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DANCE MAGAZINE PREDICTSWHO’S GREAT IN ‘08.

SARAWANEE TANATANIT Evenin the corps of American Ballet Theatre, SarawaneeTanatanit stands out for her striking look and daringquality. In past City Center seasons, Tanatanit, 24,has reveled in such repertoire as Within You WithoutYou: A Tribute to George Harrison, where shesparkled in Ann Reinking’s “While My Guitar GentlyWeeps,” and in Tharp’s Baker’s Dozen, where sheslides and struts with a jazzy, sensual confidence.

In her native Bangkok, Tanatanit studied Thaidance and competed on the national rhythmic gym-nastics team. A gymnastics scholarship took her toVancouver, where she studied at the Goh BalletAcademy. Now she blends crisp classical techniquewith a refreshing modern cool in choreography byMark Morris, Jirí Kylián, and Benjamin Millepied.Catch her in elegant classical mode in ABT’s Metseason beginning in May. —Susan Yung

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CEDAR LAKE CONTEMPORARY BALLET With enthusiasm shooting from lithe limbs, CedarLake Contemporary Ballet was last season’s sleeper favorite for their daring performances of Ohad Naharin’s thrilling compilation,Decadance. Under artistic director Benoit-Swan Pouffer, who is dedicated to presenting the choreography of international innova-tors, Cedar Lake worked with Naharin and his improvisational gaga technique for three months. The commitment paid off.Technical feats, willful exuberance, and emotional power blew audiences away. And while team synergy bolsters Cedar Lake, thecompany finds increased strength in individual gifts: Heather Hamilton’s drama, Jessica Lee Keller’s power accentuated by cashewfeet, and Jon Bond’s uncanny elasticity. Not so long ago critics and audiences alike dismissed Cedar Lake as the experiment of awealthy patron with dubious taste. But after the recent explosion, the company has proven itself. This season they will work withItalian choreographer Jacopo Godani, the Canadian Crystal Pite, and Stijn Celis from Belgium. —Lauren Kay

KINODANCE COMPANYThe Boston-based collaborative KinodanceCompany fuses film and movement to create alanguage rich in metaphor and expressivity. Inthe vivid and mysterious Denizen, the mostrecent work of the five-member troupe,Armenia is evoked through “choreography ofthe elements.” The lines are blurred when itcomes to defining Kinodance’s form: Dance,cinema, and visual art work together to amuseand intrigue audiences. Kinodance, headed byAlissa Cardone (choreographer and dancer)and Alla Kovgan (film director), is constantlyon the move. They collaborated with theNational Gallery of Armenia to form a dancecinema initiative in, of all places, the SouthCaucusus. Kinodance will perform in April atBoston’s Institute of Contemporary Art.

—Theodore Bale

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DAWN DIPPEL Dawn Dippel brings anunderstated elegance to all that she dances. Shepossesses noble grace and a quiet command ofspace. Nothing ever looks pushed or forced. With herold world Botticelli-like features, flaming red hair, andversatile technical skills, Dippel excels in lyrical anddramatic work, but is equally comfortable in L.A.street jazz.

Since joining Dominic Walsh Dance Theater in2006, she has moved up the ranks of the company,landing the role of Aurora in Walsh’s new SleepingBeauty. Last season she ruled the stage in his LoveIntr-Fear, and later exuded a cool curiosity as thelead in Mauro Bigonzetti’s Pression. You might sayher plate is full—Dippel is a member of DWDT,Revolve Dance Company (also in Houston), and a co-owner of North Harris Performing Arts, a leadingcompetition studio in Spring, TX. She looks forwardto performing in New York for the first time thisMarch at the Joyce with DWDT. —Nancy Wozny

LORRAINE CHAPMAN As a per-former, Boston-based Lorraine Chapman combinesthe grace of a Renaissance Madonna with a NorseValkyrie’s strength of purpose. However, center stageis no longer her prime destination. Since formingLorraine Chapman The Company in 2002, she hasmorphed into an award-winning choreographer withquirky, witty and altogether individual works. If theirtechnical base harkens to her years with Ballet deMontreal, Ballet British Columbia, and FeldBallets/NY, her eclectic ideas come from sheddingher pointe shoes to dance with the contemporarydance troupes of Amy Spencer/Richard Colton andMarcus Schulkind. Chapman’s work combines barefeet and physical prowess with images from literature,film, circus, vaudeville, and musical comedy.Schulkind says, “Her work suddenly springs uponyou, profound and memorable.” A more recent men-tor, Donald Byrd, calls her dances “quintessentialNew England—mysterious, and deeply felt.”Chapman’s company performs at Boston’s Institute ofContemporary Art April 11–12. —Iris Fanger

