Dancers

For nearly a decade, neither snow nor sleet -  not to mention having to get out of bed early on a Saturday morning - could keep us from our appointment with modern dance classes at the Howard County Center for the Arts. With an average age teetering on the edge of 55, the core group of 10 to 12 regulars referred to ourselves as the “goddesses,” and we ruled - at least among other similarly seasoned generations of terpsichores. From time to time, one of the younger ballerinas from Kathi Ferguson 's 9 a.m. dance class would check in. Few stayed for the entire session, but those who did were treated to a string of master teachers from area colleges offering a variety of modern techniques.

One singer crooned like Sinatra. One twanged in true Conway Twitty style and another gave a credible gravel-voiced impression of Louis Armstrong. And, of course, an Elvis entered the Cow Palace at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium with a guitar and had most of the audience swaying in the seats Thursday before he left the building. The show was called "Baltimore County Seniors Got Talent," and 11 performers proved it in a contest loosely based on the similarly named TV reality show.

Plenty of young girls dream of performing with a prestigious ballet company, and for about 50 of them from the greater Baltimore area the first step was Sunday. During a marathon, multi-hour session at the Moving Company Dance Center in Cockeysville, the girls, and a couple of boys, auditioned to perform a version of the holiday classic "The Nutcracker" with the Moscow Ballet Company. It was the 19th year that local ballet students have auditioned to perform with the Russian troupe.

It was doubly sad for me hearing of the death of Rebecca Marie Jung last week. This dancer, athlete, teacher and friend died of complications from cancer Sept. 6. Rebecca, or “Becky,” as she preferred to be called, had many ties to Howard County and the entire Baltimore dance community. I always expected to enjoy her dance performances on professional stages for many years to come. You could always recognize Becky on a crowded stage. She was the one with hair “down to there,” as the saying goes.

With a B.A. in dance and psychology, 24-year-old Melissa Talleda keeps busy, dancing and choreographing with Baltimore modern dance company the Collective and teaching preschool children in Bolton Hill life skills such as manners, sharing and respect. She took some time to talk with b in the days preceding the Collective's newest show, a collaborative effort between the dancers, Baltimore band The Water and DJ Relax. Check out her talent on Friday, but check out her answers now: Worst pet peeve?

Concerts Outdoor sounds' swan song The Columbia Village Centers Courtyard concert series wraps up this week with three concerts. The Bay Jazz Project performs jazz Thu., Aug. 18, 6 p.m., at the Dorsey's Search Village Center. Invasion will play British rock Fri., Aug. 19, 6 p.m., at the River Hill Village Center. Finally, the Sidleys will perform a mix of R&B and rock Aug. 19, 6 p.m., at the Harper's Choice Village Center. Go to http://www.columbiavillagecenters.com . The live music series at Columbia's Lake Kittamaqundi lakefront will close out the season this weekend with a performance by the Annapolis Bluegrass Coalition , which plays Thu., Aug. 18, 8 p.m. The Carl Filipiak Group plays guitar-based jazz Sat., Aug. 20, 8 p.m. Also at Lake Kittamaqundi, vocalist the Mango Project mixes contemporary jazz, R&B, funk and smooth jazz, and can be heard Sun., Aug. 21, 6:30 p.m. Legendary Washington guitar slinger Tom Principato stops in at the lakefront Wed., Aug. 17, 8 p.m. Go to http://www.lakefrontfestival.com . Staines at Baldwin's Veteran folk singer Bill Staines will perform Thu., Aug. 18, 8 p.m., at Baldwin's Station & Pub (7618 Main St., Sykesville)

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.

This clip was probably on all the highlight shows this morning, so my apologies if you have seen it already, but check out this Cirque du Soleil performer throwing out the first pitch before a game in San Diego on Monday. Dude does some sort of 720-degree twist then fires a strike to the catcher. Take note, Orioles relievers.

She fell in love with ballet as a child, as many young girls do, and Susan Savage didn't lack for promise. She learned her first plies and pirouettes at a feeder school for the Royal Academy of Dance in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. But when she turned 13, her family pulled up roots and moved to West Texas, a part of the world known more for football than for fouettes en tournant (spins with a sideway kick). "Not exactly a hotbed for my life's passion," she says. Fifty years later, Savage got a chance to return to the pastime she never got out of her system.

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.