New seasons offer local links

Three announcements for the coming arts season arrived in a wave that could knock the average arts patron over. Big names on the Carolina Performing Arts roster. Exquisite pairings at the American Dance Festival in Durham. Intrigue with Long Leaf Opera in Chapel Hill.

An added splash came from connections among the events.

At ADF, the audience can see "Revelations," the late Alvin Ailey's signature work, then wait a few months for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre's 50th anniversary celebration at UNC-CH. The Chapel Hill program includes a work by Durham native Hope Boykin, who attended ADF's six-week school, with the a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock.

Fans of Doug Varone and Dancers can double their pleasure with performances at ADF and Long Leaf. Within the space of two weeks, this popular company premieres an ADF-commissioned dance and performs in "Orpheus and Euridice," Ricky Ian Gordon's Obie Award-winning song cycle. The other "Orpheus" headliners are soprano Elizabeth Futral, a Smithfield native, and clarinetist Todd Palmer, who performed with the Varone dancers at the work's Lincoln Center debut.

Futral and Boykin underscore the region's connections to the larger world of the arts. And ADF, UNC and Long Leaf all strengthen those ties by commissioning works that could last for generations.

The framework for the ADF, Long Leaf and UNC seasons appears on page 4D. If you follow those leads to the organizations' Web sites, we bet you'll make connections of your own.