School Of American Ballet

Mrs. Norman Chandler of Los Angeles and 11 other artists and patrons of the arts were selected by President Reagan Wednesday as the first recipients of the National Medal of Arts. Mrs. Chandler, wife of the late publisher of the Los Angeles Times, was recognized as "the major effort" behind the planning and construction of the Music Center in downtown Los Angeles, the White House said in a statement.

'I'm the kind of person who never looks ahead," Leslie Browne said recently, in a moment of self-reflection. "I take each day as it comes." A practical stance, as it turned out. On Jan. 3, Browne danced the role of Juliet at the American Ballet Theatre premiere of Kenneth MacMillan's "Romeo and Juliet" in Washington.

Tanaquil Le Clercq, the legendary American ballerina whom poet Frank O'Hara once called "perfection's broken heart," died Sunday at New York Hospital at age 71. According to sources at the New York City Ballet, her home company, the cause of death was pneumonia. The fourth wife of choreographer George Balanchine, Le Clercq danced to great acclaim for his New York City Ballet in the 1940s and '50s.

Diana Adams, a favorite ballerina of such dance legends as George Balanchine and Agnes De Mille and who earned additional accolades for her teaching abilities, is dead. It was reported this week that she died Sunday in Mark Twain-St. Joseph's Hospital in San Andreas near Sacramento. She was 66 and had lived in nearby Arnold. A hospital spokeswoman said she died of cancer.

It would not be out of character for actress, dancer and choreographer Zina Bethune to stop her car for an injured animal, say those who knew her. Bethune, 66, a former New York City Ballet soloist and the founder of a Los Angeles multimedia dance and theatrical company, was struck by two vehicles and killed shortly after midnight Sunday after she apparently stopped to help an injured animal along Forest Lawn Drive in L.A. "Zina has been...

More than 54 million Americans smoke, and more than 3 million of these smokers are teen-agers. And, for the first time, more girls than boys are smoking cigarettes. Should parents be alarmed? Yes. According to the American Heart Assn. Each year cigarette smoking contributes to the deaths of more than 300,000 Americans, most from heart and blood vessel diseases. Still, as more adults quit, young people continue to start smoking. The American Heart Assn.

A rare still life by Thomas Hart Benton, a Winslow Homer watercolor and a small Georgia O'Keeffe flower painting are among 21 works of American art on view today in a preview exhibition of a Christie's New York auction. Eighteen watercolors and paintings and three Western bronzes will be on view from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Maisonette Room at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The works are highlights from Christie's $30-million sale of about 300 works of American art to be held Dec. 1.

The last time the New York City Ballet performed at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, four years ago, Margaret Tracey and Ben Huys were among the newest company members. Both had made a strong impression at the School of American Ballet's annual workshop the previous spring and had joined NYCB immediately afterward. But in October, 1986, they were dancing in the furthest reaches of the corps, and Orange County audiences were hardly likely to single them out.

Joffrey Ballet dancer and choreographer Edward Stierle has died at 22, according to company publicists. No other information on his death is available, pending release of facts by his family. However, Stierle was quoted in a Tuesday Calendar story as saying that he had AIDS. His latest ballet, "Empyrean Dances," premiered Tuesday at a Joffrey gala in the New York State Theatre, and Stierle took a bow onstage at its conclusion.

On "Knots Landing," where characters come and go, actress Stacy Galina's immediate future seems secure: With the 13th season premiere on Thursday, Galina is elevated to "name above the title" star status. This is not the 24-year-old's first transition since signing on with "Knots" two seasons ago. She initially portrayed brunette Mary Frances Sumner, William Devane's daughter. When the character was killed off, she returned as red-haired cousin Kate Whittaker.