Dancers

Tom opens calling it the "hardest fought season ever. " I'm not sure about that, but I will say that this is one with a lot of strong competitors, few loathsome personalities, and a satisfying final three. It starts with the pro dancers (the "real" pro dancers, not just the troupe) dancing to a song I would probably know if I were 20 years younger, but I'm not and the only 16-year-old in this house is a cat. At the end of the song, we get the pros walking the floor with their celebrity partners.

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.

College dance concerts are always a fun place for brushing up on modern currents in the art, but spring semester programs are often a pure delight. They represent the culmination of eight months' work for student dancers who relish the opportunity to show off what they've learned. The Arts Collective Dance Company at Howard Community College will showcase their many talented dancers in four concerts at HCC's Smith Theatre Thursday-Sunday, March 1-4. "This is our sixth season and the best program so far," said Renee Brozic Barger, the director of the Arts Collective Dance Company.

Off stage, Dana Jacobson stands a stunning 5 feet 9 inches tall, with arms and legs that go on forever. When she dances, she stretches her arabesques and lengthens her high-flying leaps to look even taller, at least 7 feet from the tips of her toes to the top of her long blond hair. This gutsy original is a sensation just walking on stage. Next week, Howard County's sweetheart ballerina will be doing much more than walking when she performs with the internationally renowned New York City Ballet at the Kennedy Center, April 3-8. Catch this high-flying, just turned 20-year-old in the Gershwin class, "Who Cares?"

Five way-cool dudes, fedoras lowered to their eyebrows, shuffle in sync onto the dance floor as the theme from "Mission: Impossible" blares. After several impressive leaps and splits, they step dance and clap with military precision, then file into a straight line. Marching in place, they form the letters B-A-S-A-C with their arms and finish their dance with a thunderous cheer. "Diagnosis: Dance Abilities!" the quintet yells in unison. These guys, all participants in The League for People with Disabilities Career Services program, have often heard much different assessments of their abilities.

At first thought, the scheduling of the Mark Morris Dance Group at the Naval Academy's Alumni Hall this past weekend seemed an odd booking. But the four works presented by the full-bodied choreographer and his entourage of 14 dancers and small ensemble of musicians and singers proved that modern dance can be entertainment as well as serious art.Morris opened the evening with "Love Song Waltzes" accompanied by Johannes Brahms' "Liebesliederwalzer OP50."...

The performance that was most fun to see last weekend during the fifth annual Columbia Festival of the Arts had to be Momix at Wilde Lake High School. This company of three women and two men is the brainchild of Pilobus' co-creator and hyper-creative personality Moses Pendleton.Momix is a company of illusionists. Each dancer stretches the limits of physicality -- whether by sheer strength, solid balance or amazing fluidity of movements. Company members Cynthia Quinn, Rebecca Stenn, Annie Way, Jim Cappelletti and Karl Baaumann seem more than human.

Kinetics Dance Theatre, under the artistic direction of Alvin Mayes, premiered three works during the company's spirited performance last weekend at the Howard County Center for the Arts.Mr. Mayes, new to this job, closed the evening of seven dances with his latest, "Zooming," an abstract and buoyant work for nine dancers to the fanciful saxophone of Lenny Pickett. With its erratic and whimsical walks and stop-and-go dynamics, "Zooming" gave the company the chance to show just how well it is shaping up -- technically as well as choreographically.

The Towson Ensemble Dancers (TED), the dance collective at Towson State University, gave a remarkably solid program of works over the weekend at Stephens Hall Theatre. The seven dances created by TED members stood shoulder to shoulder with guest choreographer Marcus Schulkind's work, "Ladies Night Out.""Ladies Night Out" was a demanding piece that relied heavily on strong technique and the emotional range of its dancers. Three solos, expertly danced by Dana J. Martin, Nancy Wanich-Romida and Amanda Thom Woodson, peeled back Mr. Schulkind's classically attuned movements to expose the raw and angry psyche of the three women.

Rhythm, a primal building-block of dance, linked the works of Eva Anderson Dancers' program this weekend at the Baltimore Museum of Art.The idea was laudable; the execution, if not quite up to the concept, at least good enough to see what the company can do.Now entering its 23rd season, Anderson's Columbia-based troupe has a modern-dance style blended with African-American music, themes and designs."

