Arpino Will Let Joffrey Use His Ballets for Rest of Season

In a break in the impasse between the management of the embattled Joffrey Ballet and its former artistic director Gerald Arpino, it was announced Tuesday that Arpino has “agreed that the company may use the Arpino ballets” during the remainder of its season at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

However, no ballets choreographed by Arpino will be back on the schedule until May 25 and 27 when “Italian Suite” and “Trinity” will be performed as originally scheduled. Tonight’s and Thursday’s performances, which originally included Arpino works, will stand as changed. “Plans had already been set in motion for those performances,” a spokesman said.

John Cranko’s “Romeo and Juliet” already had been scheduled for the eight performances from Friday through May 24.

A brief statement issued by the Joffrey public relations firm said: “Discussions are continuing between Gerald Arpino and the Board of the Foundation for the Joffrey Ballet in a very positive and optimistic fashion.”

Arpino is in New York. Meanwhile board members in Los Angeles and New York have been trying to resolve the impasse.

Arpino resigned from the debt-stricken company May 1 over a power struggle with the board. On May 10, several key board members, including co-chairman David Murdock, the Los Angeles real estate magnate and multimillionaire who helped bring the Joffrey to Los Angeles in 1983, resigned.

However, it was learned that Murdock is hardly out of the picture and may even be quietly involved in the negotiations. Asked whether Murdock hadn’t already walked away from the Joffrey, a key Music Center source said: “You have to know David to know he would never do that.”

The Joffrey faces a nearly $2-million deficit, including $800,000 in back payroll taxes. Murdock reportedly had offered to help erase the deficit.