Photo By Cincinnati Ballet

Cincinnati Ballet dancers are flying high in Hawaii on a "working vacation"

For many, summer means vacation time, and several CINCINNATI BALLET dancers are in Hawaii -- working, mind you. Eight dancers, plus Artistic Director Victoria Morgan and Music Director Carmon DeLeone, join forces with Ballet Hawaii to present Cinderella, choreographed by Morgan, Aug. 11-12 in Honolulu. In the title role, Principal Dancer Janessa Touchet partners with New York City Ballet Principal Jaoquin De Luz who dances the role of -- you guessed it -- the Prince.

If you saw Cincinnati Opera's Nixon in China or Aida, you might know that several Cincinnati Ballet dancers have been busy during their summer "off" season. Nixon in China featured six dancers; Aida featured 12 in striking gold body paint and Egyptian finery. Next up: Cheer for Cincinnati Ballet's Adiarys Almeida and Joseph Gatti, who will be representing our hometown in BALLET TECH CINCINNATI's annual GALA OF INTERNATIONAL BALLET STARS, a cosmopolitan showcase that brings a host of extraordinary dancers from several of the world's finest companies at the Aronoff Center Saturday. (See Arts Lead, page 39.) ...

BALLET TECH CINCINNATI (btc) is preparing to open a newly renovated headquarters in Kennedy Heights (6543 Montgomery Road), across from the Kennedy Heights Arts Center, where a "hard hat sneak preview" featuring a Chinese dance exhibition, live Jazz, drinks and hors d'oeuvres will take place 6-8 p.m. Thursday. The event is free and open to the public. The new facilities will be multi-purpose: convertible from studio space to a community theater venue. Myriad classes for children and adults, from ballet to hip hop to Latin dance are currently offered at temporary studios (6091 Montgomery Road, Pleasant Ridge). A free student performance 5:30 p.m. Friday at btc's temp studio marks the culmination of New York City-based H.T. Chen and Dancers' btc residency for a Chinese Dance Camp. Details at www.ballettechcincinnati.org. ...

Dancers interested in Afro-Caribbean styles who have some ballet or modern experience should consider auditioning for KAI KWEOL CARIBBEAN MUSIC AND DANCE, a multi-cultural local performance group directed by Flora Leptak-Moreau. Interest in creative exploration and choreography is a plus. Those auditioning must register in advance at kaikweol.org and receive confirmation to attend. There's a $10 fee; auditions will be held Aug. 11-12 and 25-26. ...

I spent part of my summer vacation time at the AMERICAN DANCE FESTIVAL (ADF) held in steamy Durham, N.C. Pre-professional dance students, professional dancers, choreographers, companies, dance educators, critics and fans converge to eat, sleep and breathe dance on Duke University's campus for the six-week festival, as they have for the past 30 summers. I had the pleasure of taking in a number of diverse performances that would seldom be seen in any one place (except perhaps New York City.) This year ADF hosted Russian and Argentine mini-festivals, alongside a vast array of important U.S.-based companies: Pilobolus, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Eiko & Koma, Mark Morris Dance Group, Paul Taylor Dance Company, to name a few. The 69-year-old festival has also earned its reputation as a hotbed for staging world premieres and launching companies into greater visibility. The acrobatically inspired company Pilobolus, named for a mushroom species, first made its name at ADF over 30 years ago and has continually been expanding into popular culture. Did you watch the Academy Awards earlier this year? They were the ones tumbling in as shadows behind a screen and collectively taking the shape of symbols representing the year's best films. You might also have seen them featured in a Hyundai commercial. You can catch Pilobolus live in Cincinnati Feb. 20-21, 2008, in the Aronoff's Jarson-Kaplan Theater when CONTEMPORARY DANCE THEATER brings them to town as part of their 2007-08 Guest Artist Series.