A 45-year-old Atlanta woman admitted Wednesday that she used a downtown Baltimore hotel room to inject exotic dancers with commercial-grade silicone, commonly used in furniture polish, to enlarge their buttocks, according to federal prosecutors. As part of her guilty plea in Baltimore's U.S. District Court, Kimberly D. Smedley conceded that she earned more than $200,000 giving silicone shots to women for eight years in cities around the country, using glue and cotton balls to prevent leakage.

Some 700 miles away from home, Center Stage intern Meghan O'Rourke still got to celebrate her Irish heritage in Baltimore. She missed out on a family tradition Sunday — Chicago's South Side Irish Parade — but Baltimore's St. Patrick's Day Parade meant she didn't have to miss out on St. Paddy's festivities. She and others lined up Sunday along Charles Street to take in dance troupes, marching bands, flag corps, bagpipe brigades, antique fire trucks and classic cars.

College dance concerts are always a fun place for brushing up on modern currents in the art, but spring semester programs are often a pure delight. They represent the culmination of eight months' work for student dancers who relish the opportunity to show off what they've learned. The Arts Collective Dance Company at Howard Community College will showcase their many talented dancers in four concerts at HCC's Smith Theatre Thursday-Sunday, March 1-4. "This is our sixth season and the best program so far," said Renee Brozic Barger, the director of the Arts Collective Dance Company.

The national touring production of "Come Fly Away," Twyla Tharp's sensual ballet/musical set to the songs of Frank Sinatra, breezes through Baltimore this week. One of the featured dancers in the show will look very much at home on the stage of the Modell Performing Arts Center at the Lyric. Ashley Blair Fitzgerald, who grew up in Ellicott City, had only recently left home when she first danced in that theater nine years ago, appearing in the tour of "Fosse," a showcase of Bob Fosse's choreography.

"The Nutcracker" has become a treasured entertainment tradition of the Christmas season, and again this year a most enchanting version can be found in Annapolis at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts. At the Ballet Theatre of Maryland's opening performance, artistic director Dianna Cuatto briefly traced the history of this holiday favorite. Composed by Peter Tchaikovsky and choreographed by Marius Petipa, "The Nutcracker" originally received a cool reception at its Russian premiere in December 1892.

For Kathryn Carlson, the holidays are not just about family, food and gifts — they're also about dance. The 30-year-old native of Somers Point, N.J., joined the Ballet Theatre of Maryland in 2003 as an apprentice dancer after graduating from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Just one year later, Carlson was promoted to company member. Since then, she has performed roles such as Katrina in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," Guinevere in "Excalibur" and the title role in "Cinderella.

The 22nd annual Towson State University Dance Company performance opened Friday night with a generous program of dances designed to showcase the diverse talents of Towson students. TSU's dance program is obviously a popular one, judging from the number of student participants who demonstrated their capabilities in modern, classical ballet, jazz and tap dancing as well as choreography.Three of 11 dances choreographed by guest artists, students and faculty members were strictly classical ballet offerings.

The Columbia Festival of the Arts officially opened its 11-day affair last night with a performance from Alvin Ailey's American Dance Theater.Opening the program of three dances was "The Stack Up," by Talley Batty. This street smart work for 17 dancers is as pumped-up as fancy foot gear. Mr. Talley's piece is populated with familiar urban characters -- "cool" dudes, street corner goof-offs, loose women and everyday people all in a whirring blend of dance styles. Indeed, each style characterizes the dancer's roles.

For Kathryn Carlson, the holidays are not just about family, food and gifts - they're also about dance. The 30-year-old native of Somers Point, N.J., joined the Ballet Theatre of Maryland in 2003 as an apprentice dancer after graduating from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Just one year later, Carlson was promoted to company member. Since then, she has performed roles such as Katrina in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” Guinevere in “Excalibur” and the title role in “Cinderella.” As Carlson begins her ninth season with BTM, you can see her dancing multiple parts including Clara, Snow Queen and Arabian in their annual performance of “The Nutcracker” this weekend.

The Sugarplum Fairy remains the most challenging role in "The Nutcracker" ballet. A ballerina must be secure in her classical technique and mature in her dramatic skills to excel in this role. She also must be a smart leader on stage as she endeavors to keep all those tiny sugar plum darlings from tripping over one another in the Land of the Sweets. For dancers, being chosen for Clara also elicits "oohs" and "ahs" of envy, for it is she who gets the spotlight as she wins the heart of her Nutcracker Prince.