Dance School

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.

Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent  S. Dallas Dance  last week set his expectations for "Team BCPS" - calling on educators to working together with parents, students and the community to make the county school system the best in the nation. On Aug. 17, Dance's back-to-school address at Loch Raven High School marked the traditional start of the new school year for nearly 700 principals, assistant principals, office heads and administrators. "In the next two to five years, the improvements to this school system will be because of the people in this room right now," said Dance, who took over the school system in June from retiring Superintendent Joe Hairston.

For some home-schoolers, it's gym time at dance school With erect backs, stoic faces and arms tight at their sides, the 11 figures look like string puppets as they glide across the floor, completing a series of intricate dance steps. Ponytails fly and beads of sweat begin to form on their brows. Through a doorway, a group of doting parents look on with approval. From noon to 2 p.m. on any given Wednesday - at a time when most public school students are in class - these 30 home-schoolers perfect their steps at the Teelin Irish Dance School in Columbia, a social and entertaining way to meet the state-mandated physical education that can be elusive for home-school families.

Now it's time to say goodbye to the graduates at William McKinley High. This week's glee club assignment is, appropriately enough, "Goodbye. " Mr. Schu asks the underclassmen to perform a song for the seniors and vice versa. Then he delivers a heartfelt acoustic version of Rod Stewart's "Forever Young. " C'mon, Mr. Schu, you're going to make me cry and we're not even five minutes into the episode! Then we segue to Kurt's reflection on his last four years at William McKinley, where he spent ample amount of time in both the closet and the dumpster.

The many styles of dance surprised 15-year-old Ann Marie Gover. "It was very different from the type of competitions I usually go to," Gover said about Saturday's Battle of the Dance, sponsored by the Columbia Association's Teen Advisory Committee. "They're normally just lyrical, tap and jazz, but this was very cultural, with the Indian dances and the different forms of tap and hip-hop." Gover, a River Hill High School sophomore who wants to pursue dance in college, won the individual competition with a lyrical dance to The Wreckers' "The Good Kind."

YEARS OF DANCE lessons, persistence and poise have paid off for Finksburg friends Eileen Mitchell and Jacki Smith.The girls, seniors at Westminster High School, recently received letters from the Goucher College dance department informing them that they will receive scholarships valued at $8,000 to $10,000 a year, pending a review of their SAT scores and grade point averages.The awards are renewable for four years on the basis of academic and artistic success at the college. About 120 high school seniors from across the nation auditioned for the scholarships in November by taking two dance classes reviewed by faculty members.

The student: Michelle McGrain, 11 School: Harper's Choice Middle School The achievement: One of six Howard County students named Carson Scholars this year. The Carson Scholars Fund - which was co-founded by Dr. Benjamin Carson, best-selling author and director of pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions - recognized Michelle for her academic excellence and extracurricular endeavors. Michelle reports that she received all A's on her report cards this past year. She has been studying and performing Irish dance for the past six years.

Cindee Velle doesn't even want to think about how many of her students have outgrown their tiny toe shoes since 1983, the year she opened her dance school at the Long Reach Village Center. One thing is certain: It's always fun to stop by for a visit at Ballet With Cindee Velle and watch the rehearsals for the resident company's big season-ending showcases. Velle's dancers, who range from the tiniest of tots to the tallest of full-fledged adults, seem to exude a special joy, especially in those jazzy specialty numbers.

Now it's time to say goodbye to the graduates at William McKinley High. This week's glee club assignment is, appropriately enough, "Goodbye. " Mr. Schu asks the underclassmen to perform a song for the seniors and vice versa. Then he delivers a heartfelt acoustic version of Rod Stewart's "Forever Young. " C'mon, Mr. Schu, you're going to make me cry and we're not even five minutes into the episode! Then we segue to Kurt's reflection on his last four years at William McKinley, where he spent ample amount of time in both the closet and the dumpster.

