Mr. A

Gerald Arpino, co-founder and Artistic Director Emeritus of the Joffrey Ballet passed away yesterday.

A nice man that loved dance and his dancers more than anything. He was a bit of a character - always sitting in the same seat at the theatre (front lower box, stage left) and being the first to shout out "Bravo!" to get the crowd started. Most often you would see him wearing a sweatshirt with USA blazing across the front and a scarf (usually white).

He had a vain streak. He lied about his age (rumor was that he even doctored his birth certificate) and had either the worst toupe or really bad black hair dye. He was also very protective of his people. After Robert Joffrey died, no one was allowed to acknowledge that he really died of AIDS or that he was gay. In fact, when I worked there one of the staff gave me a book about the Joffrey and I had to hide it! True story.

He was always in a good mood saying hi to everyone as he came in to work. (He consitently called me Jackie, but who cares? --Mr. A was saying hi!) The first time I met him was at our office Xmas party. I had just started working there and was introduced to him. He said I looked like Susan Jaffe who was one of my favorite ABT ballerinas. He made my day. That was his way. Even when he wasn't quite "all there", he was genuinely nice to everyone.

This year Joffrey's Nutcracker will be a little bittersweet, but Mr. A's version of Waltz of the Flowers is still my favorite version and I'll think of him with every petal that drops.