HIS WORKS TOOK A BEATING. DANCE CRITICS NEEDED TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD, GERALD ARPINO IS A B-RATED CHOREOGRAPHER AND GEORGE BALANCHINE IS "A."

Woman

WHAT GERRY ARPINO DID WAS HE TOOK THE CLASSICAL VOCABULARY AND HE THEN STRETCHED IT IN A WAY WHICH WAS VERY AMERICAN AND VERY MODERN, TO BE MORE EXAGGERATED, TO BE FASTER, TO BE MORE DYNAMIC. IT WAS REALLY TRYING TO FIND A WAY TO HOLD ONTO THAT TRADITION OF CLASSICAL BALLET BUT TO GIVE IT THAT MODERN AMERICAN SENSIBILITY.

Kisselgoff

THE THING IS THAT, HE CHOREOGRAPHED FOR THE MOMENT. HE WAS OF HIS TIME. SOME WORKS DIED VERY SOON, BUT SOME DID NOT.

Weiss

GERRY WAS AN ECLECTIC CHOREOGRAPHER. HE DIDN'T REALLY HAVE ONE STYLE. AT THAT TIME, BALLET WAS THE CONSERVATORY, AND I THINK BY BREAKING OUT OF THAT, HE PROBABLY THREATENED SOME PEOPLE, AND ALSO, FRANKLY, THERE WERE MOMENTS WHEN HE WENT OVERBOARD.

McKenzie

I ALWAYS HAD A LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH GERRY IN THE STUDIO. IN RETROSPECT, HE BROKE DOWN A "HOLIER-THAN-THOU"APPROACH TO BALLET THAT I HAD. HE SAID, "COME ON, BABY, YOU CAN'T BE PRECIOUS ABOUT THIS. YOU'VE JUST GOT TO GET DOWN, GET PHYSICAL,"YOU KNOW. AND I WASN'T PARTICULARLY AMUSED BY BEING CHALLENGED IN THAT WAY.

Chryst

GERRY WOULD SAY, "GIMME THIS, BABE." AND HE WOULD THROW SOMETHING IN THE AIR, AND YOU'D... KIND OF, "OKAY, HOW ABOUT THIS?" "THAT'S IT!"

Man

HE WANTED A THOUSAND PERCENT EVERY SECOND, AND I DID LEAVE ARPINO REHEARSALS WITH SOAKING-WET SHOES, SOAKING-WET, MAKING TRACKS ON THE FLOORS.

Narrator

BY 1986, ROBERT JOFFREY WAS PLANNING SEVERAL AMBITIOUS WORKS FOR HIS REPERTOIRE, INCLUDING A RESTAGING OF ANOTHER DIAGHILEV CLASSIC, NIJINSKY'S "LE SACRE DU PRINTEMPS." HE ALSO CONTINUED TO BRING IN NEW CONTEMPORARY CHOREOGRAPHERS, LIKE LAURA DEAN. AT THE SAME TIME, THOUGH, JOFFREY WAS CONFRONTING A NEW CHALLENGE BEYOND HIS CONTROL, AN ILLNESS HE WAS DESPERATE TO CONCEAL.

Watts

ROB WAS ALWAYS RALLYING DURING HIS ILLNESS AND ALWAYS FIGHTING BACK. AND ALWAYS VERY EAGER NOT TO GET SICKER. AND IT WAS NOT BEING SPOKEN OF AS A.I.D.S. -- I KNEW IT WAS. WE WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE EPIDEMIC OF A.I.D.S. MANY OF THE DANCERS FROM THE JOFFREY BALLET HAD DIED OF IT EARLIER.

Consoer

I DON'T THINK BOB WANTED PEOPLE TO KNOW HE HAD A.I.D.S. AND THE HOSPITAL, OBVIOUSLY, COOPERATED. AND THE NEWSPAPERS ALSO. IN THOSE DAYS, I GUESS YOU DIDN'T TALK ABOUT IT SO MUCH.

Migdoll

IF YOU'RE A CLOSE FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER, YOU NEVER ACCEPT THAT DEATH WILL FINALLY COME. THAT SOMEHOW, SOME MIRACULOUS WAY, SOMETHING'S GOING TO TURN AROUND.

