Two Chamber Operas By Martin Halpern
February 2-4 at 8 PM; February 5 at 3 PM
Shetler Studios, 244 West 54 Street, 12th floor

Prolific composer/librettist Martin Halpern will premiere two new chamber operas: "Constancy," freely based on Anton Chekhov's "The Bear," and "The Lower Drawer," for which Halpern created the story of a man who moves away from living in the past. Singers are Jim Trainor, Nancy Loesch, and Mark Montague. Pianist is Earl Buys; stage direction is by Jamibeth Margolis; music direction by the composer.

Miro Magloire's New Chamber Ballet
February 10 & 11 at 8 PM
City Center Building, 130 West 56 Street

A program of three premieres by Emery LeCrone, Constantine Baecher, and Magloire, with music ranging from Karlheinz Stockhausen to Kurt Weill. Musicians are Miranda Cuckson, violin, and Taka Kigawa, concert pianist, making his debut with New Chamber Ballet.

BalaSole Dance Company
February 11 at 8 PM & February 12 at 3 PM
Ailey Citigroup Theater, 405 West 55 Street

Roberto Villanueva gives performance and mentoring opportunities to a new cast of dancer/choreographers with every program. At the February performances, entitled "Polymorph," he will present Loganne Bond, Raven McRae, Maxine Montilus, Laura Neese, Sandra Passirani, Michael Ryan, Erin Shimberg, Saeed Alan Siamak, Roberto Villanueva, and Charly Wenzel.

Kymera Dance, directed by William Isaac
February 24 at 8 PM; February 25 at 2 & 8 PM
The Little Flower Theater, LaGuardia High School, 100 Amsterdam (at 65th Street)

Debut performance of William Isaac's Kymer Dance, featuring new works by Isaac and Abdur Rahim-Jackson. Guest Company is Armitage Gone! Dance (of which Isaac was a charter member until his retirement last year), performing two sections of Armitage's "Three Theories."

Lydia Johnson Dance
Sunday February 26 at 2:30 PM
Salvatore Capezio Theater at Peridance, 126 East 13th Street

In this preview performance, the Company will perform Johnson' new work to music by contemporary Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov, and will also perform the 2006 "Falling Out," to Philip Glass' Third Symphony.

Laura Pawel Dance Company
March 15-17
Chen Dance Center (formerly Mulberry Street Theatre), 70 Mulberry Street

The Company of dancers and musicians will premiere "Switchbacks," and perform repertory works, all to live music by composer/performers Barebones (harmonica and guitar duo), Cecilia Colemen Quartet, and Phil Stone.

Shared Program of Joffrey Ballet School Performance Company, Ariel Rivka Dance, and WalkingTalking/Catherine Miller
March 22-24 at 8 PM
MMAC, 248 West 60 Street

The Joffrey Ballet School Performance Company, under the direction of Davis Robertson, will perform Gerald Arpino's "Birthday Variations." Rivka Dance will premiere works by director Ariel Grossman; Catherine Miller will premiere her "Unfurl," and repeat her duet "Juliet Looks to the West," which she will dance with Alex Dean Speedie, currently with Shen Wei Dance Arts. Several works have original music by composer David Homan.

Company C from San Francisco
May 18-20
Skirball Performing Arts Center

Charles Anderson's company returns to New York.

Boston International Ballet Competition
May 31-June 3 in Boston
Valentina Kozlova's competition in its second year.

Lisa Jo Sagolla's new book Rock 'n' Roll Dances of the 1950s, a fresh look at those cool dances of the 50s, including The Bop, The Slop, The Stroll, The Madison, The Hand Jive, and the Jitterbug. Dance historian/critic/choreographer/educator Sagolla is also the author of The Girl Who Fell Down: A Biography of Joan McCracken.