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KENDRICK JONES There’sa nonchalance to Kendrick Jones, a naturalelegance that makes his virtuoso tappingseem like a mere tip of the hat. He blazedthrough the Encores! concert staging ofStairway to Paradise last year, wowing criticswith his grace and sophistication. The NewYork Times’ Ben Brantley called him “themost exquisitely expressive young tapdancer since Savion Glover.” Yet Jones, 22,is a throwback, a hoofer who owes his clas-sic style more to tap’s heyday than its hard-hitting renaissance. It’s no surprise GregoryHines was a mentor as well as an idol.Hines took the 14-year-old dancer fromFlint, MI, under his wing, paid for tap festi-val scholarships, and urged him to becomea triple threat. Heeding Hines’ advice,Jones decided last fall to return to schooland complete his BA at NYU’s Tisch Schoolof the Arts for musical theater and acting.He’ll continue to perform occasional gigs inNYC while going to school. “I want to emu-late that smooth, sportin’-life style ofGregory’s,” Jones says. “He was likeSammy Davis Jr. and John Bubbles. I likethe hoofin’ that people do now, but thoseold timers’ grace moves me more.”Heading back to the future with Jones willbe an smooth trip. —Hanna Rubin

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TYLER ANGLE As the smitten Student in ChristopherWheeldon’s The Nightingale and the Rose at New York City Ballet, TylerAngle is the personification of a romantic love so youthful and innocent, soconsumed with the object of his affection, that his actions are heedless ofthe world around him. Angle, 21, joined City Ballet in 2004, where his broth-er Jared is a principal. He first drew attention for his last-minute replace-ment of an injured principal in Liebeslieder Walzer, rarely danced by a corpsmember. His dramatic abilities are often tempered by a particular sweet-ness; he has also delivered a passionate Romeo in Sean Lavery’s balconyscene and a lighthearted sailor in Fancy Free. A dancer in Wheeldon’s owncompany’s debut season, Angle has displayed breathtaking lines and sensi-tive partnering; he stands poised to become a danseur noble for the 21stcentury. —Amanda Smith

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NATALIE CORTEZ Fierce and feisty Bronx-born DianaMorales doesn’t seem to break a sweat when knocking out routines for heraudition. Neither does native New Yorker Natalie Cortez, 29, the triplethreat who plays Diana in the current revival of A Chorus Line on Broadway.“She’s pretty tough; I’m pretty tough. She’s stubborn; I’m stubborn. Shehas this incredible love for what she does,” Cortez says of her character.And that love surges toward the audience when Cortez dances.

Whether you’re in the front row or up in the balcony, Cortez gets toyou. Her “pas-de-bourée kick-ball-change” courses through the openingnumber. For a compact 5' 3" dancer, her extensions are remarkable.Among a cast of seasoned dancers like Charlotte d’Amboise, Corteznever fades into the background.

The gymnast-turned-jazz dancer who didn’t care for ballet fell formodern when she first attended the American Dance Festival. She stud-ied musical theater at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts CAP program, andafter getting cast in many non-Broadway shows, this role is her big break.And, in true Morales style, she’s not backing down. “I’m going to stickaround for A Chorus Line as long as my body will let me.” —Emily Macel

EXHALE DANCE TRIBE Exhale Dance Tribe is a young, sassy, brassy troupe that delivers leaps, spins, highkicks, undulations and a potent sensuality culminating in life-affirming finales. Since 2000, Missy Lay Zimmer and AndrewHubbard, two ex-Broadway dancers (they met performing in Cats), have directed and choreographed for their Cincinnati-basedgroup. Zimmer and Hubbard often perform, but the spotlight belongs to the five lithe young women who have absorbed theExhale style of attack and attitude, while bringing to their performances extraordinary stage presence and joy of movement. Atthe 2007 Cincinnati Fringe Festival, Exhale drew cheers and critical raves. Zimmer won a local award for outstanding choreogra-phy after the company performed in Know Theatre of Cincinnati’s Christmas Yet to Come. On March 28 and 29 they’ll be atCincinnati’s Aronoff Center for their third annual production. —Kathy Valin