Man

AND WE WERE REALLY HAPPY IN L.A. WHEN MR. JOFFREY CAME TO THE PREMIERE OF "LE SACRE DU PRINTEMPS." HE WAS VERY SPRY. HE SEEMED SO WELL. AND WE WERE LIKE, "OH, HE'S GETTING BETTER. THIS IS GREAT, THIS IS GREAT." AND THEN, THAT CHRISTMAS, WE PREMIERED "NUTCRACKER" AND HE WAS VERY ILL. AND IT WAS JUST DIFFICULT. I WENT TO SEE HIM, HE WAS IN THE HOSPITAL. AND TO ME, WHAT I HATED WAS THAT LITTLE ROOM. BOB'S APARTMENT WAS SO RICH. IT HAD ALL THOSE PAINTINGS, THOSE BOOKS, THOSE RECORDS. AND THERE HE WAS, IN THAT LITTLE ROOM, COLD. AND HE DIDN'T LOOK VERY GOOD, I MUST SAY, AND I KNEW THAT I WAS SAYING GOODBYE TO HIM.

Arthur

MY HUSBAND AND I WENT TO NEW YORK TO VISIT HIM, AND THAT WAS JUST AFTER THE NEW YEAR'S. AND IT WAS HARD. IT'S STILL HARD. SORRY. AND HE WASN'T GOOD. AND, UH... THE PASSING WAS ROUGH. UM... I BENT OVER... OH, GOD. AND I KISSED HIM, AND OBVIOUSLY I MUST HAVE LOOKED LIKE THIS. AND HE SAID, "DON'T CRY, I'M FINE." I SAID, "I'M NOT CRYING." SO I KISSED HIM AND LEFT. HE WAS NOT THE ONLY ONE, THE ONLY GAY FRIEND I SAID GOODBYE TO. SO THAT WAS THE END OF BOB, FOR ME. EXCEPT, IN A WAY, IT NEVER REALLY IS.

Man

NO MORE PARENTS. HE WAS MY ARTISTIC PARENT. IT WAS SAD TO LOSE YOUR DAD. IT WAS VERY SAD. I THINK IT WAS EVEN SADDER, THE WHOLE... DUPLICITY. HE DIED OF A.I.D.S., AND BY THEN, WE'D ALL LOST FRIENDS BECAUSE OF A.I.D.S., SO WE WERE KIND OF LIKE SCRATCHING OUR HEADS, WHY ARE WE GETTING THIS SONG AND DANCE?

Arpino

WHEN BOB PASSED AWAY, A VOICE THAT I HAD WORKED WITH FOR SO LONG AND THEN SUDDENLY NOT TO HAVE HIS PRESENCE THERE, I BECAME AWARE OF MYSELF MORE AND WHAT MY MISSION WAS.

Migdoll

IT WAS SO HARD FOR GERRY BECAUSE GERRY WAS DOING EVERYTHING THAT BOB USED TO DO, BUT BY HIMSELF. HE WAS TOURING WITH THE COMPANY. KEEPING IT ALIVE, KEEPING IT FUNDED. KEEPING THE BOARD MEMBERS APPRISED. BUT THERE WAS A SERIOUS CONCERN ON THE PART OF THE BOARD AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THE COMPANY COULD FLOURISH WITHOUT ROBERT JOFFREY.

Anawalt

FOR HIM TO BE TOLD THAT HE WAS NOT WANTED AS THE DIRECTOR OF THE COMPANY WAS COMPLETELY SENSELESS ON THE PART OF THOSE WHO WERE SAYING IT.

Watts

WE HAD A VERY LONG LUNCH. AND GERRY SAID HE WAS BEING EMBATTLED. AND I SAID, "GERRY, IT'S NOT WORTH THE BATTLE. IT'S NOT WORTH ALL OF THAT ACRIMONY," AND I WAS TRYING TO ENCOURAGE HIM TO WALK AWAY FROM SUCH UGLINESS.

