By EVELYN CAIRNS
Taylor Dance will present an “All-Star Showcase” featuring tap, jazz, hip-hop, Tahitian and Bollywood dancers from beginners to professionals at 1, 4 and 7 p.m. May 17 and 2, 4 and 7 p.m. May 18 at the Heinz C. Prechter Educational and Performing Arts Center in Taylor.
Kelsey Kochan of Taylor will take the spotlight in a contemporary work choreographed by Martine Ortiz of the prestigious Giordano Dance Chicago troupe.
“The Company” ensemble of Taylor Dance will perform to “Bossa Nova Baby,” among other numbers, while Kids USA and Dance America will entertain the audience with energetic routines to “Blue Suede Shoes,” “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over” and other familiar favorites.
Tickets are $10, but because some of the six scheduled performances are already sold out, Taylor Dance director Joy Squire suggests calling the Taylor Dance office at 734-374-3904 for ticket availability.
A “Springtime Ballet Gala” will showcase Ballet Americana dancers in ballet and cotemporary dances at performances scheduled for 7 p.m. May 30 and 4 and 7 p.m. May 31 at the Prechter Center.
The featured soloist will be Samantha Blackburn of Taylor, who will perform a Paquita variation — an extremely difficult example of 19th century ballet classicism — when she joins the company for “The Blue Danube Waltz.”
Other dancers who will be featured at the gala include Devin Kilmer of Dearborn, Ali Obermayer of Grosse Ile Township, Samantha Snyder of Allen Park and Sarah Geer of Southgate.
More are Alyssa Tanner of Romulus and MacKenzie Phillips, Kaitlynn Schuster and Kochan, all of Taylor
Production staff members, in addition to Squire, are Patricia Squire Lorenz, artistic director; Leif Lorenz, technical director; Jennifer Montie, ballet mistress; and Julie Phillips, assistant to the director.
Tickets, $10, will be sold at the door. The center is on the Downriver campus of Wayne County Community College District, 21000 Northline Road.
Artists’ works are on display
The works of 10 Downriver and Dearborn-area women are on display at the Detroit Historical Museum’s Community Gallery in an exhibit recognizing the contributions of the Detroit Society of Women Painters & Sculptors from 1903 to 2014.
According to a spokesman for the museum, the organization formed one of the first art groups in the city and was instrumental in the establishment of many of Detroit’s revered art institutions.
The artists whose works are displayed include Maureen Cassidy Keast of Wyandotte, Margaret Arnott of Taylor, Olga T. Pawlowski and Lily Dudgeon of Dearborn Heights, and Janet L. Kondziela and Kathleen W. O’Connell of Dearborn.
Others are Alice A. Smallwood, Erica Chappuis and Nicole Camilleri of Grosse Ile, and Jean Peacock of Gibraltar.
The exhibit will continue through July 6. There is no charge for admission. Parking in the museum’s lot is $5.
Cheryl Zemke seeking votes
Cheryl Zemke of Riverview is one of 10 designers competing for votes in a Detroit Institute of Arts contest for their creations inspired by the current DIA exhibit “Samurai: Beyond the Sword.”
The public has been voting for the designs at metropolitan Detroit locations at which they have been displayed and online at http://detroitgarmentgroup.org. The deadline for voting online is 11:59 p.m. May 12.
The winner will be announced at a fashion show at noon Saturday at the DIA, which is hosting the event with the Detroit Garment Group. Zemke is the owner of C. Creations.
Coming up . . .
May 14 — Lecture by Professor Michael Farrell on Washington’s National Cathedral, described as an American version of a Gothic English cathedral; 7 p.m. at the James R. DeSana Center for Arts & Culture, 81 Chestnut, Wyandotte; the cost is $15 ($10 for DCA members; $5, students); to register, call 734-720-0671 or go to www.downriverarts.org.
May 17, 18 — The final concerts of the Downriver Community Voices; 8 p.m. May 17 at the Allen Park Presbyterian Church and 4 p.m. May 18 at St. Cyprian Catholic Church; general admission will cost $5; the churches are located at 7101 Park Ave. Allen Park, and 13249 Pennsylvania Road, Riverview, respectively; for additional information, call 313-575- 0642.