Dancers

The Potomac Classical Youth Ballet Company is looking for all former members. The company will be celebrating its 10th anniversary and extends an invitation to all former members to be a part of the event. The celebration will begin with the company's 10th Anniversary Celebration Performance on Saturday, June 9, at 7:30 p.m. at The Maryland Theatre in downtown Hagerstown. The performance will include a new piece set by Artistic Director Lauran Clowser and a number of pieces from the company's repertoire, including the first piece ever set on the company 10 years ago. Former recipients of the Lauran Clowser Scholarship have also been invited to perform.

FREDERICK, Md. - R.A.W. is holding an audition for the all hip-hop, street and jazz dancers for major shows, tours and special appearances at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20, at 24/7 Dance Studio, 482 A Prospect Blvd. Come 30 minutes prior to audition time. Females ages 16 to 25 and males ages 18 to 25 are invited to audition. Females should bring sneakers and heels. Come stylishly dressed for the part. For information, call 301-302-4981.

GETTYSBURG, Pa. - In a scene from "Opus Cactus," four dancers, in sync, form an oversized, firetruck-red Gila monster that changes its shape, stretching lengthwise across the stage like a prowling lizard. In another moment, the Gila transforms, with its legs and arms - the appendages of three of the four dancers - drawn in and turned up like a scarlet lotus or crab fresh from the bay. Momix dance company will perform "Opus Cactus" on Sunday at Gettysburg's Majestic Theater.

HAGERSTOWN - "Christmas makes you feel emotional " So begin the lyrics of the traditional Christmas song "Silver Bells," the namesake of this year's Maryland Symphony Orchestra Holiday Concert. Audience members said Sunday's 3 p.m. concert - the second of two MSO holiday concert performances - aroused a scale of sentiment from wistfulness to elation. The feelings began as soon as music director Elizabeth Schulze led the orchestra and Hagerstown Choral Arts in Robert Shaw's "The Many Moods of Christmas.

The Board of Directors of the Potomac Classical Youth Ballet Company announces that dancers have been named for Company II for the 2006-07 season. Company II members are Anne Beachley, Eileen Conway, Alexa Hofmann, Stephanie Milani and Katherine Miller. Emily Seiler was named an apprentice. This was the first audition experience of this type for many of the dancers. Company II is PCYBC's training ground for dancers ages 12 to 18 who either were not old enough or needed additional training before joining the full company.

The Board of Directors of the Potomac Classical Youth Ballet Company announces that dancers have been named for the 2006-07 season. Named as full company members were Jennifer Bell, Courtney Boyer, Sonja Brigham, Alexis Cavey, Katie Colbert, Audreanna Colombo, Marie Furnia, Lauren Riviello, Kelsy Rupp, Isabella Schiro, Krystyna Thomas and Lacey Turner. Selected through a process of open auditions, dancers participated in a two-hour class and were rated by four judges on seven criteria, including technical skills at the barre, allegro, adagio, body alignment, presentation, musicality and, for the ladies, pointe work.

Auditions for Potomac Classical Youth Ballet Company's annual production of "The Nutcracker" will be Sunday, Sept. 10, from 1:30 to 4:45 p.m. at The City Ballet School at 14 N. Potomac St. in the Elizabeth Hager Center in Hagerstown. Performances of "The Nutcracker" will be at The Maryland Theatre on Saturday, Dec. 9, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday Dec. 10, at 3 p.m. Dancers must be present for the entire block of time scheduled for their age group. These are not individual walk-in auditions.

MIDDLETOWN, Md. - In East Coast national finals July 1 to 7, Dance Dynamics, under the direction of Katy Huffer, competed against dozens of dance studios from around the country for top honors at Showstopper Finals, the largest dance competition in the country. The junior company won a gold award and finished third in the 10-year-old recreational jazz division. The teen company also won a gold award and finished second in the 13-year-old recreational jazz division. Dance Dynamics also received two silver awards for a solo and a trio performed earlier in the week.

The late teen years can be tough for some who are struggling with where they want to go, who they want to be, etc. These questions have innumerable answers, making decisions somewhat difficult. However, not every teen is questioning what to do next. For 18-year-old Seth Chapelle, of Sharpsburg, the answer is obvious. "My biggest dream would probably be to win the world championship for C1," said Seth, and he is well on his way. Seth is a competitive canoe racer; a C1 is the specialized, small, one-person canoe he races on the international kayak circuit.

CASCADE Hunched over as he stood, one Chambersburg, Pa., senior citizen admitted he had trouble hearing over the noise of a band playing Sunday at Pen Mar Park. On the dance floor, it was another story. "He'll be 91 next month. He's giving me lessons," Brenda Binkley marveled as her dance partner, Steven Kovacs, spun around to the rhythms of a live band. Many people, including the young and many young at heart, turned out to dance, picnic and people-watch as Spectrum played Sunday.