Anawalt

HAD HE NOT BEEN PART OF THE COMPANY AT THAT POINT, THERE IS NO WAY ON GOD'S GOOD GREEN EARTH IT COULD HAVE GONE FORWARD, NOT AS THE JOFFREY. BUT FORTUNATELY GERRY HAD A GOOD SECTION OF THE BOARD THAT WAS ON HIS TEAM. ONCE IT BECAME A PUBLIC ISSUE IN THE PRESS, GERRY WOUND UP IN CHARGE. BUT WHEN HE ASSUMED THE ROLE OF ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, THE RECONSTRUCTIONS SUFFERED. AND THE COMPANY BEGAN TO LEAN A LOT ON THE ARPINO BALLETS BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THEY OWNED AND THAT'S WHAT THEY OWNED THE RIGHTS TO, SO THE COMPANY CHANGED.

Woman

I FIRST MET MR. ARPINO WHEN I WAS IN JOFFREY II, AND I HAD BEEN DANCING THE "NUTCRACKER." WE SORT OF FILLED IN FOR DIFFERENT PARTS THAT THEY NEEDED, FOR BIGGER BALLETS. AND HE SAW ME AND GAVE ME THIS LOOK AND HE SAID, "GOOD, BABY, YOU'RE A GOOD DANCER." AND I WAS IN AWE, "THANK YOU, THANK YOU." THEN HE SAID, "BUT TRY AND LOSE A LITTLE WEIGHT IF YOU CAN." FOR THE JOFFREY AT THAT TIME, MOST OF OUR WORK WAS TOURING. AND IT'S VERY HARD TO FUND A COMPANY THAT YOU NEVER GET TO SEE. WE RARELY PERFORMED IN NEW YORK ANYMORE. THAT WAS A VERY DIFFICULT TIME FOR EVERYBODY. THERE WERE TIMES WHERE WE WAIVED PAYCHECKS OR LET THEM COME IN LATE. ALL SORTS OF INSTANCES TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT MR. ARPINO. BECAUSE WE REALLY BELIEVED -- I MEAN, HE WAS DAD, YOU KNOW, IT WAS OUR FAMILY. WE DIDN'T WANT ANYTHING TO HAPPEN. WE WANTED TO DO EVERYTHING WE COULD TO KEEP IT MOVING FORWARD, AND KEEP IT GROWING.

Narrator

THE COMPANY'S FINANCIAL WOES RESULTED FROM THE DRASTIC DECLINE IN FEDERAL ARTS FUNDING, COMPOUNDED BY THE HIGH COST OF ROBERT JOFFREY'S ELABORATE RESTAGING OF "LE SACRE DU PRINTEMPS" AND THE "NUTCRACKER." BUT IN THIS DARK HOUR, GERRY ARPINO TURNED A CHANCE MEETING INTO FINANCIAL SALVATION.

Man

HE WAS AT A FUNCTION IN LOS ANGELES WITH A LONGTIME JOFFREY SUPPORTER, PATRICIA KENNEDY, WHO INTRODUCED HIM TO PRINCE.

Arpino

THE NIGHT WE MET -- HE HAD NEVER BEEN TO A BALLET -- I ASKED HIM, "PRINCE, UH... ARE YOU ENJOYING YOURSELF?" AND HE SAID, "MR. ARPINO, I'M INSPIRED." AND SO THE SEED WAS PLANTED.

Man

PRINCE OFFERED GERRY THE USE OF ALL OF HIS MUSIC ROYALTY-FREE. SO GERRY PUT TOGETHER A FULL EVENING WORK. HE CHOSE FOUR DIFFERENT CHOREOGRAPHERS THAT HE FELT WERE NEW AND "OF THE SCENE." YEAH, YEAH TRUST WHO DO YA? TRUST WHAT MAKES YOU A REAL LOVER? TRUST

Migdoll

"BILLBOARDS"KEPT THE COMPANY ALIVE. IT WAS A VERY CONTEMPORARY PIECE. IT WAS KIND OF BRASSY AND OUT THERE.

Woman

IT DIDN'T APPEAL TO EVERYBODY IN THE COMPANY, BUT WE KNEW THAT THIS WAS WHAT WAS KEEPING OUR JOBS, THAT THIS WAS GOING TO CREATE A FUTURE.

APPLAUSE

Weiss

I WAS VERY CRITICAL OF "BILLBOARDS." I THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY SECOND-RATE. I THOUGHT IT WAS KITSCHY. I THOUGHT IT TOOK REALLY AMAZINGLY TRAINED DANCERS AND, YOU KNOW, MADE THEM "SHAKE THAT THING."

