From 1965 until 1997, he directed, with Page until her death in 1991, the annual holiday season production of "The Nutcracker" at the Arie Crown Theater (aside from two years at the Civic Opera House). The ballet was sponsored by the Chicago Tribune to benefit Chicago Tribune Charities.

While an accomplished dancer who trained with Russian ballerina Alexandra Baldina, it was as a teacher that Mr. Long left his lasting mark on ballet.

These back-to-back issues have frustrated board members, but not enough to threaten Starrett’s leadership of the ballet, which he has headed for 23 of its 58-year-history.

“I don’t have any hesitation telling William I disagree with him,” says Nancy Kress, board chairwoman. “Yes, he can do wrong … I can support him but I can also question him. He is ultimately responsible to the board.”

Most of the women who come to Liu Liqun’s class are older than you would expect for ballerinas, but their enthusiasm for this western tradition is palpable.

China’s older generation likes to keep fit. Public parks have exercise machines for older people and, walking through the parks early in the morning, you see grey-haired men and women doing their tai-chi exercises, walking backwards and jogging slowly while beating their chests softly, all activities believed to help keep you active and healthy.

Suzanne Farrell Ballet Farrell, the high priestess of the Balanchine legacy, programmed and narrates an intriguing selection of the master's pas de deux' and solos. Should be a treat for all Balanchine lovers. Oct. 24-25, Zellerbach Hall; www.calperfs.berkeley.edu.

Trey McIntyre Project McIntyre has done well as freelancer of fast-paced, musical, and accessible ballet choreography. His brand-new company includes, among others, former Lines Ballet dancer John Michael Schert. Oct. 30, Jewish Community Center for San Francisco; www.jccsf.org..

Performed by dancers that are mostly students of Ivey's, the shows are largely family-oriented and attempt to appeal to a wide variety of audience members. The program generally includes On Cat Mountain around Halloween, The Angel Tree at Christmas, Peter and the Wolf in the late winter, and The Velveteen Rabbit early spring. Ivey has found that he, like others in the arts community, must work to gauge audiences' responses to his productions and work to provide what brings the most people to the theater. For the Robert Ivey Ballet, this means sticking with the classics and compositions that cater to a variety of age groups.

It's definitely not the end of the world for the Charleston Ballet Theatre. They've made little to no cuts, and in spite of everything, they are growing. During Spoleto, the company began experimenting with a few new approaches to pull in ticket-buyers and keep them around. One tactic they employed was partnering with a restaurant — in this case Fish — that encouraged their customers to visit the ballet's Magical Mystery Tour, while the CBT in turn sent attendees to the restaurant. There was even a CBT schedule beside the hostess stand at Fish. During the three-week art festival, CBT began having musicians perform in the lobby in between productions.