Lancelot

Ballet Theatre of Maryland ended the season with the premiere of artistic director Dianna Cuatto's Excalibur - the choreographer's best and most ambitious work to date, in which she told the Arthurian legend sensitively through two hours of dance. All of Cuatto's hallmarks were apparent - lyrical partnering, strong athleticism, vigorous male dancers in stage combat, precise interweaving between lines, and the sheer beauty and power of their ensemble dancing. The dancers' individual growth was apparent, particularly from Joshua Lenihan's Lancelot and Christopher Pennix's King Lot. Celtic music provided by Maggie Sansone greatly enhanced the performance.

The Marquess of Bath, 87, the first British aristocrat to turn his stately home into a tourist attraction, died of cancer Tuesday at Longleat, his home 90 miles west of London. Henry Frederic Thynne became the sixth marquess in 1946 when his father died. Reeling from taxes after inheriting the estate, Lord Bath opened Longleat to the public in 1949. The house was built by his ancestor, Sir John Thynne, in 1580. The estate's park was designed by Britain's premier 18th-century landscape designer, Lancelot "Capability" Brown.

"Quest for Camelot" is more than the name of a movie - it's a mystery from history.For more than a thousand years, stories have been told of brave King Arthur and his courageous knights of the Round Table. All that time, people have been searching western England for Arthur's castle, Camelot.Some historians believe Arthur is just a legend that grew out of an even older myth. But others think Arthur dates back to the 5th century, when the Roman Empire was falling apart.Britain, no longer protected by Rome, faced invasions.

Tatiana Riabouchinska, 84, a Russian-born ballerina who was an internationally celebrated star in the 1930s and 1940s, died Aug. 24 in Los Angeles of heart failure. She won renown for her classical performances, including the title role of "Giselle," but was most identified with a part she didn't actually dance: the hippopotamus ballerina in Walt Disney's 1940 animated movie "Fantasia." Disney animators sketched her at rehearsals. Lancelot Ware, 85, a British barrister who was the co-founder of Mensa, the society for intellectually gifted people, died Aug. 15 in a nursing home in Surrey, England.

The musical king Lerner and Loewe, known for musicals such as My Fair Lady, adapted T.H. White's The Once and Future King into Camelot. The musical focuses on King Arthur's torment over the affair between his wife, Guenevere, and Sir Lancelot. The traveling production opens at the Hippodrome on Tuesday and stars Lou Diamond Phillips as King Arthur. Phillips is famous for his roles in Young Guns, Stand and Deliver, La Bamba and the Broadway production of The King and I.

Police reports in Baltimore city and county: Eastern Baltimore Burglary: Police were seeking a known female who entered an apartment in the 600 block of Gutman Ave. through the front door Sunday. It was not known if any property was missing, and the woman's name was withheld pending her arrest. Southern Baltimore Stolen vehicle: Police were seeking a black, four-door 1998 Jeep Cherokee with unknown temporary tags that was stolen Sunday from a parking lot in the 1400 block of W. Patapsco Ave. Baltimore Co. -- White Marsh Burglary: Someone used a ladder to enter the rear window of a house in the 1400 block of Lancelot Drive between Sunday and Monday and stole jewelry, coins and collectible currency, all valued at $20,000.

Robert Goulet is in royal form in 'Camelot' at LyricRobert Goulet, who created the role of Lancelot in "Camelot" almost a quarter century ago, returns to the Lerner and Loewe musical as King Arthur in a national touring production that begins a two-week run at the Lyric Opera House Tuesday.Based on T. H. White's "The Once and Future King," "Camelot" includes such Lerner and Loewe standards as "If Ever I Would Leave You" and the title song, which was a favorite of President John F. Kennedy.

A beagle was chosen best in show yesterday, beating more than 1,600 dogs in the Maryland Kennel Club's 80th all-breed show at the Fifth Regiment Armory.Owned by Jeffrey Slatkin and Eddie Dziuk of Chantilly, Va., the 13-inch beagle is named Champion Lanbur Miss Fleetwood and called Judy. The hound has been named best in show five times previously.Best-in-show judge, Fred W. Fraser of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, said of Judy, "I've been judging dogs for 40 years and I've never seen a finer beagle.

A restored 19th-century barn welcomes visitors to Avalon, where Questar homes is building condominiums, townhouse villas and single-family homes in the Pikesville area of Baltimore County.When no longer needed as a sales center, the barn will become a club house with a kitchen, conference room, great room, exercise room and men's and women's locker rooms.Lighted tennis courts, a swimming pool, biking and jogging trails and walking paths are some of the amenities planned for the 100-acre community, which was once a part of the historic Alto Dale farm, the former home of the Goucher family.

Pasadena Theatre Company's production of Lerner and Loewe's "Camelot" opens tomorrow night at Chesapeake Center for the Creative Arts in Brooklyn Park -- the first show in the main theater of the new arts center to have an extended run. "Camelot" boasts a cast of 45, with a 14-piece orchestra in the pit, for its four-weekend stand. The 23-year-old Pasadena Theatre Company has staged shows over the past five years at Baldwin Hall, Woods Community Center, and Humanities Hall at Anne Arundel Community College -- at the latter, PTC President Sharon Steele produced shows such as "Jekyll and Hyde," "Godspell," "I Hate Hamlet" and "It's a Wonderful Life."