Dance Ensemble

The Morgan State University Dance Ensemble and local gospel choirs will appear in concert from 6 p.m. to 9:30 April 1 in the Rouse Theatre at Wilde Lake High School, 5460 Trumpeter Road, Columbia. Proceeds will benefit the County Howard Office on Aging's Vivian L. Reid Senior Assistance Fund and the local Omega Psi Phi Fraternity's scholarship fund. The Reid fund helps senior citizens facing eviction, utility shut-offs or helps with problems paying for medicine. The fraternity's scholarships go to local children.

Arbutus resident Rosemary Prendergast was among the 21 Baltimore County public high school students chosen to the 2011-2012 All-County Honors Dance Ensemble. The students were chosen through a highly competitive application and audition process. They represent six of the seven county high schools with a fine arts dance program. Prendergast was one of 11 students chosen who attend Carver Center for Arts and Technology, a county magnet school in Towson. Dulaney, Hereford, New Town, Parkville and Patapsco high schools were also represented on the team.

Candlelight Concerts' Performing Arts Series for Children will present Mexican dance and musical program Sunday at Howard Community College's Smith Theatre. The history, culture and traditions of Mexico are brought to the stage by Los Quetzales Mexican Dance Ensemble, professional dancers who will demonstrate dance styles from a number of Mexico's 31 states. The resplendent colors of the quetzal bird, which is honored in Mexico and Central America, will be represented in traditional costumes and reflective of the beauty and vitality of Mexican culture.

The Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre opens its 45th season of outdoor shows on May 26 with a production of the John Kander and Fred Ebb musical "Chicago. " Bob Fosse's sassy choreography, which helped define the 1975 show, was much in evidence at a recent rehearsal in the West Annapolis Elementary School auditorium, where the dancing was so seductive that the utilitarian setting hardly mattered. In rehearsals, you can discover a director's goals and discern how near he is to achieving them.

Japanese arts celebration The Kennedy Center for the Performing Art's Terrace Theater, opened in 1979, was a gift from Japan to the United States. In January of that year, the people of Japan presented the intimate, 513-seat venue to the people of Washington as a bicentennial gift. The theater, on the roof level of the venue, has long featured contemporary dance, ballet, chamber music, theater and family performances, including many Japanese arts shows. This year, the Kennedy Center's theaters and stages will showcase the "Arts of Japan Celebration," an ode to the close relations between the United States and Japan.

Dance ensemble needs volunteers Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble seeks volunteers ages 18 and older with finance or fundraising backgrounds to help with grants, financial reports and other duties. Also needed are long-term office volunteers to answer phones and assist with filing and word processing. Information: 410-897-9299 or e-mail ejohnson@ footworks.org. 100 needed to help with riding therapy Maryland Therapeutic Riding is seeking more than 100 volunteers to assist with horseback riding lessons Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings.

The Howard County Ballet is gearing up for a 2000-2001 season that promises to build on the artistic successes the company achieved in its well-received production of "Alice in Wonderland" last spring. "That was a great step forward," says Kathi Ferguson, the choreographer in her sixth year at the helm of Howard County's premier dance ensemble. "I'm very excited about what's in store for us." The new season will open Oct. 13, when the troupe presents highlights from "Alice" and its perennially popular production of Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" at a fund-raising evening at the Howard County Arts Council in Ellicott City.

The steps that took Caroline Calvert into Washington, D.C., society in 1818 will be re-created this weekend at Riversdale, the home her grandfather built near what is now College Park.Choregraphie Antique, the historical dance ensemble from Goucher College, will perform dances from the Federal era as part of "A Washington Debut: Caroline Calvert's Introduction to Washington Society 1818-19," the exhibit on view at Riversdale. Period music will be provided by David and Ginger Hildebrand.Rosalie Stier Calvert, Caroline's mother, called the fete for her daughter's debut "un beau dejeuner ou on dansera" (a nice brunch with dancing)

PERFORMANCES Arts On Stage Ltd. at Goucher College, Kraushaar Auditorium, 1021 Dulaney Valley Road, Towson, and at Chesapeake Arts Center, Main Stage Theatre, 194 Hammonds Lane, Brooklyn Park, 410-252-8717, www.artsonstage.org. Nov. 9-10: Thunderbird American Indian Dancers Jan. 30-31: Ishangi Family African Dancers Feb. 6: Black Umfolosi "Gumboot" Dancers The Ballet Royale Institute of Maryland. 9147-D Red Branch Road, Columbia, 410-997-8443, www.balletroyale.com. Nov. 25-27: The Nutcracker Nov. 27: Tea with Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy March 25: Grand Gala Spectacular May 13: Annual Showcase of the Enrichment Program The Ballet Theatre of Maryland at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts.

When she was first asked to reconstruct the dance performance "How Long, Brethren?" Dianne McIntyre had some serious sleuthing to do. Little evidence remained of choreographer Helen Tamiris' powerful depiction of African-American life created for the WPA Federal Theatre Project in 1937. But McIntyre, an internationally acclaimed choreographer herself, was well suited to the assignment from George Mason University, home of the Project's archives. There, in 1991, "How Long, Brethren?" was staged for the first time since its debut.

