Dance Theatre

For 17 years The Dance Theatre of Harlem's annual appearance at the Kennedy Center has been a harbinger of spring. Like the season, the company's opening night performance at the Kennedy Center's Opera House was sunny one moment and ominous the next.Under the artistic direction of the legendary Arthur Mitchell, Dance Theatre of Harlem has won well deserved accolades for both the dancers' strength of technique and its diverse programming. But this performance makes one believe that the company has been dancing on its laurels too long.

Harford Dance Theatre will perform The Little Mermaid in Harford Community College's Chesapeake Theater Thursday and Friday, May 16 and 17 at 7p.m., Saturday, May 18 at 3 and 7 p.m., and Sunday, May 19 at 1 and 4 p.m. Based on the magical tale by Hans Christian Andersen, the stage comes to life with colorful fish, sparkling seahorses, a wicked sea witch and evil sea monkeys in a fun-filled retelling of the story of a young mermaid who gives up...

WASHINGTON -- The program that Dance Theatre of Harlem selected to open its two-week run last night at the Kennedy Center did not feature a world premiere, but the program did offer ballet excitement as only this company can deliver.Opening the evening was "The Four Temperaments" to music by Paul Hindemith. This beautiful and difficult abstract ballet by George Balanchine usually closes the program of lesser ballet companies, but DTH announced its D.C. arrival with a finely tuned and vigorous performance.

"The Nutcracker" will grace the stage of the Amoss Center in Bel Air as Harford Dance Theatre presents the holiday production Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 and 2. There will be a full-length performance on Nov. 30 at 8 p.m. In addition, there will be matinees for youth ages 5 to 12 with post-show events on Dec. 1 and 2 at 1 and 4 p.m., where audience members can meet Clara and her Nutcracker Prince, Mother Ginger and the Sugar Plum Fairy. All of their favorite ballerinas will be signing autographs, so be sure to bring a pen. Tickets cost $8 to $15 and are available online at tickets.harford.edu or in person at the HCC Ticket Office in the Chesapeake Center.

Eva Anderson's Baltimore Dance Theatre is marking its 20th anniversary in a city in which dance companies have a precarious existence. Not only did the concert at the Baltimore Museum of Arts Saturday night attest to Ms. Anderson's perseverance of spirit, but the nearly packed house also confirmed her popularity.The event also served as a ceremony -- as the torch of the company's artistic director was passed from Ms. Anderson to longtime company member Dr. Charles Carter.Featured on this program was Ms. Anderson's "Beginnings," which premiered last spring, plus excerpts from several of her other works.

Violence, fear, loss and running water are just some of the themes Kinetics Dance Theatre explores in three performances this weekend at the Howard County Center for the Arts in Ellicott City.The first performance will be presented at the company's 11th annual Gala Concert at 8 p.m. today. The black tie fund-raiser will feature a champagne and dessert reception after the performance.4 The concert will be repeated at 8 p.m. tomorrow.A free student concert, featuring a lecture and demonstration by the Kinetics Student Company, will be performed at 3 p.m. Sunday.

Washington --It was feared that last year's financial woes would keep the Dance Theatre of Harlem from making its annual pilgrimage to Washington. But much to the delight of dance fans, this company opened its two-week engagement last night at the Kennedy Center.While the company has trimmed its acquisition of new works -- only two new dances are on the performance roster -- the Dance Theatre of Harlem has always featured a solid repertoire and powerful dancing."Ginastera" was the premiere featured on last night's program of three dances.

Eva Anderson's Baltimore Dance Theatre gave its all Saturday night at Howard Community College. Despite the small audience, the seven-member troupe, plus two former company members, deftly performed Ms. Anderson's five distinct and stylistically differing works.From the stark modernism of "Chess Game," to the African-influenced movements in "Ceremony," the comedic pantomime of "Br'er Rabbit" and the ballet-inspired figures of the opening work, "Debutante Slouch," Ms. Anderson's versatile company was technically comfortable in a variety of styles.

For the sixth year, Eva Anderson and her Baltimore Dance Theatre have put together an entertaining and instructional tribute to American composer Scott Joplin.The program was split between Joplin's music in the first half and dances choreographed by Ms. Anderson, based (albeit loosely) on facets of Joplin's music, in the second. Guest pianist Raymond Jackson and Ms. Anderson provided historical insights and anecdotes for each of their selections.Mr. Jackson, a professor of music at Howard University, provided renditions of various marches, waltzes and syncopated melodies, such as "The Strenuous Life," "March Majestic" and "The Maple Leaf Rag," with a bright but leisurely tempo that, as Mr. Jackson noted, was in tune with the pace of life at the turn of the century.

