Joffrey generations: expanding the territory.

Dayton, Ohio, would not seem to be the first place one would look for evidence of the lasting impact of Robert Joffrey, late cofounder of the Joffrey Ballet, who died in 1988--unless you knew Dermot Burke, executive director of Dayton Ballet. Burke spent eleven years dancing with the Joffrey, from 1965 to 1976, the period he believes was definitive in the history of that company. It certainly was definitive for Burke. He considers himself a disciple of what he calls the "Joffrey aesthetic," and in many ways he is building his own company and its repertoire around it.

Just last month Dayton Ballet premiered "The Joffrey Legacy," a repertoire program of five works at the Victoria Theatre, the 1,100-seat home of Dayton Ballet. All five choreographers, including Burke, were once colleagues under Joffrey in that period. "It's a reunion of sorts,"--Burke says. "All five names in one place. We all experienced the same things, but we will all have different points of view. Our musical choices are all very different."

In addition to the company premiere of Burke's Still Lifes, Dayton Ballet will present three world premieres--Very Saxy by Robert Estner, ballet master of Grand Rapids Ballet; Conversations by Christian Holder, a freelance choreographer based in New York City; and Inextinguishable by Jeffrey Graham Hughes, most recently interim artistic director of Hong Kong Ballet--and one American premiere, Preludes by Luis Fuente, ballet master of Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. They are, says Burke, some of the "very unusual group of artists" associated with the Joffrey during that time. He believes Dayton Ballet is the first company to honor Joffrey and to present a program of works solely by Joffrey alumni.

"This group is what you might call the second generation of Joffrey dancers," Burke continues. "These were master dancers. I may be prejudiced, but I think this was a very rare group--very focused and with very strong points of view."

Burke believes their 1965-76 period with the Joffrey was definitive because both Joffrey and Gerald Arpino were working in the studio at that time. Joffrey's memorable mixed-media Astarte, premiered in 1967, put the Joffrey on the cover of Time magazine--the first ballet company so honored. Arpino's signature work, The Clowns, came the next year, and his rock ballet Trinity premiered in 1971. The directors also had begun to seek out work by cutting-edge choreographers of the time, such as Alvin Ailey and Twyla Tharp. Tharp's groundbreaking Deuce Coupe and As Time Goes By premiered in 1973. Just as significant were the revivals of neglected important works from the past, such as Kurt Jooss's The Green Table in 1967, Leonide Massine's The Three-Cornered Hat and Frederick Ashton's Facade in 1969, and Michel Fokine's Petrouchka in 1970. It was a stimulating approach to repertoire, a challenging one for the dancers, and one that helped change the face of American ballet, Burke believes.

"Yes, I was sore; yes, I was tired. But it was very exciting," Burke says. "They were focused on the product. They were doing breakthrough, crossover sorts of stuff, expanding the concept of what dance could be. We toured all over the country in those years, and without a single full-length ballet."

During this highly productive time at the Joffrey, the dancers were encouraged to be part of the creative process. "We were doing so much new work," he says. "We, the dancers, were involved. It was a very open working environment. Our personal investment in what the company was doing was amazing."

Joffrey and Arpino's encouragement paid off--not only for their company but eventually for ballet in general. Many of the dancers from this period have graduated to significant careers as teachers, choreographers, or artistic directors of their own companies. For them there has definitely been "life after Joffrey" to an extent that Burke and others think is quite remarkable. They are building legacies of their own--like Burke in the American heartland--or elsewhere around the globe.

"I don't think it's typical," Burke says. "But knowing these people, it doesn't surprise me. As performers they all had very strong statements to make. It isn't surprising that, as their lives changed, they had to find other avenues to express themselves."

Christian Holder agrees. He has, in fact, begun working on a book on this very topic. Holder says, "Starting after the Harkness years"--wealthy patron Rebekah Harkness supported Joffrey up until 1964--"and through the first City Center years, Joffrey gathered artistic individuals to make up his company, individuals who could stand alone as principals and soloists but also meld together as a company. All these people--Helgi Tomasson, Lawrence Rhodes, Margo Sappington, Dennis Nahat, Dermot Burke--have contributed enormously, and all of them passed through his doors. It was a very rich time."

While they agree that Joffrey had a remarkable eye for picking out talent, Holder and Burke have different explanations for Joffrey's motivation. Burke looks at it in altruistic terms. Holder sees it more as a marketing necessity: The Joffrey was playing in New York City, and it had to have something to distinguish it from the bigger companies already there. "We were the new kids on the block," Holder says. "We couldn't be ABT or City Ballet. Joffrey went after dancers who would grab the audience's eye and hold it. I think he felt he needed something special."