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MATHEW JANCZEWSKI and ARENA DancesThe abstract, deeply intelligent choreography of Mathew Janczewski, which hisdancers inhabit with almost preternatural ease and precision, makes audiencesswoon. A graduate of the University of Minnesota dance program, he launchedARENA Dances 12 years ago. Janczewski’s formalism, at times, even elicits asense of the sublime. In October Janczewski premiered his newest piece, Ugly,commissioned by the Walker Art Center. Created in three parts—”Baroque,”“Technology/Disco,” and “Nature”—it looks at society’s demand for artifice andphysical perfection through a movement vocabulary that draws from courtdance, a gymnastic athleticism, and martial arts. Janczewski’s collaboratorsinclude an architect, a playwright, and electronic-music icon Morton Subotnick,who performed the score live and onstage. In May, Janczewski remounts his exqui-site waterBRIDGE at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis. —Camille LeFevre

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MICHELA MARINOLERMAN At 21, MichelaMarino Lerman is a quadruple threat,not just an ace hoofer. A choreogra-pher who sings, acts, and performs,she also loves directing. Her first full-fledged opportunity came when shewas 19 and the downtown venueDixon Place commissionedAM+Bu$h+ED, her original show thatincluded rappers and tappers. “Nomatter what you do as a young persontoday, you’re somehow ambushed bythe mainstream corporate view onwhat they think a young person shouldbe,” she wrote. In this work, her goalwas to “ambush” audiences into see-ing that young people do care aboutthe world.

It all began with a debut as a 5-year-old on Sesame Street. In herteens, Lerman was a regular at BusterBrown’s weekly tap jams in Manhattan.Brown allowed Lerman the freedom todevelop her melodic improvisationalchops. Gregory Hines was soimpressed with Lerman’s “feet,” thathe also began to mentor her. That“atta girl” was the incentive Lermantook to carry her shoes to such far-flung venues as The Netherlands,Germany, Bermuda, Spain, and Japan.In 2008, Lerman plans to continue toperform regularly at The Box nightclubin NYC with fellow tapper JimmySutherland, and at the annual Tap Cityfestival. —Jane Goldberg

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DIANA ALBRECHT DianaAlbrecht dances with the elegance of a youngprincess. Strength and delicacy meld together,from her long, arched feet to the regal carriageof her head. Dancing Balanchine’s The FourTemperaments, her compact body moves withbuoyancy and efficiency, ornamented by quick,light feet and the flash of her generousextension.

Supported by her family in Paraguay,Albrecht’s appearance at the 2005 Youth AmericaGrand Prix in New York won her a full scholarshipto The Washington School of Ballet and a posi-tion in Washington Ballet’s Studio Company. Twoseasons later, she’s been promoted to apprenticewith the full company. Artistic director SeptimeWebre has planned featured roles for her, withprincipal roles just waiting in the wings. You’ll findher in February in 7x7 Love Duets, and in May inWebre’s Cinderella.

“My dream always was to come to Americaand do this kind of dance,” says Albrecht of theBalanchine choreography, though she also con-fesses to seeing herself as a “more lyricaldancer,” with a longing for great classical roleslike Odette/Odile. Watching her arms uncurl likevelvet ribbons as she moves, you know it’s just amatter of time. —Lea Marshall

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CHARLES O. ANDERSON andhis Dance Theatre X When slashing yet lush,lyrical movements weave with texts from literary heavy-weights like W.E.B. DuBois, James Baldwin, and EssexHemphill, Charles O. Anderson’s politicized and poeticvoice reaches out to touch us all. In Funky Suite: Bodyand Soul, his gay black male cast—himself included—ushers us into an ethos that challenges gender stereo-types. The women of Dance Theatre X wear his move-ment like luxurious garments woven of willpower.

