A Robert Joffrey Masterclass Online

What an unexpected “turn out” we had for our inaugural A Robert Joffrey Masterclass Online, July 1-2, 2020.  Many thanks to the many enthusiastic participants who joined us from around the country for two days of Lecture Demonstration and Masterclass.  Charthel Arthur, executive director of the Gerald Arpino Foundation, led the event with exercises and insight from classes that had been taught to her by Robert Joffrey.  Also there were special appearances by April Daly and Joanna Wozniak of The Joffrey Ballet and Amber Bailey from Fort Wayne Ballet.  Accompanying on the piano was the wonderful pianist, Colin DeJong of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.

The Lecture Demonstration offered an overview of Robert Joffrey the master teacher with interviews and vintage footage, ending with an in-depth description of Mr. Joffrey’s exercises.  The Zoom masterclass was held the next day, again led by Charthel Arthur and demonstrations by dancers from The Joffrey Ballet and Fort Wayne Ballet.  Colin DeJong accompanied on the piano.  A Q&A session was held at the end.

The response was unanimously “Yes” for another masterclass!  We are looking forward to bringing a new masterclass to both returning and new participants.  The class is geared for advanced ballet students and teachers who are looking for insight and background about Robert Joffrey, the master teacher.  Please visit our Facebook page for updates.  Click HERE

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Confetti staged during Covid-19

Ballet Ensemble of Texas                                                         Cathy Vanover photography

Our first staging done on Zoom! What a team effort by all.  First ,we thank Ballet Ensemble of Texas artistic directors, Lisa Slagle and Thom Clower for being brave enough to endeavor into the unknown.  Second, a big thank you to repetiteur Charthel Arthur for her patience and determination to stage the ballet via Zoom.  And thirdly to the young and brilliant dancers who took all the information and transformed it into reality!  We’re excited for the ballet to be performed on Jan 17, 2021 at Coppell Arts Center with a limited and socially distanced audience.  It will also be presented at YAGP this spring.

Light Rain by Three Companies

photo credit: Nevada Ballet Theatre dancers in rehearsal

photo credit: St. Louis Ballet dancers in rehearsal

Gerald Arpino’s Light Rain will be performed simultaneously the weekend of Feb 16-17, 2019 with three different dance companies.  St. Louis Ballet and Nevada Ballet Theatre will present the iconic pas de deux in their mixed repertory program.  Butler Ballet/Butler University will present the ballet in its entirety utilizing a cast of fourteen dancers.  Gerald Arpino created this ballet to showcase the new young dancers of the company. “It is my gift to these talented youngsters…I am inspired by their modes and rituals, their passions.”  Middle Eastern rhythms fused together with an unusual combination of banjo, violin, mandolin, bass, drums and bamboo flute give Light Rain its distinctive mesmerizing and hypnotic sound.

Trinity revival at Dayton Ballet

photo credit: Charthel Arthur Estner, repetiteur for the Gerald Arpino Foundation rehearses Dayton Ballet dancers as Dermot Burke, former Artistic Director/former Joffrey Ballet dancer looks on.

photo credit: Dayton Ballet dancers in Trinity

Gerald Arpino’s Trinity makes its revival with Dayton Ballet’s Perspective program on Feb 14-17, 2019.  Considered culturally ahead of its time, Trinity is a ballet choreographed by the late Gerald Arpino, co-founder and former artistic director of the Joffrey Ballet. While the Vietnam War was raging, America’s youth united in protests and celebrations with a new sense of freedom and exhilaration. The word “trinity” in this work represents three sentiments prevalent in the culture of the late ’60’s and early ’70’s: love, power, and peace. Trinity became the most famous of the Arpino pieces called the Berkeley ballets. Created during the Joffrey’s residence at the University of California at Berkeley, Trinity is a joyful tribute to youth, their passions and rituals.