Whether it was serendipity or incredible foresight really doesn't matter, Burke believes. The result speaks--and is still speaking--for itself. In addition to the people from whom Burke has commissioned work, an impressive number of other former Joffrey dancers from the same period also have gone on to significant positions. Edith D'Addario, director of the Joffrey Ballet School for thirty-five years and now codirector with Arpino of the Joffrey Ballet Center Concert Dancers [see sidebar on page 75], has seen them all come and go on--or in some cases, come back. She lists the following as prime examples of what Burke is talking about:

* Charthel Arthur--artistic director of Grand Rapids Ballet (and married to Estner).

* Zelma Bustillo--a teacher at the Joffrey Ballet School (and married to Fuente, ballet master of Joffrey Ballet of Chicago).

* Gary Chryst--a choreographer and now dancer with Netherlands Dance Theater 3, a company for performers forty or older.

* Francesca Corckle--now a teacher at the Joffrey Ballet School.

* Ann Marie DeAngelo present assistant to Arpino at Joffrey Ballet of Chicago.

* William Forsythe--a choreographer of international importance and artistic director of Frankfurt Ballet.

* Philip Jerry--a choreographer and former ballet master of American Repertory Ballet, now special assistant to the president of the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

* Kevin McKenzie--former principal dancer and now the artistic director of American Ballet Theatre.

* Dennis Nahat--a choreographer and artistic director of Cleveland/San Jose Ballet, which he cofounded with the late Ian Horvath, also a former Joffrey dancer of this period.

* Margo Sappington--a solo dancer and choreographer who recently cofounded the Daring Company with Valentina Koslova.

* Trinette Singleton--a teacher at the Joffrey Ballet School and artistic director of Bravo Dance.

* Michael Uthoff--artistic director of Ballet Arizona.

Both Helgi Tomasson, artistic director of San Francisco Ballet, and Lawrence Rhodes, artistic director of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, were in the Joffrey in the early 1960s but left after the split with the Harkness Foundation. "This is an incredibly large proportion of dancers who have gone on," says D'Addario. "I think it is because Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino taught them a great love of ballet and respect for it."

"The youthfulness of the dancers at that time showed the repertoire off to its best," says Nahat. He added, "Robert Joffrey was the epitome of the teacher. He taught you how to be in ballet, how serious it could be, how to present yourself. He taught aesthetic values. The Cleveland Ballet is like that. We try to do it all."

That goal is now what Burke sets for his company. Dayton Ballet is one of the country's oldest regional ballet companies, founded in 1937 by Josephine and Hermene Schwarz. Burke was named executive director of the Dayton Ballet Association in 1992, and serves in the dual capacity of chief administrative officer and artistic director. He is also a trustee of Dance USA, and cochairs its artists' council. He has choreographed for Milwaukee Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, American Repertory Ballet, and, of course, Dayton Ballet. Prior to Dayton, he was associate ballet master of the Joffrey, resident choreographer of Milwaukee Ballet, and then artistic director of American Repertory Ballet. Dayton Ballet is comprised of nineteen dancers; presents four programs a year, including more than twenty performances of The Nutcracker; and supports an active ballet academy and a preprofessional troupe, DB II.

"I paid my dues. Now I think I've died and gone to heaven," Burke says of his current position. His company both rehearses and performs in its home, is operating in the black, and has no accumulated deficit.

In addition to The Nutcracker, Dayton Ballet presents one other full-length traditional ballet annually. This year it was Romeo and Juliet, which opened on Valentine's Day ("Marketing, marketing"). The other two Dayton seasons are repertoire programs with the focus on premieres. Burke is hoping that next year he can do a "part two" of "The Joffrey Legacy." He plans to commission works from former Joffrey ballerinas. And he hopes that his choices of repertoire will be as successful as those made for the Joffrey when he was a member of the company.

"What I got from Joffrey was an approach to repertoire that I carry with me always," he says. "It has changed American ballet. It has had a profound influence.

"The impact of the neoclassicism of Mr. Balanchine certainly is very profound and is widely recognized. The impact of what Joffrey did will take more time. It is still being measured."

RELATED ARTICLE: YOUNGER JOFFREY GENERATION

Joffrey Ballet of Chicago will continue to be a presence in its old hometown. A second company--Joffrey Ballet Center Concert Dancers--has been formed in New York City under the joint direction of Gerald Arpino and Edith D'Addario, director of the Joffrey Ballet School in Manhattan.

The company consists of ten Joffrey apprentices drawn from the school who will perform a diverse repertoire, give lecture demonstrations, visit classrooms, and participate in master classes. Edward Morgan, a former principal with the Joffrey, is artistic director. Gail D'Addario is artistic advisor. Daniel Scott is production director.

"I'm so excited that my students will have more opportunities to perform," says Edith D'Addario. "They say life begins at forty, and in this fortieth anniversary year this feels like a new beginning."