Carman

After nearly a four-month hiatus caused by financial difficulties, the Maryland Ballet will perform this weekend at its new home, Loyola College.Artistic director Phillip Carman said in an interview that the college's generosity -- Loyola is donating the use of McManus Theatre to the company -- has helped the 5-year-old group heal some of the monetary wounds created by the recent recession and get literally back on its toes.Although the 10-member company gave two appearances in March at area colleges, the coming performance is the first in the city since the company was forced to cancel its January $H subscription series at the Baltimore Museum of Art.Despite the financial insecurity of the company, which has forced dancers to seek other sources of income, Mr. Carman has created two new ballets.

Last Saturday, Philip Carman, co-founder and artistic director of the Maryland Ballet, traveled to Philadelphia for a benefit performance by dancers of the Pennsylvania Ballet to aid their company, which is fighting for its financial life.Mr. Carman's presence there wasn't a case of misery loving company, although his own troupe has had well-publicized money troubles of its own that have caused it to cancel half of its subscription series."I just felt I wanted to see it," Mr. Carman, who danced with the Pennsylvania Ballet in the early 1970s, said this week.

In the sleepless nights after his son's death in Iraq in October, Eric F. Herzberg spent his time sending e-mails to people who had signed an online condolence book. One note in particular caught his attention. It was from the mother of Justin Carman, a Marine who served alongside Herzberg's son, 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Eric W. Herzberg of Severna Park. Faith Carman offered her sympathy and something else: a videotape of the two young men at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

The financially plagued Maryland Ballet has closed its dance school at 1014 Morton St. because of its inability to make its monthly rent as well as meet its payments for improvements to the building.Artistic director Phillip Carman is searching for another space to hold classes so that the school's 75 students do not fall behind in their training. Few refunds would be necessary because most students tended to pay their tuition each month, said cofounder and board member Daniel Kane."Closing wasn't a total surprise, although we had hoped to make it to June," Mr. Kane said.

If the Maryland Ballet's auspicious opening this weekend at the Baltimore Museum of Art is an indication of what is in store for area ballet fans, they will have a season to savor. The ballet is brighter and lighter than ever, and several dancers -- Nancy Street, Jeanie McCaghren, Tisha Ford and Yvonne Racz -- are personable, technically astute and deserve close watching.The program celebrated the opening of the troupe's fifth season, and two-thirds of the dances were nostalgic looks at works that artistic director Phillip Carman created for his company.

Reports of the demise of the Maryland Ballet have been greatly exaggerated. Its matinee at Dundalk Community College yesterday gave no indication of failing health. Artistic director Phillip Carman may have lost a few company members, but the core of the company and Mr. Carman's choreography remained intact.Opening the program of five dances was Mr. Carman's "The Awakening," which featured a cameo appearance by the choreographer. Adapted from the scandalous novella by Kate Chopin, the work is a hallmark in Mr. Carman's choreographic repertoire.

There has been a lot of speculation concerning why "Th Nutcracker" ballet has become a holiday tradition. Perhaps it is the fact that this 100-year-old ballet with its magical score by Tchaikovsky and wealth of aspiring dancers has the uncanny ability to rejuvenate the spirit.The Maryland Ballet opened its version of the beloved ballet last evening at the Lyric Opera House. Artistic Director Phillip Carman has assembled a fine cast of dancers from several dance companies to bring the holiday tradition to life.

Paul H. Albright, 49, designed Harford buildingsPaul Herman Albright, a lifelong resident of Harford County and a longtime architect who designed Harford County schools, churches and department stores, died Thursday at Fallston General Hospital of a heart attack. The Aberdeen resident was 49.Since 1980, Mr. Albright was vice president and principal of the architecture division at Frederick Ward Associates Inc. in Bel Air.There, he made his mark as an expert in contemporary residential architecture and for commercial projects, including the Harford Mutual building and Forest Hill Bank.

Maryland BalletWhere: Baltimore Museum of Art.When: Tonight at 8, tomorrow at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sunday at 4 p.m.Tickets: $20 for evening performances; $18 for matinees.Call: 576-2400.Five years ago, choreographer Phillip Carman saw a cultural gap in the city that he thought he could fill: Convinced that Baltimore deserved a ballet company, he and Dr. Daniel Kane, a pediatric dentist, decided to create one. The first performance the new troupe gave was in a living room as a backers audition.

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.