Woman

MAYBE THE CRITICS HAD AN ISSUE WITH IT, BUT EVERY SINGLE PLACE WE WENT, THERE WAS A STANDING OVATION. PEOPLE DUG IT.

Man

I REMEMBER MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA. FOR THE LAST 20 MINUTES OF THE SHOW, THE AUDIENCE JUST KEPT GOING, "OOOH-OOOH, OOOH-OOOH!" AND THEY WERE DANCING AND JUMPING UP AND DOWN WITH US. IT WAS LIKE BEING A ROCK STAR.

Woman

AND THAT WAS AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE, TO FEEL THAT FROM THE STAGE, WHEN THE CURTAIN WOULD COME IN AND YOU'D HEAR THAT AUDIENCE JUST SCREAMING. IT WAS CERTAINLY NOT SOMETHING YOU'RE USED TO HEARING AS A BALLET DANCER.

Man

IT FELT MORE LIKE DOING A BROADWAY SHOW. THE MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY DECIDED THAT, SINCE THEY HAD THIS CASH COW, THEY COULD JUST KEEP RUNNING IT, AND WE GOT AWAY FROM THE VISION, AND THAT TURNS AWAY SOME OF YOUR FUNDERS BECAUSE THEY SEE YOU AS SORT OF A ONE-HIT PONY. BUT IT CERTAINLY ALLOWED THE COMPANY TO CONTINUE AT A TIME WHEN THE COMPANY DESPERATELY NEEDED SOMETHING TO KEEP IT GOING.

Robertson

IT DELAYED THE DEMISE OF THE COMPANY, I WOULD SAY, RATHER THAN SAVE IT. BECAUSE THOSE FINANCIAL ISSUES DIDN'T GET RESOLVED DURING THE TIME THAT ALL OF THAT CASH WAS COMING IN.

Woman

THERE WAS SO MUCH IN NEW YORK. FIGHTING FOR A FEW INCHES IN A NEWSPAPER WAS A REALLY DIFFICULT THING. I WOULD HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH GERRY, AND AT THAT TIME, HE WAS ANGRY, HE WAS GRIEVING, HE WAS IN DENIAL ABOUT THE COMPANY REALLY COLLAPSING AND THE FACT THAT WE MIGHT HAVE TO MOVE. AND THERE WAS A TRANSITION COMMITTEE CREATED BY SOME OF THE KEY BOARD MEMBERS TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MOVE THE JOFFREY TO CHICAGO. I THINK GERRY ARPINO RESISTED AT FIRST. I DON'T KNOW IF HE TRUSTED THAT THE COMPANY WOULD REALLY START UP AGAIN. WE FORMED A CHICAGO NOT-FOR-PROFIT CORPORATION. WE SAID TO WHAT WAS LEFT OF THE NEW YORK ORGANIZATION, "WE WILL TAKE THEM." AND IN '95, WE MOVED THEM TO CHICAGO. I THINK IT WAS SUCH A BOLD MOVE, TO SAY, WE ARE GOING TO TAKE A COMPANY THAT HAD ITS ROOTS AND ITS IDENTITY IN NEW YORK AND IT WAS GOING TO MOVE TO A PLACE, FRANKLY, THAT WAS NOT A DANCE CAPITAL IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM. AND THEY WERE GOING TO REALLY SEE IF THEY COULD BECOME AN INSTITUTION HERE.

Goldweber

THE COMPANY, WHEN THEY GOT TO CHICAGO, WAS A MESS. I GOT THERE -- THE DAY I ARRIVED, THEY WERE IN SEASON. SO I WENT TO THE THEATER AND THEY DIDN'T KNOW THE BOWS OF WHAT THEY WERE DOING THAT NIGHT AND PEOPLE WERE RUNNING INTO EACH OTHER ONSTAGE. YOU KNOW, TRANSITIONS ARE HARD. SO MANY DANCERS HAD LEFT SO THERE WASN'T THAT UNITY OF STYLE. THERE WERE MANY, MANY DANCERS FROM ALL OVER, SO WE WORKED REALLY HARD TO TRY AND DEVELOP A UNITY OF STYLE, TO REBUILD THE CLASSICAL TECHNIQUE OF THE COMPANY TO A LEVEL WHERE THEN THE COMPANY COULD GO OFF AND DO ANYTHING IT WANTED TO, JUST LIKE WHAT THE COMPANY WAS AT ITS GREATEST TIMES.