When she was first asked to reconstruct the dance performance "How Long, Brethren?" Dianne McIntyre had some serious sleuthing to do. Little evidence remained of choreographer Helen Tamiris' powerful depiction of African-American life created for the WPA Federal Theatre Project in 1937. But McIntyre, an internationally acclaimed choreographer herself, was well suited to the assignment from George Mason University, home of the Project's archives. There, in 1991, "How Long, Brethren?" was staged for the first time since its debut.

Dance ensemble needs volunteers Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble seeks volunteers ages 18 and older with finance or fundraising backgrounds to help with grants, financial reports and other duties. Also needed are long-term office volunteers to answer phones and assist with filing and word processing. Information: 410-897-9299 or e-mail ejohnson@ footworks.org. 100 needed to help with riding therapy Maryland Therapeutic Riding is seeking more than 100 volunteers to assist with horseback riding lessons Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings.

Japanese arts celebration The Kennedy Center for the Performing Art's Terrace Theater, opened in 1979, was a gift from Japan to the United States. In January of that year, the people of Japan presented the intimate, 513-seat venue to the people of Washington as a bicentennial gift. The theater, on the roof level of the venue, has long featured contemporary dance, ballet, chamber music, theater and family performances, including many Japanese arts shows. This year, the Kennedy Center's theaters and stages will showcase the "Arts of Japan Celebration," an ode to the close relations between the United States and Japan.

The Morgan State University Dance Ensemble and local gospel choirs will appear in concert from 6 p.m. to 9:30 April 1 in the Rouse Theatre at Wilde Lake High School, 5460 Trumpeter Road, Columbia. Proceeds will benefit the County Howard Office on Aging's Vivian L. Reid Senior Assistance Fund and the local Omega Psi Phi Fraternity's scholarship fund. The Reid fund helps senior citizens facing eviction, utility shut-offs or helps with problems paying for medicine. The fraternity's scholarships go to local children.

PERFORMANCES Arts On Stage Ltd. at Goucher College, Kraushaar Auditorium, 1021 Dulaney Valley Road, Towson, and at Chesapeake Arts Center, Main Stage Theatre, 194 Hammonds Lane, Brooklyn Park, 410-252-8717, www.artsonstage.org. Nov. 9-10: Thunderbird American Indian Dancers Jan. 30-31: Ishangi Family African Dancers Feb. 6: Black Umfolosi "Gumboot" Dancers The Ballet Royale Institute of Maryland. 9147-D Red Branch Road, Columbia, 410-997-8443, www.balletroyale.com. Nov. 25-27: The Nutcracker Nov. 27: Tea with Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy March 25: Grand Gala Spectacular May 13: Annual Showcase of the Enrichment Program The Ballet Theatre of Maryland at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts.

The thumping beat beckons the dancers to the floor of the Hurt Gymnasium at Morgan State University. On command from Iantha L. Tucker, artistic director and principal choreographer of the university's Modern Dance Ensemble for the past 27 years, arms, legs and hips sway to the jazzy New Orleans-style music. "OK, here we go. Dance, people. Smile," Tucker says, kneeling in front of the 12 dancers, watching their every rehearsal move. Since 1976, Tucker -- a dance historian and associate professor in the health, physical education and recreation department -- has led the school's modern-dance company, drawing the respect and the admiration of students and colleagues.

Step into the urban garden on Woodland Avenue late on a Tuesday afternoon and you'd soon forget that you were in the midst of one of the city's most notorious open air drug markets.Close your eyes to the deteriorating row houses across the street and you'd think you were in Ghana, with greenery, fresh air, syncopated drums and high-stepping young dancers. For a precious few moments, drug dealers stop dealing. Or they move from the garden.On one warm afternoon, a 13-year-old girl leads a dozen younger girls as the New World Dance Ensemble works toward its mission: bringing art to life in this sliver of Park Heights that has had more than its share of misery.

The Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre opens its 45th season of outdoor shows on May 26 with a production of the John Kander and Fred Ebb musical "Chicago. " Bob Fosse's sassy choreography, which helped define the 1975 show, was much in evidence at a recent rehearsal in the West Annapolis Elementary School auditorium, where the dancing was so seductive that the utilitarian setting hardly mattered. In rehearsals, you can discover a director's goals and discern how near he is to achieving them.

Candlelight Concerts' Performing Arts Series for Children will present Mexican dance and musical program Sunday at Howard Community College's Smith Theatre. The history, culture and traditions of Mexico are brought to the stage by Los Quetzales Mexican Dance Ensemble, professional dancers who will demonstrate dance styles from a number of Mexico's 31 states. The resplendent colors of the quetzal bird, which is honored in Mexico and Central America, will be represented in traditional costumes and reflective of the beauty and vitality of Mexican culture.

The Howard County Ballet is gearing up for a 2000-2001 season that promises to build on the artistic successes the company achieved in its well-received production of "Alice in Wonderland" last spring. "That was a great step forward," says Kathi Ferguson, the choreographer in her sixth year at the helm of Howard County's premier dance ensemble. "I'm very excited about what's in store for us." The new season will open Oct. 13, when the troupe presents highlights from "Alice" and its perennially popular production of Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" at a fund-raising evening at the Howard County Arts Council in Ellicott City.