In April at Philadelphia’s Painted Bride, DanceTheatre X will premiere a new work, Hush, that deals withtrauma and memory. Anderson created the work in col-laboration with Afro-fusion choreographer VincentMantsoe and butoh/ballet/hip hop fusion choreographerKota Yamazaki. —Brenda Dixon Gottschild

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CAROLYN ROSE RAMSAYCarolyn Rose Ramsay has discovered “tall girlheaven” on the Mediterranean. The 22-year-old,5' 8" Canadian from Vancouver joined Les Balletsde Monte-Carlo in September and is thrilled tofind, “I don’t stick out so much.” The long-leggedbeauty had towered above her corps colleaguesas a rare foreigner in Alicia Alonso’s BalletNacional de Cuba. Alonso welcomed her anywaybecause she admired Ramsay’s “determinationand hard work.” Ramsay had gravitated to Cuba in2003 (after training at the Royal Winnipeg BalletSchool) because of the technical excellence of theBNC dancers. At the USAIBC in 2006, she won acorps contract from Miami City Ballet. “Miami wasa fantastic experience but somehow not right forme.” But MCB artistic director Edward Villella isconfident Ramsay has a bright future. “Carolynhas innate talent and the joy of dancing. She haspoise and personality in the grand classical man-ner.” Carolyn Ramsay may think she sticks outbecause of her height, but it’s her natural grace inmovement that audiences will remember.

—Michael Crabb

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PENNY SAUNDERSThe awakening came when she firstperformed the magical central duet inNacho Duato’s exotic Gnawa withHubbard Street Dance Chicago. Tinyand lithe, with a face that is enigmaticin its scrubbed, quiet beauty, PennySaunders was like a hummingbird justfreed from its cage—quick, precise,and yet seamless and surprising in hermoves. These impressions were con-firmed last year when she dancedanother beautifully imagined duet inLar Lubovitch’s Cryptoglyph.

Saunders, 29, was just 16 and still astudent at the Harid Conservatory inFlorida when she got her first job withAmerican Repertory Ballet in NJ. Afterfour years, she moved on to BalletArizona, then switched to more con-temporary dance with MOMIX. In2004, after three auditions, she wasfinally accepted to HSDC.

“I think I’ve really begun to tap intomy full potential at Hubbard Street,”says Saunders, whose abiding dream isto work with Swedish choreographerMats Ek. This season you can see herperforming at the Harris Theater inChicago March 26–April 5, and at theJoyce in NYC Aug. 4–16. —Hedy Weiss

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EKATERINA KONDAUROVASleek and slinky, Ekaterina Kondaurova thrilled audi-ences at City Center’s Fall for Dance festival lastSeptember. The Kirov Ballet beauty rocked AlexeiRatmansky’s hauntingly repetitive Middle Duet. Eachflick of her leg or whip of her head towards partner,Islom Baimuradov, had people gasping. The lithelimbs of this 24-year-old with fiery red hair and a pene-trating gaze surge into the movements with an earthyyet powerful fervor.

Born in Moscow and trained at the VaganovaAcademy, Kondaurova joined the Kirov in 2000 andbecame a soloist in 2006. Though she’s been cast inplenty of classical roles (Lilac Fairy in The SleepingBeauty, Medora in Le Corsaire), she thrives on contem-porary works. When she returns to City Center this Aprilwith the Kirov Ballet and Orchestra, she will be dancingin Steptext, by her favorite choreographer—WilliamForsythe. “I feel freedom in his dancing. You get somuch energy from Forsythe’s movement. After perform-ing the ballet, you are still excited.” —Emily Macel

SHARNA FABIANO Sharna Fabiano is a thinking-per-son’s tango dancer. Balancing atop tall pencil-thin heels, she tracesrococo patterns as she swivels and snakes a leg around partner IsaacOboka. A modern dancer by training, Fabiano immersed herself in theArgentine tango community a decade ago. Trained by tango revivalistDaniel Trenner and by teachers in Buenos Aires, she is among a newwave of tangueras (female tango dancers) who assert their power tolead on dance floors and concert stages. “She takes tango movementsand brings them to greater artistic expression,” notes Boston-baseddancer and artistic advisor Michael Silverman. In March at Washington,DC’s Dance Place, her Sharna Fabiano Tango Company offers a pre-miere fusing her two worlds: contemporary and tango. A former mem-ber of the women’s tango collective TangoMujer Company, Fabiano, 31,still teaches social tango around the U.S. and Europe. “Dancing withsomeone so closely activates your creative energy,” she says. “It trans-forms you in subtle ways.” —Lisa Traiger

