October 2- 8, 2003

artpicks

A Fancy 40th!

dance

There aren't many 40-year-old ballet companies in America, so Pennsylvania Ballet's 40th-birthday year is a biggie. In the dance world, this isn't middle-aged -- it's downright venerable. Appropriately, PAB opens with a nod to George Balanchine, choreographic genius of the New York City Ballet and founding godfather of our local troupe. Two of Mr. B's classics, Concerto Barocco and The Four Temperaments, anchor the evening. The real fun, however, is a chance to see Fancy Free, Jerome Robbins' classic from way back in 1944. No princes or swans, just three sailors on leave during World War II, happily hitting the town, looking for girls, rejoicing in the city and having fun. With music by Leonard Bernstein, this wasn't just an instant dance classic, but quickly expanded into a smash Broadway musical, On The Town (which gave us the song New York, New York). MGM even made it into a movie staring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra. So while it's always great to see PAB dancing Balanchine, this little dance gem out of the past -- part Broadway, part ballet, a bit of social history (kind of) and very fun and fast -- promises to steal the show.

A Fancy 40th!, Wed.-Sun., Oct. 8-12, 2 and 8 p.m., $18-$69, Merriam Theater, 250 S. Broad St., 215-336-2000.

—Janet Anderson