Snow White

This weekend, the Ballet Theatre of Annapolis ends its season with a program devoted to fairy tales. The performance will begin with "Fairy Tale Highlights" choreographed by artistic director Edward Stewart. Fairy tale characters will be featured from children's literature, including "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves," "Alice in Wonderland," "Puss 'N Boots and the White Cat" and "Tales of Beatrix Potter." BTA's 26-member company will perform with student dancers from Anne Arundel County and the Eastern Shore.

When Snow White takes to the ice rinks in Baltimore, she will be on familiar territory.It's not that Karen Preston is familiar with the Baltimore Arena, where she will be playing Snow White in a "Walt Disney's World on Ice" show from Jan. 28 to Feb. 2. It's that Preston is totally at home on the ice, no matter what city or country she is in.She is an Olympian and Canadian national figure skating champion who decided to turn professional in 1994 in order...

Edward Stewart, artistic director for the Ballet Theatre of Annapolis, has, with his newest ballet, "Oriental," created a wonderfully expressive abstract dance for his very talented company. The ballet evokes all the mystery, sensuality and bustle of the Orient. It premiered last weekend at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis.The secret to the ballet's success is Mr. Stewart's fine sense of musicality, which adhered to and illustrated the evocative music by John Adams and Colin McPhee.

Freestyle at BMA While the holiday might be over, it's always a celebration on First Thursdays at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Today, visitors to the museum can enjoy live music, tours, hands-on activities, lectures and light fare as part of the First Thursday Freestyle event. Visitors can tour the Cone Wing and see the circus drawings and prints by Picasso, listen to the sounds of the Swingin' Swamis, sculpt acrobats and clowns out of wire and beads, attend lectures on the exhibit "Picasso: The Circus" and learn to juggle with Mandy Dalton.

Storytelling at Hampton Mansion Kids today might curl up with a Harry Potter book, a Goosebumps tale or maybe something from the Arthur series. And parents may lull their younger set to sleep with a Dr. Seuss book or a Curious George story. Times have changed indeed. Back in the day when the Hampton Mansion was occupied - from 1790 to 1948 - children were occupied by hearing stories of Homer, Shakespeare and Dickens. Sunday, visitors to Hampton Mansion will hear a variety of tales that the children who lived in Hampton may have heard.

Robots [Fox] $30 Robots is a visually stunning, computer-animated, family comedy from the creative team of Ice Age. The best of the extras are the original Robots short used to pitch the movie; a decent "making of" featurette; a mini-documentary on the Blue Man Group, who collaborated on the score; an informative look at the creation of each character, including interviews with the voice actors; and laid-back commentary with director Chris Wedge and...

Last week, Shrek The Third, another in a series of popular animation films, opened in theaters. What's your favorite fairy-tale movie and why? WHAT YOU SAY My favorite fairy-tale movie? Well, there was Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Little Mermaid, Pocahontas ... I could go on and on, but my favorite was The Lion King. The animation was perfect, as were the voice-over characters, but the story line was so poignant which made the entire movie quite unforgettable. Freda Garelick, Baltimore My all-time favorite is, and always will be, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

WE ARE here to say goodbye to Pablo Escobar, otherwise known to those who loved him as "El Snow White."He lived a short but fruitful life distributing joy and cheer wherever he went. Just after his 44th birthday he was gunned down by vicious, cruel Colombian troops who were jealous of his looks and power.El Snow White was a good man, and because of that he had his detractors. Many people said that he was a murderer, an assassin, an arsonist, a smuggler and the person responsible for blowing up a Colombian airline with 107 people on board.

Lee/Jackson birthdaysCelebrate the birthdays of two Civil War generals and honor the thousands of Confederate soldiers who served Saturday at the Lee/Jackson Monument downtown. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was born Jan. 21, 1824, and served as Confederate general during the Civil War along with the commander-in-chief of the Confederate Army, Robert E. Lee, born Jan. 19, 1807. In tribute, wreaths will be laid at the monument, a march of Confederate and Federal re-enactment troops will proceed through the street, and period music will create the mood.

Black history festival Explore the culture and history of Maryland's African- American community at the Maryland Historical Society's Family Festival Sunday. The festival, which highlights the nation's most noted African-Americans from Maryland, is in celebration of Black History Month. The Family Festival runs 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Sunday at the Maryland Historical Society, 201 W. Monument St. $7-$8. Advance registration recommended. Call 410-685-3750, ext. 321 or visit www.mdhs.org. Music at Strathmore Grammy-nominated musical groups Trout Fishing in America and Dan Zanes & Friends perform Sunday at the Music Center at Strathmore.