Director of Joffrey Ballet to step aside

The Joffrey Ballet’s Gerald Arpino will step aside July 1 as artistic director of the troupe he co-founded 50 years ago, signaling a momentous change for the world-renowned company, which has been based in Chicago for the last 11 years.

When the new artistic director is in place, which could be this fall, the Joffrey will be led by someone other than a co-founder for the first time in its history. The troupe’s namesake, Robert Joffrey, died in 1988.

“I feel emeritus,” Arpino, 83, joked when asked if assuming the title of artistic director emeritus, announced Friday, suits him. But he stressed that he isn’t leaving.

“I’ll always be there,” Arpino said. “As long as I’m alive, I’ll see that the Joffrey maintains its innovation and role as a home for American dance.”

The announcement comes amid other changes. Adam Sklute, a co-artistic director, is leaving to head Ballet West in Salt Lake City, and just this week ballet master Mark Goldweber revealed he will be joining Sklute.