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KUMIKO TSUJI Ain’t shesweet? And a technical dynamo too.Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s Kumiko Tsujiattacks Dwight Rhoden’s jazzy Smoke ’nRoses with spontaneous playfulnesswhile thrusting her sassy extensions andgrand jetés skyward. Her ebullientPrincess Florine and sprightly Fairy ofSong in The Sleeping Beauty are radi-antly virtuous.

“My favorite role so far is Cupid inDon Quixote,” says the bubbly 24-year-old. As a child, she watched balleton TV in her native Japan. “I wanted tobe a princess.” While she enjoysenriching her movement vocabulary incontemporary ballets, she loves theclassics and aspires to star in Giselleand La Bayadère.

Tsuji trained at London’s Royal BalletSchool and danced with the Hong KongBallet before joining PBT in 2003 as anapprentice. Promoted to principaldancer this season, the fast-rising artistcan be seen in Pittsburgh this March inRhoden’s Carmina Burana and April inthe lead role of Derek Deane’s Alice inWonderland. —Karen Dacko

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CELESTINA Celestina didn’tstep into her first dance class until shewas in college. Yet after only a fewmonths of jazz and hip hop training atUniversity of Southern California andEDGE Performing Arts Center in L.A.,she signed with a talent agency andthe work started pouring in. Her rawtalent landed her an array of commer-cial gigs from iPod and Ford nationalcampaigns to a featured dancer inmusic videos for Prince, Brandy, BlackEyed Peas, and Usher.

Celestina was first noticed whilefreestyling on set for Lloyd Banks’music video On Fire, where she bentbackward almost parallel to the floorand threw her arms behind her, earn-ing her the nickname “Matrix.” Hergravity-defying move became so pop-ular that other dancers and recordingartists began mimicking it. She joinedthe cast of DanceLife, an MTV dancereality show produced by JenniferLopez in 2007. Now she is transitioningfrom dancer to overall entertainer,appearing as a backup dancer andsinger in the Alvin and the Chipmunksfilm, which premiered in December.She is also releasing a dance workoutDVD with fellow “DanceLife” castmember Jersey. —Wendy Garofoli

NOAH RACEY Lanky and low-key, Broadway dancer NoahRacey has a quiet charm that creeps up slowly on audiences. So do thedance numbers he choreographs. Racey, singled out for his roles inNever Gonna Dance and Curtains, has a passion for creating old-timeBroadway showstoppers. He has found a home in Town Hall’s popular“Broadway by the Year” series, where he’s resident choreographer. “Iwant the audience to feel entertained,” he says. “I don’t want them toanalyze or scrutinize—I want them to be joyful.” Racey’s choreographyfor “All Singin’, All Dancin’,” last summer’s musical salute there, had hisdisarmingly casual stamp. For one number, “I’ve Got You Under MySkin,” Racey and four other male tappers provided beats and body per-cussion as singer/dancer Joyce Chittick, accompanied only by a cello,sinuously inched across the stage and through Cole Porter’s yearninglyrics. As she glided off, down came the house. The revue’s classic styleand spirit caught the eye of director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell, who’steaming up with Racey to workshop it this spring with an eye to aBroadway transfer. Racey isn’t ready to hang up his taps yet, though.“I’m stuck with the rhythm bug,” he says. Lucky for us, we’re stuck withRacey—’cause we’ve got him under our skin. —Hanna Rubin

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MARA VINSON Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Mara Vinson hasa performance persona both delicate and poetic. In Nacho Duato’sRassemblement, she upstaged all with her gritty, emotionally chargedperformance.

Growing up of Japanese heritage in Redondo Beach, CA, her earlyballet training began as therapy to correct a hip condition. She thenmade her way to PNB’s professional division. While a member of thecorps in 2001, she was picked to dance the role of Clara (traditionallydanced by an adult in PNB’s Nutcracker).