Film series concludes tonight with `Croupier' The Carroll County Arts Council will conclude its international film series today with Croupier. A 1998 British thriller rated R, Croupier follows the story of Jack Manfred, a stalled novelist, as he drifts back into his former profession of casino croupier. When he begins writing a novel about a croupier, the line between him and his fictional alter ego becomes increasingly blurred. The films stars Clive Owen, Gina McKee, Kate Hardie and Alex Kingston.

Cindee Velle doesn't even want to think about how many of her students have outgrown their tiny toe shoes since 1983, the year she opened her dance school at the Long Reach Village Center. One thing is certain: It's always fun to stop by for a visit at Ballet With Cindee Velle and watch the rehearsals for the resident company's big season-ending showcases. Velle's dancers, who range from the tiniest of tots to the tallest of full-fledged adults, seem to exude a special joy, especially in those jazzy specialty numbers.

The many styles of dance surprised 15-year-old Ann Marie Gover. "It was very different from the type of competitions I usually go to," Gover said about Saturday's Battle of the Dance, sponsored by the Columbia Association's Teen Advisory Committee. "They're normally just lyrical, tap and jazz, but this was very cultural, with the Indian dances and the different forms of tap and hip-hop." Gover, a River Hill High School sophomore who wants to pursue dance in college, won the individual competition with a lyrical dance to The Wreckers' "The Good Kind."

For some home-schoolers, it's gym time at dance school With erect backs, stoic faces and arms tight at their sides, the 11 figures look like string puppets as they glide across the floor, completing a series of intricate dance steps. Ponytails fly and beads of sweat begin to form on their brows. Through a doorway, a group of doting parents look on with approval. From noon to 2 p.m. on any given Wednesday - at a time when most public school students are in class - these 30 home-schoolers perfect their steps at the Teelin Irish Dance School in Columbia, a social and entertaining way to meet the state-mandated physical education that can be elusive for home-school families.

Like a forlorn sentinel from Howard County's past, the decrepit former roller-skating rink and dance school facing U.S. 29 from Columbia Road in Ellicott City witnessed the disappearance of farms and fields. Now, it, along with the 1899 farmhouse next door, will soon be gone, replaced next year with 13 large homes selling for about $900,000 each. Older county residents remember carefree days in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, roller skating and eating homemade pies and sandwiches there in later years.

Film series concludes tonight with `Croupier' The Carroll County Arts Council will conclude its international film series today with Croupier. A 1998 British thriller rated R, Croupier follows the story of Jack Manfred, a stalled novelist, as he drifts back into his former profession of casino croupier. When he begins writing a novel about a croupier, the line between him and his fictional alter ego becomes increasingly blurred. The films stars Clive Owen, Gina McKee, Kate Hardie and Alex Kingston.

Hua Sha Chinese Dance Cente Information: Xiao Fang Xu, director, 410-381-0270 or www.huashadance.org For a sample of Asian culture, go no further than the Hua Sha Chinese Dance Center. Based in Columbia, the center includes a dance school and a performing arts troupe. Hua Sha, which means Chinese, was founded in 1996 by Xiao Fang Xu, the center's director and choreographer who has danced for 40 years. "Our mission is to preserve and promote Chinese performing arts and culture, and introduce Chinese culture to [a]

Hua Sha Chinese Dance Cente Information: Xiao Fang Xu, director, 410-381-0270 or www.huashadance.org For a sample of Asian culture, go no further than the Hua Sha Chinese Dance Center. Based in Columbia, the center includes a dance school and a performing arts troupe. Hua Sha, which means Chinese, was founded in 1996 by Xiao Fang Xu, the center's director and choreographer who has danced for 40 years. "Our mission is to preserve and promote Chinese performing arts and culture, and introduce Chinese culture to [a]

The Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble, a cross between the professional company and the dance school, performed to a sold out house Sunday night at Shriver Hall. The Repertory Ensemble exposes young dancers to a variety of choreography and gives audiences a chance to see dancers coming down the line.Given the strong dancing of the 10 company members in the program's three works, the future looks good.Despite some last-minute program changes and cast scrambling, the cast was in high gear. Opening the program was Meridians," choreographed by Andre Tyson to the frenzied rhythms of composer Antonio Carlos Scott.