Woman

SO IT WAS AN ISSUE OF PUTTING "BILLBOARDS"TO BED AND FOCUSING BACK INTO THE HEART AND SOUL OF WHAT THE JOFFREY WAS -- THE ARPINO WORKS, THE JOFFREY WORKS, THE TIMELESS CLASSICS LIKE "THE GREEN TABLE," AND WHATEVER NEW WORKS WE HAD ALREADY MADE COMMITMENTS TO. JUST KEEP YOUR ATTITUDE A LITTLE HIGHER.

Sklute

I THINK IT WASN'T UNTIL THE MOVE TO CHICAGO THAT GERALD ARPINO REALLY BECAME ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE JOFFREY BALLET IN HIS OWN RIGHT. YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WITH THE MOVE TO CHICAGO, IT STOPPED BEING ROBERT JOFFREY'S COMPANY AND IT BECAME GERALD ARPINO'S COMPANY.

Man

MR. ARPINO HADN'T DABBLED IN A CHOREOGRAPHY IN A LONG TIME. AND I WAS HOME IN TEXAS, AND THEN HE CALLS. HE SAYS, "CAN YOU COME BACK TO CHICAGO SO YOU COULD WORK WITH MAIA? BECAUSE I'M GOING TO START TO CHOREOGRAPH A PAS DE DEUX." I WAS LIKE, "GREAT. WE NEED TO DO SOME WORK."

Arpino

WITH ME, IT'S A COLLABORATION. YOU WORK THROUGH MOVEMENT, AND IT'S THAT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ARTIST AND THE CHOREOGRAPHER THAT DEVELOPED THE ART FORM, WHICH IS THE IMPORTANT ASPECT OF WHY YOU'RE THERE, WORKING TOGETHER.

Woman

I THINK MR. ARPINO'S BEEN A HUGE INFLUENCE ON ME AS AN ARTIST, TO REALIZE THAT IT'S USING ONE'S TECHNIQUE AS A MEDIUM FOR EXPRESSION, WHICH ALL ART IS ABOUT. IT'S KIND OF TO REFLECT OUR WORLD BACK AND TO VIEW IT. TO ESCAPE TO SOME OTHER PLACE OR TO LOOK AT YOUR LIFE AND KIND OF BRING NEW PERSPECTIVES.

Shives

IT'S A POWERFUL PIECE, ONE OF HIS MASTERPIECES. I DON'T KNOW IF HE KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE HIS LAST WORK. NOBODY KNEW.

Sagan

THE SLOWDOWN WAS ENORMOUSLY PAINFUL. THIS WAS AN ENERGETIC PERSONALITY. LIVELY. ALWAYS THERE. ALWAYS WITH YOU. AND THEN HE BEGAN TO SUFFER FROM THE THINGS WHICH EVENTUALLY TOOK HIM FROM US. AND THAT WAS VERY HARD.

Narrator

AS GERRY ARPINO'S HEALTH BEGAN DECLINING, THE JOFFREY BOARD STARTED A NATIONAL SEARCH FOR HIS SUCCESSOR. IN SEPTEMBER 2007, THEY SELECTED FORMER JOFFREY DANCER ASHLEY WHEATER. 1, 2, 3, 4. GUYS, JUST TAKE TWO STEPS -- 1 AND 2 AND DOWN AND GO. I WORKED WITH GERALD ARPINO IN AUSTRALIA WHEN I WAS WITH THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET. AND GERRY SAID, "YOU KNOW, IF YOU EVER WANT TO COME TO NEW YORK, BOB JOFFREY WOULD REALLY LIKE YOU." AND I TOOK HIM UP ON IT, SO I MET MR. JOFFREY, AND HE'D SAID, "WE WANT YOU TO JOIN THE COMPANY."