Estelle Dennis, who founded the first Dance Theatre in Baltimore in 1934 that was dedicated to the training and education of aspiring dancers, died Wednesday of a heart attack at St. Joseph's Medical Center.She was 87 and lived near Cockeysville.A dancer and choreographer who taught ballet and contemporary dance forms, Miss Dennis remained active at her 13 W. Mount Vernon Place Studio until 10 years ago. The Estelle Dennis Dance Theatre is now under the direction of a former student and partner, Louise Muse.

Gifted with a mother's second sight, Catherine Johnson knew her daughter Jacqueline Green better than the child knew herself. In 2004, the eighth-grader insisted she had absolutely zero desire to study dance. "Oh, Mom," she said, rolling her eyes. "Why would I want to do that?" Nonetheless, at her mother's prodding and though she had never taken a dance class in her life, she auditioned for the Baltimore School of the Arts. On Tuesday, the 22-year-old Green will return to her hometown for the first time as a member of the main company of Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, one of America's premier modern dance troupes.

Harford Dance Theatre will present "Robin Hood" on Friday and Saturday, May 18 and 19, at 5:30 and 8 p.m. and Sunday, May 20 at 1 and 4 p.m. in Harford Community College's Chesapeake Theater. Enter Sherwood Forest if you dare and discover this delightfully clever telling of the famous legend of Robin Hood. Join Friar Tuck, Brave Beverly, Cordial Cordelia and the rest of the Merry Men as they hip hop, tap and dance their way through one zany misadventure to another. Tickets are $8 to $10 and are available at the Harford Community College Ticket Office in the Chesapeake Center or by calling 443-412-2211.

In the past 12 months, some especially high-energy creators have relocated from other metropolises and set up shop within city limits. While a scrappy inventiveness isn't new here — far from it — it could be that the city is reaching a critical mass of innovative thinkers in the arts. Baltimore may be on the verge of a growth spurt that will establish it once and for all as an arts center. It may be about to become a laboratory for experiments that blur the lines between theater, music and dance and the rest of life.

The Bangarra Dance Theatre, which has been described as "Australia's most sensual performing arts troupe," strives to fuse modern movements with elements of Australia's native culture. In Awakenings, which will be performed this fall in Washington, the company examines the symbolism of 40,000 years of Aboriginal life - and how those ancient rituals both collide with and inform modern culture. The troupe was formed in 1989; it gets its name from the word bangarra, which means "to make fire" in the Wiradjuri language of New South Wales.

On April 24, 2008, DOROTHY GWEN "Dorothy" FRIED, 65, loving mother and grandmother, former modern dancer, instructor, and choreographer and community organizer, of Leesburg, VA, died, at Loudoun County INOVA Hospital of complications from cancer. Ms. Fried had battled metestastic breast cancer for six months. Ms. Fried recently moved to the Leesburg area to care for her beloved grandchildren after school whom she often described as the joy of her life. Previously, she lived in Columbia, MD, and operated the Arts PlayCare Center where she engaged preschool children in various creative activities, such as dance, music, fine arts, story-telling, puppetry, gardening and nature exploration.

Kinetics Dance Theatre will present two matinee dance performances of the African folk tale, Anansi the Spider is Lost, at 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Howard County Center for the Arts. Some audience members will be invited to help play African rhythms along with Columbia composer Jared Denhard, as the story of the trickster Anansi unfolds. Tickets are $5. Reservations are encouraged. Kinetics Dance Theatre is at 3280 Pine Orchard Lane, Ellicott City. Information: 410-480-1686.

Financial problems are threatening the future of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre's residency program, which has brought world-class ballet to Baltimore and introduced thousands of area students to dance.The foundation that runs the program is laying off two of its four staffers and will not bring the famed New York dance company to the Morris Mechanic Theatre this year, said Richard Hackney, chairman of the group's board.No decisions have been made yet about the future of the residency's educational programs.

Jumping and twisting their bodies, the African dancers seem more like pulses than performers, colorful animations of the drumming that surges like a river through the old mill building in Dickeyville.As they are lifted and swept by currents of sound, these dancers are a reminder of how little separates artists from the source of their art."African dance opens you up to become the art," says Kibibi Ajanku, a principal dancer with Sankofa Dance Theatre. "In Africa, traditionally, there's no break between life and art. We don't make a painting to hang on the walls, the painting is the house.

Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker ballet, which premiered in 1892 at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia, has been a holiday tradition in the United States since the New York City Ballet's performance of it in 1954. Based on the book The Nutcracker and the Mouse King , by E.T.A. Hoffmann, this ballet takes people into the dream world of Clara, a 7-year-old girl whose nutcracker doll comes to life on Christmas Eve. After transforming into a handsome prince, the Nutcracker defeats the evil Mouse King and then takes Clara on a magical journey into the enchanting Land of Sweets.

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