Mel A.Tomlinson Joins Dance Legend's Ruth Page Tribute at St Luke's Theater, 3/23

Dance Theatre of Harlem, Alvin Ailey, and New York City Ballet dance star Mel A.Tomlinson joins Dancers Over 40 tribute of Chicago Ballet superstar Ruth Page in the tribute, "A World Apart" at St. Luke's Theatre, 308 West 46th St., NYC at 7PM. A dance innovator who refused to be pigeon-holed into just one type of dance, Ruth was the first American to dance with Diaghilev'€s Ballets Russes in 1925, first American to dance with Anna Pavlova's company, first to commission George Balanchine to choreograph and the first to present Rudolf Nurevev in America. Prokofiev, Gershwin and Ravel played for her, Isamu Noguchi designed her costumes and she commissioned Aaron Coplandâ€s first ballet score. She dedicated her life to making dance and ballet accessible to everyone. Ruth's work on Broadway includes her professional stage debut in Jerome Kern and Victor Herbertâ€s Miss 1917, a leading role in Irving Berlin's Music Box Revue 1923-24 edition, and choreographing 1947's Music in My Heart. A double-bill of her famous opera ballets Revenge and The Merry Widow had a six-day a sell-out run at the Broadway Theater in 1955.

Dancers Over 40 member Lawrence Leritz and DO40 board member Andrew Wentink are the great minds behind this panel. Lawrence danced with her company and Andrew curated all of Ruthâ€s materials for the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing arts, knew Ruth for many years and wrote extensively on her career. Scheduled to pay tribute to Ruth in person or in recorded messages are Peter Martins, Patricia McBride, Kirsten Simone, George de la Pena, Dolores Lipinski, Patricia Klekovic, Gildo Dâ€Annunzio, Helene Alexopolous, Lawrence Leritz, Tom Gold, Cynthia Roses, Suzette Boyer, Dean Badolato, Bil Badolato, dance historian Joellen Meglin, and Dakin Hart, Curator of the Isamu Noguchi Museum.

Tickets will be on sale at the St. Lukeâ€s Box Office early March, and on telecharge as well. Members, $25.00 with your 2014 â€" 2015 discount code/membership card; non-members, $45.00. Members call the telecharge number 212-947-8844 or go online to www.broadwayoffers.com. Non-members call telecharge at 212-239-6200 or go to www.telecharge.com. The St. Lukeâ€s Box Office is open 7 days a week, 2 â€" 6pm (save phone and online charges by going to the box office!).