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25 to watch: Dance magazine selects 2007's hottest dancers and trends.

Article Excerpt
Dawn Fay

Ballet Memphis doesn't rank its dancers in the typical hierarchical sense. However, if there were a scale, Dawn Fay would undoubtedly land on top as the company's prima. Watching Fay dance is like listening to Melissa Etheridge sing rock or Diana Krall jazz-Fay is soulful, insightful, a powerhouse of strength The beauty of her dancing is not wrapped up in a preconceived notion of what a ballerina should be. Her movement is almost preter-naturally strong; she is more handsome than pretty But her sensitivity end emotion are raw, and for all her force, she is teasingly vulnerable.

In Trey Mclntyre's High Lonesome, Fay is triumphant. McIntyre handpicked her for the figure of his mother because of her "unbridled abandon," and because he wanted someone with "substance and humanity."

In 2007, Fay celebrates her 10th anniversary with Ballet Memphis in its early-winter run of the city's Orpheum Theatre, and, in the spring, at New York's Joyce Theater. This summer she will travel cross-country dancing High Lonesome with the Trey McIntyre Project From Jacksonville to Wolf Trap audiences will be treated to what Memphis has known and celebrated--a who infuses ballet with exuberance prima and artistry in equal parts.--Daniel Cappello

Meisha Bosma

There's fragility and ferocity in the dances Meisha Bosma fashions for her 13-woman company BosmaDance. Since its founding in 2002 in northern Virginia, Bosma, 32, has garnered critical acclaim for her fearless energy, uninhibited expressiveness, and choreographic vision. A Michigan native, Bosma spent two years with Israel's Kombina Dance Company assimilating a highly physical theatrical approach to movement. Her Handle With Care swirls and careens like a carousel before growing to stiletto-hardened maturity. Next month, Bosma premieres an ambitious work for 10 women derived from animal imagery. In May, the evening-length Shelter Project will intermingle film, sculpture, and music with her penetrating, emotion-laden choreography. Bosma's characters achingly long for sanctuary amid today's unstable world.--Lisa Traiger

Columbus Movement Movement ([cm.sup.2]).

"We no longer buy into the romantic notion that you need to be a starving artist," says Columbus Movement Movement ([cm.sup.2]) founder Erika Randall. The three-year-old Columbus, Ohio-based collective is making it possible for local dance artists to share resources through showcases and community outreach programs. It provides members with professional-level classes and helps them secure performance venues and raise money. [Cm.sup.2]'s members are a cross-section of dancers, choreographers, and companies. With the success of its sold-out Columbus Dances artist showcases and Gallery Hop site-specific performances, [cm.sup.2] is changing the face of dance in Columbus. In the coming year, [cm.sup.2] looks to expand its presence in Columbus and beyond through partnerships with local business associations and a greater role as a presenting organization. "Columbus is ripe for cultural growth," says Randall. "And we have found our success in tapping into that need."--Steve Sucato

Natalia Osipova

As Kitri, Natalia Osipova streaks across the stage with over-the-top jetes, her back arched so much that her head is touching her back leg. Her fiery fouettes bore into the floor, and her impish characterization seduces Don Quixote and audience alike. Natalia Osipova comes from the same virtuoso mold as that other Bolshoi wonder, Maya Plisetskaya.

The 20-year-old's prodigious talent has sped her from corps to soloist at the Bolshoi Ballet in under two years. Winner of the Grand Prix at the Prix de Luxembourg International Ballet Competition in 2003 and third prize in Moscow's International Ballet Competition in 2005, she made a noteworthy U.S. debut as Aspicia in The Pharaoh's Daughter last July, relishing the fantasy of the story as well as the steps. In pure dance works she sparkles and spins, making tricky technique look effortless and singling herself out as someone to train your binoculars on.--Margaret Willis

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