robert joffrey

English - English

Definition of robert joffrey in English English dictionary: an American ballet dancer and Choreographer (=someone who arranges how dancers will move) . He started the American Ballet Centre, a school for dancers, in 1953, and a ballet group in 1956. His ballet group later became the Joffrey Ballet, one of the most important ballet groups in the US (1930-1988). orig. Abdullah Jaffa Bey Khan born Dec. 24, 1930, Seattle, Wash., U.S. died March 25, 1988, New York, N.Y. U.S. dancer and choreographer, founder-director of the Joffrey Ballet. He was the son of an Afghan father and an Italian-born mother. He studied dance in Seattle and later in New York, opened a ballet school in 1953, and in 1954 formed the first of several groups. In 1956 he founded the Robert Joffrey (later simply Joffrey) Ballet with Gerald Arpino (b. 1928). The company gained international fame and toured widely. In 1965 it became affiliated with the New York City Center. Joffrey's ballets include Persephone (1952), Astarte (1967), Remembrances (1973), and Postcards (1980). After Joffrey's death, Arpino became director; in 1995 he moved the company to Chicago, renaming it the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago

robert joffrey