Ballet

The first thing you need for a story ballet is a compelling reason to tell the story in dance.This is not the only element missing from Ballet Theater of Annapolis' "Dracula," but it's the most important one.For much of the new ballet, created in observance of the 100th anniversary of Bram Stoker's Victorian thriller, choreographer Edward Stewart hasn't made enough dance steps to fill up the music. Nor has he paid very much attention to the novel, as you can tell from such gaffes as Dracula's death.

One of Santa's helpers, a man who tilts at windmills, and Toto, too, will be part of the 2013-2014 season of the Modell Performing Arts Center at The Lyric. One of the country's most distinguished dance companies, the Joffrey Ballet, is also scheduled. Based on the hit film of the same name, "Elf" is a musical with a score by Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin, a book by Thomas Meehan (his credits include "Hairspray") and Bob Martin. The family show, which has been a presence at holiday time on Broadway, will play the Lyric Nov. 22 to Nov. 24. The plot follows the adventures of an orphan who winds up working with the other elves at the North Pole, figures out he's human, and heads to New York to find his father and, of course, what is invariably called the true spirit of Christmas.

Dracula, the Transylvanian count with an appetite for blood, lived in a decaying castle in Varna, now in Bulgaria. Varna is also the site of the International Ballet Competition, which travels between Moscow, Bulgaria and Jackson, Miss.Until now, this was the only known connection between Dracula and ballet. However, the 100th anniversary of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel has inspired a number of vampire ballets.Ballet Theater of Annapolis is one of several companies paying homage to the centenary.

The Harford Ballet Company, resident company of the Dance Conservatory of Maryland, is headlining its spring production with "Beauty and the Beast. " Featuring local Harford County students, the performances will take place June 8 at 6 p.m. and June 9 at 1 p.m. at Bel Air High School. The performance will open with Harford Ballet Company, joined by students from the Dance Conservatory of Maryland, in a mixed bill performance featuring DCM's recreational dance forms. Harford Ballet Company will also be presenting the world premier of "Smells Like Teen Spirit.

When Loyola College invited the Maryland Ballet to take up residency at McManus Theater, it was like "manna from heaven," says artistic director Phillip Carman.This past winter and spring, the company, suffering financial shortfalls made worse by the recession and the Persian Gulf war, canceled two weekends of performances at the Baltimore Museum of Art.The Loyola offer allows the ballet to close its fifth anniversary season with performances tomorrow through Sunday, featuring "Tarantella" -- a pas de deux by George Balanchine -- and two world premieres by Carman.

Faced by a budget shortfall, the Maryland Ballet has canceled all performances this weekend at the Baltimore Museum of Art and laid off its 12 dancers for at least a month and a half.Daniel Kane, co-founder of the 5-year-old company, said the board has decided to re-evaluate the organization's goals in view of its financial obligations before resuming the company's costly performance schedule.Meanwhile, the Maryland Ballet will fulfill its contracted obligations to perform in February at Loch Haven College in Harrisburg and at Dundalk Community College in May. The dancers will be paid per performance.

How many times can we hear the music of "Porgy and Bess"? Luckily, many, as the opera is ubiquitous in this year of George Gershwin's centennial.Dallas Black Dance Theater is bringing a ballet version of Catfish Row to the Kennedy Center this weekend, featuring a legendary performance of the music.Hope Clarke, who choreographed the Opera America/Houston Grand Opera co-production of "Porgy" that toured the country in 1987, created this dance interpretation. The score is the jazz recording made by Miles Davis in 1958, with additional music by pops conductor Richard Hyman.

In Marthe Wright's ballet class the students wear leotards, tights, dance slippers and sometimes diapers.Dancers ages 2 and 3 toddle into her studio at Slayton House in Howard County for their beloved Miss Marthe's weekly Tiny Tot classes. She is one of few ballet teachers in Howard County to offer classes for students this young, said Carol Black, 'u community liaison for Slayton House.So many children have swarmed to the Tiny Tot classes that the Slayton House expanded the program from one class to four a week.

JACKSON, Miss. -- On opening night of the USA International Ballet Competition, dancers from 23 nations dressed in Capezio warm-up suits rather than their usual tights and tutus and marched across the stage waving the flags of their native countries. Their bodies are as toned as an Olympic athlete's, their ballet slippers have long been broken in and they come from around the world with dreams of promenading their way toward a gold medal or perhaps a spot in a prestigious dance troupe.

What is Christmas all about, anyway? Is it the hustle and bustle of last-minute shopping? Is it buying -- and receiving -- presents? Or could it be remembering that one special thing that made the holiday seem wonderful to you. Each day from now until Dec. 25 we'll pass on some tips or thoughts about the holiday season.I guess it's like when you stop believing in Santa Claus.Just this past weekend, it dawned on me: not that there wasn't a Santa Claus (I'd figured that out a good two, three years ago)

Ballet Theatre of Maryland concluded its 35th season - and artistic director Dianna Cuatto's 10th full season - with an eclectic Director's Choice program showcasing the versatility and strengths of dancers. Four of the five works in the ensemble were choreographed by Cuatto. As staged by Amanda McKerrow, famed choreographer Antony Tudor's "Continuo" was a stunning outpouring of free movement, perfectly executed by the troupe. Cuatto's patriotic salute, "American Ballads," presented a spirited Red dance to "The Star-Spangled Banner," a White dance to the lyrical "America the Beautiful" and a Blue dance to the soulful "Were You There?"

