Joffrey Dancers Sidestep Question of Blame : Dance: Despite a continuing ‘civil war,’ many of the company members are united in their support of departed co-founder Gerald Arpino.

At their hangouts--the downtown brasserie Gorky’s and Stanley Holden’s Westside ballet school where they often take class--Joffrey dancers talk ceaselessly about the upheaval that has threatened the 35-year-old company’s very existence.

Who and what is to blame for co-founder Gerald Arpino’s out-of-the-blue resignation, which came two weeks ago on the eve of the Joffrey Ballet’s Music Center opening?

Since Arpino’s resignation, the subsequent ban on performing his works and the revelation of the company’s financial problems, the dancers have had additional pressures--adjusting to program changes almost daily (Arpino works have been removed from tonight’s program), and last week they received their weekly paychecks two days late (in cash and without their daily $110 allotment for expenses).

One dancer characterized the current crisis as “a civil war involving lots of intrigue, a power grab.”

Among the many other comments from dancers, there is consensus on one issue: support for Arpino, who, since Saturday, has been in direct negotiations with the Joffrey board of directors--talks that may result in Arpino’s return to the company. “Without Jerry there is no company,” said Carole Valleskey, a Joffrey dancer since 1976. “Half of its identity came from him and the other half from Bob (Joffrey). We all knew that. Nothing has changed.

“But the current crisis--which now, thank God, shows signs of being resolved--is tied to our mourning (for Joffrey, who died two years ago). Because of our grief and bewilderment there was miscommunication. Things went sour. People--those from the artistic, the money and the management areas--were not comfortable working with each other.”

Valleskey, who dances in Arpino’s new “TWO-A-DAY” and “Suite Saint-Saens,” admitted that the immediate problem facing the company is fiscal--a nearly $2-million debt that caught personnel and board members off guard.

The situation, fragile because pledge-holding patrons could be scared off, is one that Joffrey administrators prefer to keep out of the media. Consequently, most dancers sought to avoid voicing their opinions publicly.

But Beatriz Rodriguez, another veteran, feels an urgency to speak.

“We want to dance,” she said. “We need to dance. But time is against us. We have to hurry up and clear the problem--in order to go on.”

Even though she does not specialize in the Arpino ballets, Rodriguez acknowledges their importance in the repertory. However, she says the present strife has less to do with an artist-management impasse than personal relations.

“What’s going on is typical of human nature,” she said. “It’s no different than when a choreographer comes in and announces: ‘You’re in and you’re out.’ It’s all discretionary. And as dancers, even within the illusions of the stage, we deal with real-life problems.”

While most dancers feel loyalty to Arpino, a number of them want to stay regardless of what happens with the artistic direction. One new member, concerned enough for his continued employment with the Joffrey that he requested anonymity, did not declare allegiance to anyone.

“I would actually like to see some Balanchine ballets in the repertory,” he said, ignoring the Joffrey’s role as an alternative to the New York City Ballet, or its unique collection of avant-garde and 20th-Century narrative classics.

Rookies and stalwarts alike were shocked initially by Arpino’s stepping down just before the month-long Music Center engagement.

“My first feeling was disbelief,” recalled Carl Corry, now in his 13th year with the Joffrey. “But after talking to Jerry he bore out what I suspected--that his stand was a protest against wrongs being committed.

“It was a courageous thing to do and self-sacrificing. The only solution now--and I would die a thousand deaths if my saying so hurt the company--is for Jerry to come back, money to be raised and the house to be cleaned.”

Corry mentioned that deficits and late paychecks are nothing new, citing the time 10 years ago when “we were laid off for six months.”

He agreed with others that the death of Robert Joffrey “is only now being felt. The entire company must come to grips with who its head is, the co-founder, and faith must be put in him.”

Valleskey explained a more subtle aspect of the crucial post that balances matters creative and financial: “What we have with our artistic director is a hands-on working experience, one that defines the magic of our art. But board members who help us fund it don’t understand what that process is. . .so they miss all the pleasure, and instead are called in as referees. I feel sorry for them.

“From all this turmoil, though, I sense something stronger is emerging. Above all, the dancers desperately want to ensure the company’s future. We’ll do everything we can. Just watch us.”