Joffrey Robert, born Abdullah Jaffa Anver Bey Khan, *24 December 1930 Seattle (Washington), †25 March 1988 New York, dancer, choreographer, teacher, and ballet director of Afghan-Italian descent. He studied under M.A. Wells in Seattle, and later at the School of American Ballet and the High School of Performing Arts in New York. In 1949–50, he was a dancer with R. Petit’s Ballets de Paris, and in 1950–53, he collaborated as a dancer with M. O’Donnell’s company in New York and taught at the High School of Performing Arts, where he prepared his first choreographies with his students. In 1953, he founded his own school, the American Ballet Centre, and in 1954, a group called the Robert Joffrey Ballet Concert. From 1956, he ran the Robert Joffrey Ballet (renamed the City Centre Joffrey Ballet in 1966) in New York together with G. Arpin as chief choreographer. In 1977, the company changed its name to the Joffrey Ballet and established a second headquarters in Los Angeles, where it also performed frequently. After the death of its founder, the company left New York and has since been based in Chicago, also performing as a guest on other stages in the United States. The company’s repertoire included works by Joffrey and Arpin, as well as the most outstanding ballets by leading choreographers of the 20th century and various artists of the younger generation.
Ballets: Persephone, music by R. Silverman, 1952; Scaramouche, music by J. Strauss 1952; Umpateedle, music by J. Strauss, 1953; Pas des déesses, music by J. Field, 1954; Le bal masqué, music by F. Poulenc, 1954; Pierrot lunaire, music by A. Schönberg, 1955; Harpsichord Concerto in B Minor, music by M. de Falla, 1955; Persephone (new version), music by A. Vivaldi, 1955; Workout, music by R. McBride, 1956; The Ball, music by E. Chabrier, 1956; Within Four Walls, music by J. Wilson, 1956; Kaleidoscope, music by G. Gershwin, 1956; Gamelan, music by L. Harrison, 1962; Astarte, music by Crome Syrcus Band, 1967; Remembrances, music by R. Wagner, 1973; Postcards, 1980, music by E. Satie, 1980.
Joffrey also collaborated as a choreographer with the Rambert Ballet in London (1955), and between 1957 and 1962 he created numerous choreographies for opera performances at the New York City Opera Company, as well as for the 1960 staging of Handel’s Alcina at the Dallas Civic Opera. From the 1960s onwards, however, he concentrated primarily on directing his own company and teaching at the American Ballet Centre, where he also founded the City Centre Joffrey II Company youth ensemble in 1970. He was a judge at international ballet competitions and one of the co-founders and co-chairs (with Russian choreographer J. Grigorovich) of the Dance Committee of the International Theatre Institute (ITI) under the auspices of UNESCO. He went down in the history of world ballet as one of the most important creators and promoters of American ballet.
Literature: A. Fatt, The Capricorn Combine, “Dance Magazine” 1970 no. 10; O. Maynard The Joffrey, “Dance Magazine” 1974 no. 11; M. Whitney The Joffrey Ballet XXV, New York 1981 (jubilee folder); A. Kisselgoff Robert Joffrey. His Great American Dream, “Ballet International” 1988 nos. 6/7; G. Dorris The Choreography of Robert Joffrey: A Preliminary Checklist, “Dance Chronicle” 1989 no. 1; S. Anawalt The Joffrey Ballet: Robert Joffrey and the Making of an American Dance Company, New York 1996.
