Dance Theatre

The Harford Ballet Company will present two performances of The Nutcracker at the John Carroll School at 6 p.m. Dec. 20 and at 1 p.m. Dec. 21 to benefit the Harford County chapter of the Family Tree. So far, the company has raised $6,000 for the Family Tree, which is dedicated to preventing child abuse and neglect. Harford Ballet Company Director Pam Villeneuve said the Family Tree is "a real positive organization to strengthen families." Christine Villeneuve-Jones and Meredith Rainey, who have both danced professionally, will perform the roles of the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Cavalier, respectively.

Some toddlers run before they walk. Alicia Graf danced.After performances in Mississippi and Russia, the Centennial High School senior will soon join the world-renowned Dance Theatre of Harlem."

Alicia Graf was 12 when Donna Harrington Payne first spotted her.Instead of a still-growing adolescent, Payne saw a girl with an elegant head and a luxuriously long neck. Her shoulders were graceful and slightly sloping. Her torso was short; her long legs strong but lean, with muscles so elongated her thighs were nearly the same width as her calves. The bones and joints in her feet and toes were sturdy and hyperflexible. Her hip sockets allowed nearly 180 degrees of rotation."I thought, 'Oh my God, I can really work this girl and really create a beautiful dancer,' " says Payne, a teacher and choreographer.

Country singer LeAnn Rimes meets the Dance Theatre of Harlem on PBS' In Performance at the White House series tonight, and the result is proof positive of art's ability to span cultural divides. Rarely has the East Room shone as brightly as it does when Rimes' sublime interpretation of "Over the Rainbow" is further voiced through the perfectly pitched movements of a young dancer on In Performance at the White House: Dance Theatre of Harlem. Not to make too much of the moment, but on paper, Rimes' inclusion in a program billed as a "celebration of the Dance Theatre of Harlem" seemed questionable.

Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre. Auditions for Ebenezer, an original musical based on the Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol, will be noon to 6 p.m. Sept. 23 at the theater, 817 St. Paul St. Needed are male and female actors of all ages, especially a small boy, age 6-9, two young men, ages 20-30, and three older men, ages 40-60. Be prepared to sing 16 bars of a song of your choice and to read from the script. Accompanist will be provided. For audition time slot, call 410-752-1225. Vagabond Players.

Thirty city school children will get a broad introduction to dance as well as a chance to develop their social skills during a two-week Alvin Ailey Mini-Camp that begins today at Morgan State University.The kids, ages 11-13, were selected from 10 city middle schools and Project Raise -- a mentoring program for disadvantaged youth -- and represent a cross-section of backgrounds, according to the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre Foundation of Maryland. The foundation is sponsoring the camp as part of the Maryland residency by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre.

When 17-year-old dancer Camille Workman's ballet slipper broke during her routine with three other dancers, it didn't stop her. She tossed the slipper across the room and kept going. It's that drive and determination that allowed her to endure the tough criticism doled out by renowned dancer Arthur Mitchell, co-founder of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, and other teachers in the program Saturday in the Eisenhower Theater Rehearsal Room at the Kennedy Center in Washington. An early start Workman, who will be a Howard High School senior in the fall, has been dancing since she was age 4. Along with ballet, she has studied modern, jazz and lyrical dancing.

Every child who believes in Christmas magic knows the blissful struggle between sleep and anticipation on Christmas Eve.And though visions of sugarplums have long been supplanted by those of roller blades and Barbie dolls, children weren't so very different a century ago. That's when the "Nutcracker" ballet first captured the imagination of audiences throughout the world with its story of a little girl's Christmas Eve dream."

Community band to present concert today at high school The Bel Air Community Band will present a winter concert featuring a variety of contemporary and traditional band and wind ensemble music appropriate to the season at the C. Milton Wright High School auditorium at 3 p.m. today. The band will perform under the direction of Scott Sharnetzka. Tickets are $5 for adults and $1 for age 17 and younger. Proceeds will benefit the Harford Community College Music Scholarship Fund. Harford Dance Theatre to hold concert auditions Harford Dance Theatre of Harford Community College will hold auditions for its spring dance concert, Canvases 2004, from noon to 4 p.m. Jan. 10 in the rehearsal space at the Amoss Center.

Ann Brown, founder and artistic director of the Chesapeake Dance Theatre, has spent seven years establishing herself as one of this area's most creative choreographers.Employing the innovative approach to children's dance pioneered by her aunt, Virginia Tanner, Mrs. Brown has sparked the creative process in hundreds of young minds and bodies by encouraging youngsters to take a direct role in designing their own patterns of movement.But the choreographer is about to don a new leotard and become an impresario of the dance.