Dance

Before the dawn, in a barely civilized netherworld where animals and humans change into one another, Wolf-in-Skins begins. The new theater piece, opening Friday at Temple University's Conwell Dance Theater, revives ancient legends in a modern hybrid of dance and opera. Violent witchery is a frequent plot point. Characters' names have the barbaric, guttural sound of old Welsh. "Grotesque monstrosities juxtaposed with the pure and holy" is how choreographer Christopher Williams describes his fascination with the mythology that drew him to create the first installment of what is projected to become a six-part saga.

A NN ROMNEY didn't get to be first lady, but that doesn't mean she wants the Disco Ball as a consolation prize. Sources tell TMZ.com that Mitt's honey turned down an offer to appear on the 16th season of "Dancing With the Stars. " She did appear on the season finale of the 15th iteration, voicing her rabid "Dancing" fandom, but she wasn't meant to cha-cha her way into America's hearts. No word was given for why she declined. Romney wouldn't be the first politically connected person to put on dancing shoes.

New art often comes with a backstory, which can be useful in helping identify a point of entry into otherwise-enigmatic work. The genesis of Daniel Arsham's sculpture at the Fabric Workshop and Museum is particularly dramatic, to the point where the story implants itself so firmly in the viewer's consciousness that it biases one's evaluation of the artist's efforts. Arsham makes sure this happens by including in his installation, "Reach Ruin," a sculpture incorporating sound, light, and music that re-creates a cataclysmic event and his enduring memory of it. The event was Hurricane Andrew, one of the most powerful and destructive storms in U.S. history, which struck Florida in late August 1992.

MENSAH M. Dean's story "Is it juvenile injustice?" - buried quietly in the New Year's Eve edition - deserved a tryout on "Dancing With the Stars," because he maneuvered all around addressing very important questions relevant to those most affected by the construction of that five-star detention complex. Everyone I've spoken to has mistaken its landscaped façade - complete with flood lights featuring rustic quarry stone of the likes pictured in Aspen ski-resort promos - for a hotel or corporate complex.

  MULTIDISCIPLINARY artist Daniel Arsham, currently in residence at the Philadelphia Fabric Workshop and Museum, and his frequent collaborator/choreographer Jonah Bokaer come together for a rare live performance here this weekend. "Study for Occupant" will feature stage materials created by Arsham and a dance performance choreographed and presented by Bokaer. A film of the performance will be on display with Arsham's current exhibition at the Fabric Workshop, "Reach Ruin," which continues through mid-March.

Word arrived by mail Monday that Philadelphia did indeed set a new Soul Train Dance world record. Writer Sheila Simmons, the principal organizer, got a congratulatory letter Guinness World Records along with the official certificate, which declares: "The largest Soul Train Dance consisted of 291 participants and was achieved by the Philadelphia Soul Train Line Dancers in Philadelphia, Pa., USA, on 13 February 2012. " The previous record - which lingered, but not for long, on the Guinness website this morning - was set by 211 dancers in November 2011 at Berkeley High School in Berkeley, Calif.

Growing up in North Philadelphia in the 1930s, Robert Crowder began drumming on wooden crates and other found objects. He quickly grasped the fundamentals of drumming, but he wanted to learn more about this seminal African art form. Inspired by acclaimed percussionists from around the world, such as Ladji Camara of Guinea, Chano Pozo and Desi Arnaz of Cuba, and Saka Acquaye of Ghana, Mr. Crowder dedicated his life to African drumming, leaving a vast legacy in Philadelphia. Mr. Crowder, 82, who founded a dance and drum ensemble and played with many renowned musicians, including saxophonist John Coltrane and pianist McCoy Tyner, died Friday, Nov. 30, of a stroke at his West Philadelphia home.

Mary Fiocca Yanetti, 98, founder of a dance studio in South Philadelphia, died Friday, Nov. 30, of respiratory failure at Pennsylvania Hospital. Mrs. Yanetti was known for the dance school she and her family opened in 1956 at their home in the 1100 block of South Seventh Street. AnnaMarie's School of Dance was named after Mrs. Yanetti's daughter, Anna Marie DiEgidio. The first floor was where classes in ballet, tap, jazz dancing, swing, and acrobatic dancing were taught. The second and third floors were living quarters for the family, said Mrs. Yanetti's grandson Jason Douglas.

Every December, sugarplums dance through the heads of people who may never see dance the rest of the year. The dozens of dancing children, charming Victorian scenes, Tchaikovsky music, and snow wafting on stage make Nutcracker a holiday standard so many love to see year after year. And ballet companies and schools love them back. "It's the anchor for our whole season," said Donna Muzio, artistic director of the Brandywine Ballet in West Chester and director of the Dance Center, the company's school.

A Philly girl knocked off a Dallas Cowboy to complete an all-female finale on the first all-star edition of ABC's Dancing With the Stars . Part of the remaining competition: a former Cowboys cheerleader. Soap star Kelly Monaco, who was born in Philadelphia and spent her teen years in the Poconos, edged out legendary running back Emmitt Smith, to take the third and final spot in Monday's showdown on ABC. Monaco, 36, became the show's first champ in 2005, two years after beginning a stint on ABC's General Hospital that has lasted more than 1,000 episodes.