On days when the world seems torn and untethered -- and Friday was one of those -- some turn to the arts for reprieve and restoration. I can think of no better refuge than the ballets of George Balanchine. Performed with the satin lyricism and the galloping gusto that the Orlando Ballet gave Friday's opening, they are both a salve and a shot in the arm.

For 20 years, Petronio has worked with some of the most talented and provocative visual artists, musicians, and designers of the time. In BLOOM he commissioned a score from poetic pop singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, to be sung by the 40-member Minnesota Boychoir, exploring the creative freedom of youth and the bittersweet poignancy of transformation.

Hubbard Street 2 (HS2), the second company of the internationally acclaimed Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC), has announced a call for entries to its ninth annual National Choreographic Competition to identify emerging choreographers who will create original works for HS2. The deadline for submissions to be postmarked is March 5, 2007.

The Board of Trustees of the Princess Grace Foundation-USA and its Chairman, Hon. John F. Lehman, announced today the winners of the 2006 Princess Grace Awards. The Awards for Theater, Dance and Film, first instituted in 1984, are named in honor of Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco, who helped aspiring artists pursue their goals throughout Her lifetime.

Few people have so dominated an art form during their lives as choreographer George Balanchine. Founder and head of the New York City Ballet, he brought Old World tradition and married it with New World innovation and gave the world some of the best choreography ever.

Choreographers Isabel Croxatto/Isabel Croxatto+Abundanza (Chile), Shinichi Iova-Koga/Inkboat (CA), Alex Ketley/The Foundry (CA), and Kate Weare (NY) have been selected to spend three weeks working with AXIS Dance Company in April, 2007 at MANCC on the Florida State University campus.