Mavis S. "Sherry" Sheedy, a retired Baltimore public schools art teacher and longtime museum docent, died April 4 of congestive heart failure at Carroll Hospital Center in Westminster. The Reisterstown resident was 74. The daughter of a civil engineer and a registered nurse, Mavis Sherron Grantham was born and raised in Whitney, Texas, where she graduated in 1956 from Whitney High School. She earned a bachelor's degree in 1960 in Spanish from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and later earned a master's degree in art education from Towson University.

If there is a single work that captures the essence of America in sound and movement, it's "Appalachian Spring," the ballet with music by Aaron Copland and choreography by Martha Graham that premiered in 1944 at the Library of Congress. Although the sonic part of the piece is never out of earshot, thanks to the perennially performed orchestral suite Copland fashioned from the score, the opportunity to experience the music and dance in its original form doesn't come around every day. Since last fall, students at the Baltimore School for the Arts have been delving into the ballet from every angle, preparing for "An Appalachian Spring Festival," an interdisciplinary project that includes an art exhibit, a concert and panel discussions.

Ballet Theatre of Maryland's production of "Frontier: The War of 1812 on the Chesapeake" comes to the Chesapeake Arts Center at 3 p.m. March 17 as part of the Performing Arts Association of Linthicum. The show continues the association's season bringing historic events alive in performance. This acclaimed ballet, capturing the spirit of the young United States, was inspired by the letters and memoirs of Dolley Madison and other women of the period. It depicts major events of the conflict, from the declaration of war and the burning of Washington, D.C., to the battle of Fort McHenry and the writing of "The Star-Spangled Banner.

Ballet Theatre of Maryland opened its 35th season, and 10th with artistic director Dianna Cuatto at the helm, with the fireworks of a world-premiere ballet. Known for enchanting audiences with classic tales at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, Cuatto summoned new choreographic wizardry for her personal favorite, "The Dancing Princesses," a lesser-known Grimm fairy tale. Striving to deliver "a dramatic retelling in dance where I could create an amazing new secret world of magic," Cuatto achieved her goal and more.

Not sure what to expect, I signed up recently for my first class in barre, a combination of Pilates, yoga and ballet. I wasn't too worried about the physical challenge because I am a runner and in good shape. I've also danced and am no stranger to the ballet barre. But let's just say that neither of these activities quite prepared me for this class. The Barre studio at Quarry Lake in Pikesville is beautiful - soft, warm colors and low lights. But once we got started, there was no looking around.

The Maryland Ballet, the city's resident company, inaugurated its new home last night, the McManus Theater at Loyola College, with an eclectic and satisfying program of four works that included the company premiere of Balanchine's "Tarantella" and two world premieres by artistic director Phillip Carman.Both new works, "Adagio Appassionato" and "The Women's Room," use the drama of relationship as a starting point. But there the similarity ends."Adagio Appassionato," which means "slowly, with passion," is set to a dark and haunting score by Beethoven.

Six dancers have joined Ballet Theater of Annapolis for the season: Dmitry Tuboltsev of the Bolshoi Ballet Grigorovich and the Moscow Theater Russian Ballet danced the lead role in BTA's new production of "Dracula," performed last month at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts. He trained at the Vaganova Academy, which is the school of the Leningrad Kirov Ballet, and was a prize winner in the 1993 International Ballet Competition.Benjamin Briones, who played Jonathan Harker in "Dracula," trained at the National School of Contemporary Dance and the National School of Classical Ballet in Mexico City.

Every fan of the 1939 classic film "The Wizard of Oz" should plan to travel to Columbia during the next two months to visit the magical land of Oz at Toby's Dinner Theatre. Toby's production brings the beloved screen characters — Dorothy and friends Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion — live and up close to us so we feel we are traveling with them along the Yellow Brick Road. Director David James moves this film classic to 2012 with increased magic created by his fabulous cast and by using special effects including swirling tornadoes, fearsome thunderclaps and lightning flashes along with billowing smoke.

Off stage, Dana Jacobson stands a stunning 5 feet 9 inches tall, with arms and legs that go on forever. When she dances, she stretches her arabesques and lengthens her high-flying leaps to look even taller, at least 7 feet from the tips of her toes to the top of her long blond hair. This gutsy original is a sensation just walking on stage. Next week, Howard County's sweetheart ballerina will be doing much more than walking when she performs with the internationally renowned New York City Ballet at the Kennedy Center, April 3-8. Catch this high-flying, just turned 20-year-old in the Gershwin class, "Who Cares?"