Abdullah Jaffa Bey Khan was born in Seattle in 1930. His father was from Afghanistan and his mother was Italian. There’s no predicting who will decide they can’t live without ballet, but those with the calling are fated to find their way there. At nine, the boy who become Robert Joffrey began taking ballet to help with his asthma. He never looked back. Joffrey co-founded the Joffrey Ballet with his partner Gerald Arpino. Their company had a younger spirit than the New York City Ballet or American Ballet Theatre. It drafted off the counterculture and pop culture in exciting ways, while also embracing the classics, especially the work of Frederick Ashton. The Joffrey invited everyone to classical dance, not with a gilt-edged card but with a “come as you are.” The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, located at Lincoln Center, presents an exhibition that looks at the challenges, ingenuity, and dedication it took to build this great American company. —Laura Jacobs