Dancers

Compared with income levels of other artists, dancers' salaries rank near the bottom, according to reports published by the National Endowment for the Arts. The median income for full-time dancers between 2005-2009 (the most recent data available) was $27,392, but less than one-third of all dancers and choreographers fall into that category, the NEA reports. On such income, it's hard for dancers to find decent housing in a city like Los Angeles. Not surprisingly, Ashley Hoffman, Chisa Yamaguchi and Michael Butler all have roommates.

Just past the front desk at the Equinox fitness club in Westwood, a sign encourages members to sign up for their free 15-minute Pilates session. Next to the sign is Pilates instructor Ashley Hoffman, a 26-year-old with a porcelain complexion and full, reddish-brown hair. She and another trainer chat while waiting for spontaneous customers, but the fit-looking men and women checking in zoom by to the cardio and weight machines upstairs. There are no takers on this mid-December morning.

"Black Swan," the new psycho-sexual thriller set in the world of ballet, follows the downward emotional spiral of a young dancer whose inability to separate art and life leads to horrific and bloody consequences. The movie, directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Natalie Portman, is seen as a top awards contender. Critics have been sharply divided, with some praising the extreme depiction of lunacy while others have been turned off by the same. "Black Swan" takes a wildly subjective approach to the heroine's descent into madness.

Seven dancers with the Ballet Nacional de Cuba reportedly have defected while traveling last month in Mexico, with some of them resurfacing in the past week seeking asylum in the United States. The website Cafe Fuerte , dedicated to Cuban American affairs, has run an interview with some of the dancers, who said they defected because they are seeking a better life. "It's the hardest decision I've made in my life," dancer Annie Ruiz Diaz, 24, told the site. "We were determined to find a better life, artistic and economic well-being for our families.

This tried-and-true warm-up exercise for dancers is a total body strengthener and provides good cross-training for runners with tight hamstrings. Fitness expert Jennifer Kries uses it in her "Hot Body Cool Mind" DVD series because it builds strength while improving balance and flexibility - things that diminish as we age. What it does This leaning extension stretches your hamstrings and tones your glutes as it sculpts and strengthens your back, shoulders and core. What to do Start on your hands and knees on your mat. With wrists directly under your shoulders, push up into an upside down "V" position; often referred to as downward dog in yoga.

I am a retired choreographer-director with fairly acceptable credits, and so I feel I am qualified to take exception to Lewis Segal's review of "Fosse" at the Shubert Theatre (" 'Fosse,' Beyond Nostalgic, Shows His Style Has a Future," June 17). His patronizing attitude toward the excellent dancers in the show offends me. He writes that the New York company's dancers were better than the ones here at the Shubert, which makes me wonder how qualified he is to be a dance critic. If Segal chose to be that analytical and critical, he could have mentioned the choreography was very reminiscent of Jack Cole and Jerome Robbins rather than have a go at the brilliant dancers in the company.

Models, exotic dancers and strippers within the next several months will need to buy permits before they can entertain at private parties here. The City Council unanimously passed an ordinance aimed at these private entertainers Monday, but only after being assured that groups such as the Lions Club will not be affected. The "out-call" dancers are not banned, but they will need to give background information to the Police Department and pay $300 for a permit that will be valid for one year.

For one group of Orange County students, the proof is in the pointe. An audience of 3,000 will be judging the talents of the 12 members of Ballet Unlimited in Houston tonight when the dancers perform three pieces to the music of Fats Waller at the Regional Dance America National Festival, the nation's largest gathering of regional ballet troupes. The dance numbers are comedic pieces, one of which requires them to stand on their toes in large tennis shoes.

Using sharp turns, dives and body movements aimed at mimicking an airplane in motion, five Golden West College dancers are preparing for a special flight. The Nannette Brodie Dance Theatre will be heading to Mexico City next week for the 18th Continental Contemporary Dance Competition, organized by the Instituto de Bellas Artes de Mexico. The group, only one of four from the United States, will compete against more than 40 dance groups in the weeklong event.

The unique cultural monument that is William Forsythe's Frankfurt Ballet is scheduled to be demolished at the end of the 2003-04 season -- though not before the German company dances a last hurrah at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in June. But in the meantime, some of the dancers slated for dismissal have decided to sing for their suppers. They have cut a CD, "Cool Moves," for the Frankfurt-based label powerhouse records.