Savion Glover will tap dance off the television screen and onto the Byham stage and Pennsylvania Ballet will take wing in its new production of "Swan Lake" when Pittsburgh Dance Council's 35th anniversary season unfolds next year.

		Ticketing For ticket and subscription information about Pittsburgh Dance Council's 2004-2005 season, call 412-456-6666. The complete lineup: Oct. 1: Pennsylvania Ballet, Benedum. (Note: This program is sponsored by PDC but is not part of the regular season.) Oct. 8-9: PAPPA Tarahumara, Byham Theater. Nov. 6: Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Benedum. Nov. 20: Doug Varone and Dancers, Byham. Jan. 29, 2005: Dance Brazil, Byham. Feb. 15-16, 2005: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Benedum. March 5, 2005: Israel Contemporary Dance Theater, Byham. April 15-16, 2005: Savion Glover, Byham.

Even though there will be a prominent American accent that has been missing in recent years, the organization will continue its commitment to artistic diversity as it presents groups from Japan, Brazil, Canada and Israel.

In a co-presentation with Neil Barkley of the African-American Cultural Center, Pittsburgh Dance Council will bring Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater back for the first time in six years for two performances Feb. 15-16, 2005, at the Benedum Center.

"We'll have one of Pittsburgh's favorite companies in an all-new program," says Paul Organisak, PDC artistic director, who is looking to bring in works by such choreographers as Ron Brown, Dwight Rhoden and Donald MacKayle.

Glover made his mark on Broadway at the age of 10 in "Tap Dance Kid" but would go on to capitalize on his star-struck taps most recently in "Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk."

These days, though, Glover is most recognizable as the tap dancing whiz who morphs into a laundromat lady and a classroom teacher in the V8 commercials on television. He will bring his wildly successful show, "Improvography," from the Joyce Theater in New York to the Byham Theater April 15-16, 2005.

"This is pure Savion in pure dance," says Organisak. "I think it's important to show him as an artist, without theatrical trappings." Glover will have a back-up group in the first half of "Improvography" and then share time with a few of his proteges in the second half.

Doug Varone and Company complete the season's American contingent. "I can't believe that Doug hasn't been to Pittsburgh," Organisak enthuses. "He's been working in the field for 20 years and has a reputation as an extremely lyrical and musical choreographer with gorgeous movement."

Recently, Varone has choreographed "Salome" and "L'Histoire du Soldat" for the Metropolitan Opera and will bring his own "Castles," a "great piece to introduce audiences to the culmination of his work."

Pennsylvania Ballet, however, will not be part of PDC's regular season but is still being sponsored by the organization. The company will be a main attraction for the Performing Arts Exchange Conference (Sept. 29 to Oct. 2), which attracts arts presenters from all along the Atlantic seaboard of the United States.

It will bring a streamlined "Swan Lake" by Christopher Wheeldon, the acclaimed resident choreographer of the New York City Ballet, and the finale to its own 40th anniversary season this June in Philadelphia. Subscribers of the Dance Council will receive preferred seating.

PDC's 2004-05 season will open at the Byham Oct. 8-9 with PAPPA Tarahumara in a program that will coincide with the Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts. The festival was a long-time dream of former Pittsburgh Cultural Trust executive director Carol Brown and will feature performances that have never been seen in the United States and subsequently will not play anywhere near Pittsburgh.

Director Hiroshi Koike creates "work that uses actor/dancers, much like Pina Bausch," said Organisak, who viewed the work in a Tokyo studio. "There's a quality to his work, a sense of theatricality amid seemingly disjointed events. It creates a very mysterious and moving environment. I feel that we'll be seeing a lot of this company in years to come."

From Montreal will come Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, the last of that city's major dance companies to appear here. Marie Chouinard, Les Ballets Jazz du Montreal and the upcoming O Vertigo were selected as part of the Quebec Festival this season.

Set for the Benedum on Nov. 6, Les Grands will bring Ohad Naharin's "Minus One," a compilation featuring segments of his choreography. "These dancers are beautifully trained, full of high energy and fabulously entertaining," Organisak notes. "And they can do anything in the classical and contemporary repertoire."

Naharin heads the renowned Batsheva Dance Company in Israel, but Organisak selected another prominent group, Israel Contemporary Dance Theater, coming to the Byham on March 5, 2005. The company will present "Aide Memoire," a "stunning visual production" that examines how memory is affected by the Holocaust.

Of great interest to fans of Pittsburgh's Nego Gato will be Dance Brazil, the company that is credited with bringing capoeira from the streets of Brazil onto the stage. It may be the predecessor of American hip-hop, but this company has played New York's Joyce Theater and appeared on the PBS program "Alive From Off Center."

The program, geared toward families, is set for Jan. 29, 2005, at the Byham.

Savion Glover forgoes theatrical trappings for "Improvography."