Gene Kelly News

Smuin Ballet will kick off its 21st Season in October at San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts Theatre with its Untamed Dance Series. The program features the West Coast premiere of Serenade for Strings by Wonderbound (formerly Ballet Nouveau Colorado) Artistic Director and choreographer Garrett Ammon, set to Tchaikovsky's breathtaking score. Also on the Untamed bill is Objects of Curiosity, an evocative ballet by Choreographer-in-Residence Amy Seiwert, set to a delicate score by Philip Glass and Foday Musa Suso. Smuin Ballet also brings back the tempestuous story ballet Frankie & Johnny. (NOTE: this ballet contains material that is intended for mature audiences.) The Untamed Dance Series plays October 3-11 at San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts Theatre. Tickets ($24-$67) are available at www.smuinballet.org or (415) 912-1899. (This program will also be presented in March 2015 in Walnut Creek, Mountain View, and Carmel).

Christina Applegate, Jenna Elfman, Sarah Hyland, Paula Abdul, Mary Murphyand Elizabeth Berkley stepped forward as presenters at the annual Dizzy Feet Foundation gala to provide dance scholarships and opportunities to youth.

The competition is already beginning for the coveted Mirrorball Trophy. "Dancing with the Stars'" exciting new cast of pro dancers was revealed this morning

The 2014-2015 season of 'Concerts from the Library of Congress' brings a stellar roster of performers, ensembles and scholars from around the world in commemoration of the 150th birthday of founding patron Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge. The concerts are complemented by guest speakers, curators, panels, film screenings and displays of rarely seen manuscripts, letters and memorabilia from the Library's holdings. Concerts kick off Saturday, Oct. 11, at 8 p.m. with a performance by gospel and soul music legend Mavis Staples.

Celebrating its 5th year anniversary, Broadway In The Park and Gensler are presenting SINGIN' IN THE RAIN at this year's summer theatre festival, August 7, 8, 9, and 10 at El Segundo Recreation Park Softball Field. Director and Executive Producer Jeff Cason remarks, "This year's show will be our most ambitious yet. We're entertaining our guests with big tap dance numbers, movies interspersed with the live action, and real rain onstage for the title number. It will truly be the MGM classic film brought to life for kids and adults!"

North Raleigh Arts & Creative Theatre brings the tongue-in-cheek, award-winning hit Broadway musical Xanadu to the Triangle for its local premiere September 5th through 21st.

The Constance T. Rockwell, Dolores and Walter Bold and the Charity Randall Foundation Scholarship recipients will be honored at a luncheon today, Wednesday, August 6 at the LeMont at 11:00am.

Boston Ballet veteran Katelyn Prominski will appear in the role of 'Green Dress Girl,' a gangster's moll and femme fatale who performs a wonderfully sective duet with lead man 'Don Lockwood' in the Reagle Music Theatre's production of SINGIN' IN THE RAIN.

Yazbeck, who is currently in rehearsals for a concert version of KISS ME KATE at London's Royal Albert Hall, recently took the time to chat with BroadwayWorld about the concerts, preparing for ON THE TOWN, and much more. Check out the full interview below!

'Dance is a metaphor for expression, for freedom. In Footloose we use dance to express ourselves when we have no words. [As characters] we are all closed off, and finally at the end of the story, we are loosened; we become individuals again.' Speaking is Kristen Martin, who plays Ariel in Maine State Music Theatre's final season production of Footloose, which runs from August 6-23. Her co-star, Eric Sciotto, agrees that his character, Ren, is 'on a journey to find himself after being abandoned by his father. Ren sees in Ariel a troubled soul who reminds him of himself. They recognize immediately that they are kindred spirits.'

Noted dancer, actor and choreographer Harry Shum, Jr. (Glee, Step Up 2) has always had a vision to explore the similarities in dance and sport, ever since he saw a TV special that aired in 1958 called "Gene Kelly: Dancing - A Man's Game."

Pittsburgh CLO has announced that Tony Award-winning Broadway sensation Boeing Boeing will join the Pittsburgh premiere of Off-Broadway hit Murder For Two and audience favorite Girls Only - The Secret Comedy of Women to complete the 2014-2015 CLO Cabaret Series.

Join the quest for the Holy Grail today, July 29-August 3 with Monty Python's Spamalot. Based on the classic film comedy 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail,' Spamalot is the award-winning Broadway musical that took the Tony Awards by storm in 2005.

The Pittsburgh CLO Guild has announced that The Constance T. Rockwell, Dolores and Walter Bold and the Charity Randall Foundation Scholarship recipients will be honored at a luncheon on Wednesday, August 6 at the LeMont at 11:00am. The Pittsburgh CLO Guild offers college scholarship assistance to deserving students pursuing performing arts training, many of whom will be honored at this special luncheon. Also to be recognized are Moira, George and Morgan Davison for their service as Pittsburgh CLO Guild Ball Chairs.

Why do some actors make it and others don't? Ken Womble sets out to find the answer to this question, one that has fascinated and tormented him for years, in his new book, INSIDE ACT: How Ten Actors Made it and How You Can Too (Hansen Publishing Group, 373 pages, $24.99). To celebrate the release, BroadwayWorld will be featuring chapter previews from the new book. Today, hear from Jose Llana!

'If Danny Kaye had not been born,' a Hollywood writer once observed, 'no one could possibly have invented him. It would have been stretching credibility far past the breaking point'. Those words begin almost every biography of the legendary Danny Kaye and it is fitting words. Kaye may not have been as popular as Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly, or may have been the person to get when Donald O'Connor wasn't available, but Kaye left a legacy on entertainment. You can narrow down to a handful of influential artists whose legacy is still being found in modern day entertainers. You can see pieces of Kaye in early Robin Williams, or Will Ferrell in his Saturday Night Live days. Kaye took the 'song and dance' man routine and went one step further - the patter song and the foppish mannerisms that made his style unique.

This summer, Brooklyn-based Spectacle takes over the Theater at MAD as part of the exhibition NYC Makers: The MAD Biennial, presenting 11 unconventional programs that highlight the organization's cross-disciplinary approach and DIY ethos. A unique voice in the wave of micro-cinemas that have emerged in New York City in the past decade, Spectacle was established in 2010 with only 30 seats in its Williamsburg, Brooklyn home, and a staff made up entirely of volunteers.

Join the quest for the Holy Grail July 29-August 3 with Monty Python's Spamalot. Based on the classic film comedy "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," Spamalot is the award-winning Broadway musical that took the Tony Awards by storm in 2005.

The Dizzy Feet Foundation (DFF) and The Music Center today announced Christina Applegate, Jenna Elfman, Wayne Brady, Paula Abdul and Elizabeth Berkley as presenters for the fourth annual 'Celebration of Dance' Gala, which will take place at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at The Music Center in Los Angeles tonight, July 19.

Take a look at Pittsburgh CLO's production of CATS, opening tonight (July 18th)! A talented company of felines will bring Andrew Lloyd Webber's mysterious masterpiece to life on the Benedum Center stage. Scroll down to see production photos!