The JOFFREY BALLET: Robert Joffrey and the Making of An American Dance CompanyRobert Joffrey was born and raised in Seattle, the son of immigrants who had arrived on the West Coast in pursuit of the American Dream. From an early age he was a natural performer, inventing tap dance routines in the manner of his idol, Fred Astaire, and playing the tambourine in his parents' restaurant. He came to ballet as an eleven year old, learning basic techniques from a Russian. It was in the hands of idiosyncratic teacher Mary Ann Wells that