Her femininity and determination surface in all the right places—asAurora in Ronald Hynd’s The Sleeping Beauty, and in more contempo-rary fare: Kiyons Gaines’ abstract {SCHWA} and Susan Marshall’s aerialKiss. In her recent black swan performance, her dancing was some ofthe most daring of PNB’s season. —Gigi Berardi

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IVAN VASILIEV He blazes across thestage like a streak of lightning fueled with enthusi-asm and brimming with confidence. At the age of18, Ivan Vasiliev is one of the hottest young maledancers in the world. Born in Vladivostock andtrained in Minsk, he was snapped up by the BolshoiBallet after winning the Moscow ballet competitionin 2005 and the Grand Prix at Varna in 2006. With acurly mop of light brown hair, sparkling eyes, and acheeky grin, he sets the stage alight in ballets likeDon Quixote and La Bayadère. His solos are filledwith speeding-arrow jetés, blisteringly fast tours à laseconde, and Catherine-wheel pirouettes that burnholes in the floor. His multiple pirouette record is21, though he ruefully states that there is only timefor 10 or 11 in performance. When not dancing, heloves to read and quote poetry. Though still asoloist, Vasiliev has all the charismatic qualities thatwill make him a true star. —Margaret Willis

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CHASE JOHNSEY The comedic talent of Les Ballets Trockaderode Monte Carlo has been the company’s calling card since its founding in 1974.But Chase Johnsey (aka Yakatarina Verbosovitch and her danseur alter-egoRoland Daulin) uses his brilliant technique and delicate quality to blur genderlines to the point of spooky illusion. The petite 22-year-old, Florida-born, diva isso convincing that if you plunked him down into the cast of ABT’s La Bayadèreas one of the Shades, no one would blink an eyelash. Trocks director ToryDobrin has sometimes had to steer Johnsey back to his comic duties. But whenVerbosovitch charmingly laps up the pirouettes and leaps of The Flames of Parispas de deux or the sustained feminine phrasing of Le Corsaire’s warhorse duet,the performance is more than a little mind-blowing. Johnsey has received ravereviews from London to Tokyo. Look for him on the road with the Trocks inVirginia, Chicago, and Toronto this month. —Joseph Carman

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FAYE DRISCOLL No to pretti-ness, no to glamour, no to glistening mus-cular limbs. Yes to intensity, yes to bodyheat, yes to wildness, freedom, and in-your-face defiance.

Faye Driscoll has produced a giddy anar-chism we haven’t seen since the fake blood-and-nudity hilarity of DanceNoise in the1980s. The sexuality in her latest piece,Wow Mom, Wow, is more basic than hetero-sexuality. The dancers are doggies whohump or cats who claw. They are also youngwomen who speak their hopes and fearswhile slamming a brush through their hair.But underneath the wild child antics is a rig-orous sense of craft. Some of the episodesrefer back to the past and enlarge it. Theeffect is cumulative.

A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of theArts, Driscoll has danced with Doug Varone,David Neumann, and Yasmeen Godder.Wow Mom, Wow opened at Dance NewAmsterdam, where Driscoll teaches. Thismonth she appears at HERE Arts Center inManhattan, and in the spring she’s atBrooklyn Arts Exchange and BrooklynCollege. In the summer she’ll head to SanFrancisco’s West Wave festival and The KeyCity Playhouse in Port Townsend, WA.

—Wendy Perron

SHINICHI IOVA-KOGA Whether entangled in arope, wobbling “headless” across the stage, or shyly partnering agiant bird, as he did in the most recent Our Breath is as thin as aHummingbird’s Spine, Shinichi Iova-Koga is intense. With butoh aspart of his heritage, the Santa Clara, CA–born dancer/choreographerlocates highly imagistic pieces in a shadowy universe in which theabsurd coexists with the lyrical, and destruction and creation holdeach other in balance. As much at home in Germany as in California,Iova-Koga uses the dancers’ physicality to make works that are ashilarious as they are haunting. On April 24, the mercurial and mesmer-izing Iova-Koga and his nine-year inkBoat ensemble will premierec(H)ord—a collaboration with the Seattle-based Degenerate ArtEnsemble—at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.

—Rita Felciano

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