Man

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S SO TREMENDOUS ABOUT ASHLEY IS THAT HE IS AWARE -- LIKE ROBERT JOFFREY, ACTUALLY -- OF WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE DANCE COMMUNITY WORLDWIDE. HE TRAVELS CONSTANTLY. HE TALKS TO PEOPLE. JUST COME TO WHERE YOU WERE.

Narrator

IN 2008, AFTER YEARS OF FUNDRAISING BY THE BOARD, THE FIRST PERMANENT HOME IN THE COMPANY'S HISTORY, JOFFREY TOWER, OPENED WITH GREAT FANFARE. IT WOULD ONLY BE FITTING IF THIS STUDIO WAS NAMED FOR ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE. THIS STUDIO IS THE GERALD ARPINO STUDIO.

APPLAUSE

Narrator

THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. BUT SADLY, JUST A MONTH AFTER THE JOFFREY TOWER OPENING, GERRY ARPINO DIED AFTER A LONG ILLNESS. HE WAS 85. I MISS HIS BRAVOS UP IN THE BOX, YOU KNOW. HE WAS ALWAYS THERE -- "BRAVO!" EVERY PERFORMANCE, EVERY PERFORMANCE.

Goldweber

AND THE FIRST TIME I SAW HIM, HE WAS PUTTING HIS FINGERS TO HIS MOUTH AND RUNNING BEHIND A CURTAIN TO WHISTLE, BECAUSE HE WAS THE BIGGEST CHEERLEADER AND HE WANTED THE AUDIENCE RILED UP.

APPLAUSE

Goldweber

ROBERT JOFFREY AND GERALD ARPINO SHAPED MY LIFE. I MEAN, I WAS 18 WHEN I CAME HERE. I JUST FEEL LIKE THEY WERE, IN A WAY, ALMOST PARENTS TO ME. WITHOUT THEM, I WOULDN'T BE THE TEACHER THAT I AM TODAY.

Watts

THEY GAVE ME AN ATMOSPHERE WHERE I FELT SAFE AND WHERE I FELT CARED FOR AND LOVED. THEY BELIEVED IN ME. AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT I TREASURE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. MY GREAT GIFT WAS HAVING MY LIFE INTERSECT WITH THEIRS WHEN I WAS 17.

Tomasson

I CAN HONESTLY SAY, THOSE YEARS THAT ARE SPENT WITH JOFFREY, HE WAS SORT OF OPENING THE DOOR TO CONTEMPORARY CHOREOGRAPHERS, MODERN DANCE CHOREOGRAPHERS. THAT HAS INFLUENCED ME TREMENDOUSLY AS AN ARTISTIC DIRECTOR. I WILL ALWAYS BE GRATEFUL TO BOB FOR THAT.

Gurin-Paul

THEY BELIEVED SO MUCH IN THE ART FORM. AND THEY LOVED IT WITH SUCH A PASSION THAT NOTHING WAS GOING TO STAND IN THEIR WAY, AND I THINK THAT'S PART OF BEING A MAVERICK -- YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE GUTS, YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE THE GRIT -- THEY HAD GRIT.

Sklute

THE JOFFREY BALLET DID MORE THAN JUST PRODUCE DANCE. I THINK YOU CAN SEE, ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND ACROSS THE WORLD, THE AMOUNT OF DIRECTORS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS AND DANCERS THAT HAVE ALL COME FROM THE JOFFREY BALLET.

Weiss

YOU KNOW, THE JOFFREY REALLY IS STILL IN THE MAKING. IT'S STILL REINVENTING ITSELF. IT'S STILL CREATING A NEW IMAGE FOR ITSELF.

Sagan

THE JOFFREY TODAY IS IN A TERRIFIC PLACE. THEY HAVE STABILITY, THEY HAVE A REAL HOME AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO GROW IN NEW WORK IN THE BALLET FIELD IS RIGHT THERE WAITING.

Arpino

BOB HAD AN AMERICAN DREAM. I'VE BEEN INVOLVED FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. AND EVEN BEFORE THE BEGINNING. EVEN BEFORE THE BEGINNING.

APPLAUSE

Arpino

To learn more about the Joffrey Ballet and other American masters, visit pbs.org/americanmasters or find us on Facebook. "Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance" is available on DVD for $24.99. To order, call 1-800-336-1917