Ailey II company opens region's season of dance

9/17/2005

Toledo's upcoming dance season is small in terms of events, but large in stylistic offerings, which include jazz and flamenco, classical ballet and its parody.

The season opens Oct. 24 at the Stranahan Theater with gifted young dancers from Ailey II, the training company for the New York City-based Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Seville native Jose Porcel brings his world-renowned flamenco company to the Valentine Theatre Dec. 8.

Toledo Ballet, still midstream in its change of artistic leadership, plans a pair of productions, including its 65th annual presentation of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker.

Expect a more classical face on the holiday classic, said company executive director Dee Spencer. The production will be directed by Houston-based Finnish ballerina Soili Arvola, who also will dance the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Ukrainian Arkadiy Orohovsky will be her cavalier.

The winter months offer contrasts in "classical" ballet. Doomed love across lines of social class will be the theme when the Russian National Ballet presents Adolphe Adam's 1841 Romantic ballet Giselle Jan. 12 at the Valentine Theatre.

Count on the all-male ballet company Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo to put an altogether different spin on the ballet classics when they bring their inimitable humor to Bowling Green State University's Kobacker Hall on February 2.

In Ann Arbor, Mich., the Jose Limon Dance Company offers performances Jan. 13-15. The Japanese ensemble Pappa Tarahumara presents Ship in a View on Feb. 23. The Nrityagram Dance Ensemble performs traditional Indian dance on April 19. All three events are in the Power Center.

The Detroit Opera House hosts the Kirov Ballet in performances of Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty Oct. 20-23, Savion Glover Nov. 19-20, Joffrey Ballet in performances of The Nutcracker Dec. 1-4, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens April 7-9, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater May 24-28.