Before Patrick Swayze was a film actor and TV actor, he was a dancer. And so it was fitting that a huge, eclectic group of dancers gathered to honor him this week at the annual fundraiser for Career Transition for Dancers, a group that helps dancers develop new careers after age or injury forces them to halt dancing. Swayze had been chosen as this year's honoree well before his death in September of pancreatic cancer at age 57. His wife of 34 years, Lisa Niemi, seemed to tear up as she accepted the Rolex Dance Award on his behalf, telling the crowd her husband was now “dancing with the angels.” Monday's event at New York's City Center featured a huge variety of dancers of all types: ballet, modern, tap, jazz, salsa. Among the highlights: the “Stars and Stripes” pas de deux by Ashley Bouder and Andrew Veyette of New York City Ballet; the synchronized tap-dancing of the Lombard Twins; excerpts from Bob Fosse's “Dancin'”; and a salsa performance by unheralded youngsters Alexandra Gutkovitch, 10, and John Gaylan, 14, that brought down the house.
