Leafing through the pages, one sees the early founding period, with vintage photos of Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino as vibrant young men; reconstructions of landmark works like Nijinsky's wild and raw Rile of Spring, Jooss' antiwar Green Table, and Ashton's serene Monotones; the choreographic discoveries of choreographers like Twyla Tharp and Joanna Haigood; and Arpino's signature ballets like his electric Light Rain.

Besides Campbell, Malcolm McDowell as a character based closely on Joffrey artistic director Gerald Arpino and James Franco as a nondancer who has a romance with Campbell's ballerina, most of the characters in the film are played by real Joffrey dancers.

JOFFREY BALLET OF CHICAGO: This esteemed company will cook up a program comprising works by choreographer Gerald Arpino, including the world premiere of Footnotes for RJ, a tribute to the late ballet giant Robert Joffrey, who succumbed to AIDS complications in 1988.