INSIDE:

Holocaust Theme
In Ann Arbor Play

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SUZANNE CHESSLER

Special to the Jewish News

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ichael Levine is prepared
to take the stage in any of
the three dances to be fea-
tured in the upcoming
Detroit program of the Joffrey Ballet of
Chicago on March 9 and 10 at the
Detroit Opera House.
Levine won't find out what roles he'll
dance until just before the performances,
but he might be doing polkas and waltzes
in Kettentanz ("Chain Dance"), more
abstract choreography in Lilac Garden or
the spirited movement of Rodeo.
"It is just part of my job to know thee
dances," says Levine, who has performed
several times in the area "We rotate
parts, and I'll probably not be in all three.
I always seem to do Rodeo."
Originally choreographed by Agnes de

Mille with music by Jewish composer
Aaron Copland, Rodeo captures the spirit
of the American frontier.
The work is very different from
Anthony Tudor's Lilac Garden, which was
set to music by Ernest Chausson. Lilac
Garden tells the story of a young woman
who must say farewell to the man she
loves on the eve of her arranged marriage.
Joffrey founder and director Gerald
Arpino choreographed Kettentanz. His
dance salutes the court parties of old
Vienna and was inspired by the company's
visit to the Austrian city in 1969. Arpino
will host a gala dinner and afterglow sur-
rounding the March 9 performance.
"I like ballet because of its physical
challenges and the chances it gives to
express emotions without words," says
Levine, who attended gymnastics classes
before studying dance at the San
Francisco Ballet School.

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Asner Garners
SAG Award

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Perlman Protege
At Orchestra Hall

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The dancer, who grew up in California
and acquired an interest in the arts from
his parents, was not raised with the
Jewish heritage of his father. But his par-
ents did share an interest in taking their
son to see stage performances.
Levine, who started with the Joffrey in
1993 and left for two years to work with
the American Ballet Theatre, may be
dancing with his wife, Maia Wilkins,
whom he met through work.

Ballet Masters

The Joffrey Ballet, founded in 1956 by
Robert Joffrey and Arpino, started out with
six dancers who toured the country with a
repertoire of original Joffrey ballets. Today,
relocated from New York to Chicago, the
Joffrey performs some 225 traditional and
contemporary ballets throughout the
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