Edward Villella

The image of his dancing is frozen in memory--most famously, the powerful leap in George Balanchine's "Prodigal Son": suspended in midair, muscular thighs clenched, his face full of rage and determination. From the late 1950s through the mid-'70s, when he danced that and many other enduring roles with New York City Ballet, Edward Villella became one of the most famous American male ballet dancers of his era--perhaps the nation's first widely celebrated male ballet star.

Bob Barker hosted "The Price Is Right" for 35 years, but he wasn't invited to participate in the game show's 40th anniversary special. The 88-year-old TV personality said the show's producers "chose to ignore me, which is fine. " The 40th anniversary special episode of TV's longest-running game show aired Tuesday morning and featured returning contestants from the last four decades. Barker was shown in several clips but was not invited to appear on the program or attend the taping.

IF the cards had been dealt differently, the New York-born, Italian American Edward Villella might easily have found work on TV's "The Sopranos" or "Everybody Loves Raymond," or even forged a big-screen career a la Pacino or De Niro. But where the acting world was denied, the universe of dance gained one of its most vivid presences.

After a triumphant tour that won critical raves in New York, Miami City Ballet is cutting eight dancers because it can't afford to pay them. Ballet spokeswoman Nicolle Ugarriza says the corps and apprentice dancers' contracts will not be renewed next season. The dancers were notified last week in a letter from the ballet's artistic director and chief executive officer, Edward Villella. The cuts will reduce the troupe from 53 to 45 dancers.

For all of its 17 years, the Miami City Ballet has been the bearer of glad Balanchine tidings -- thanks to company founder Edward Villella. The former New York City Ballet star has happily capitalized on his legacy by filling his repertory -- especially on tour -- with brand-name Balanchine. And receptive audiences have rewarded the Miamians. "We do have this reputation," says Villella of the high marks given his company for its authoritative way with the master's dances.

After a triumphant tour that won critical raves in New York, Miami City Ballet is cutting eight dancers because it can't afford to pay them. Ballet spokeswoman Nicolle Ugarriza says the corps and apprentice dancers' contracts will not be renewed next season. The dancers were notified last week in a letter from the ballet's artistic director and chief executive officer, Edward Villella. The cuts will reduce the troupe from 53 to 45 dancers.

Yes, that was me standing beside the World's Largest Baseball in the parking lot of San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium before Sunday's Padres-Expos game. In my best carnival barker tones, I was urging/begging people to spend $1 to sign the vinyl-covered ball to "send underprivileged children to camp" (through the Times Summer Camp Fund). The big ball--12-foot tall, 2,500 pounds--does double duty: as a fund-raising device for the camp fund, and a centerpiece for the Upper-Deck All-Star FanFest.

Bob Barker hosted "The Price Is Right" for 35 years, but he wasn't invited to participate in the game show's 40th anniversary special. The 88-year-old TV personality said the show's producers "chose to ignore me, which is fine. " The 40th anniversary special episode of TV's longest-running game show aired Tuesday morning and featured returning contestants from the last four decades. Barker was shown in several clips but was not invited to appear on the program or attend the taping.

Talk about bipolar! The highs were lofty and the lows, well, definitely approached a nadir at the ninth edition of the Los Angeles Dance Invitational, on Saturday at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center. Having gone through various incarnations since its first concert in 1999 -- from celebrity-driven charity benefits to a choreographers' showcase -- the event continues to honor distinguished dance teachers and other notables in the field. And so it was the presence of Edward Villella -- the erstwhile New York City Ballet superstar who, in 1986, founded Miami City Ballet -- that seemed to bring the most cheers from Saturday's audience.

Christine and Sonia Menendez, 14-year-old identical twins, love ballet. They take classes at St. Joseph Ballet school in Santa Ana five or six times a week, and in the summer they sometimes take two classes a day. But Saturday's ballet lesson, when the twins and 25 students from inner-city Santa Ana were led by ballet master Edward Villella, former danseur noble for the New York City Ballet and the artistic director of the Miami City Ballet, will always remain in a class by itself.

Talk about bipolar! The highs were lofty and the lows, well, definitely approached a nadir at the ninth edition of the Los Angeles Dance Invitational, on Saturday at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center. Having gone through various incarnations since its first concert in 1999 -- from celebrity-driven charity benefits to a choreographers' showcase -- the event continues to honor distinguished dance teachers and other notables in the field. And so it was the presence of Edward Villella -- the erstwhile New York City Ballet superstar who, in 1986, founded Miami City Ballet -- that seemed to bring the most cheers from Saturday's audience.

IF the cards had been dealt differently, the New York-born, Italian American Edward Villella might easily have found work on TV's "The Sopranos" or "Everybody Loves Raymond," or even forged a big-screen career a la Pacino or De Niro. But where the acting world was denied, the universe of dance gained one of its most vivid presences.

An ambitious four-act extravaganza that lasts nearly as long as "Swan Lake," Edward Villella's "The Neighborhood Ballroom" proved clueless about storytelling and clumsy in its cavalcade of 20th century social dances at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday. However, Villella always managed to get one thing right. Just one. As an index of the prowess and vitality of Miami City Ballet -- the company that Villella founded in 1985 and has directed since -- the ballet did its job.

For all of its 17 years, the Miami City Ballet has been the bearer of glad Balanchine tidings -- thanks to company founder Edward Villella. The former New York City Ballet star has happily capitalized on his legacy by filling his repertory -- especially on tour -- with brand-name Balanchine. And receptive audiences have rewarded the Miamians. "We do have this reputation," says Villella of the high marks given his company for its authoritative way with the master's dances.

Christine and Sonia Menendez, 14-year-old identical twins, love ballet. They take classes at St. Joseph Ballet school in Santa Ana five or six times a week, and in the summer they sometimes take two classes a day. But Saturday's ballet lesson, when the twins and 25 students from inner-city Santa Ana were led by ballet master Edward Villella, former danseur noble for the New York City Ballet and the artistic director of the Miami City Ballet, will always remain in a class by itself.

Yes, that was me standing beside the World's Largest Baseball in the parking lot of San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium before Sunday's Padres-Expos game. In my best carnival barker tones, I was urging/begging people to spend $1 to sign the vinyl-covered ball to "send underprivileged children to camp" (through the Times Summer Camp Fund). The big ball--12-foot tall, 2,500 pounds--does double duty: as a fund-raising device for the camp fund, and a centerpiece for the Upper-Deck All-Star FanFest.

An ambitious four-act extravaganza that lasts nearly as long as "Swan Lake," Edward Villella's "The Neighborhood Ballroom" proved clueless about storytelling and clumsy in its cavalcade of 20th century social dances at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday. However, Villella always managed to get one thing right. Just one. As an index of the prowess and vitality of Miami City Ballet -- the company that Villella founded in 1985 and has directed since -- the ballet did its job.

In the new and endearing movie "Billy Elliot," an 11-year-old boy from northeastern England decides, against all odds, that he wants to be a ballet dancer. His widowed father and older brother, both tough coal miners on strike, at first hate the very idea of Billy's dancing, believing that it means he's unmanly. But Billy, a tough and stubborn kid, perseveres and, in the end, reaches his goal. Is this a likely story?

The image of his dancing is frozen in memory--most famously, the powerful leap in George Balanchine's "Prodigal Son": suspended in midair, muscular thighs clenched, his face full of rage and determination. From the late 1950s through the mid-'70s, when he danced that and many other enduring roles with New York City Ballet, Edward Villella became one of the most famous American male ballet dancers of his era--perhaps the nation's first widely celebrated male ballet star.