Excitement is mounting as the National Dance Foundation of Bermuda (NDFB) prepares to host its annual Gala at the Fairmont Southampton Princess tonight.

Distinguished guests, dignitaries, visiting dancers, and two families who are coming to the Island especially for the event including one from Alaska whose daughters attended an NDFB DanceBermuda summer intensive, will be treated to an outstanding evening of fine cuisine and entertainment.

The hotel's Mid Ocean Amphitheatre will be the setting for the registered charity's major fund-raiser, but for the first time since the galas began in 2005, its most distinguished patron and board member, Catherine Zeta-Jones, will not be present.

Due to her commitments on Broadway, where she is currently appearing in 'A Little Night Music', the Academy Award-winning Hollywood actress has invited Nigel Lythgoe, co-creator and judge on the mega-hit TV show, 'So You Think You Can Dance', to host the event in her stead.

"It is really going to be wonderful," NDFB deputy chairman Wendy Davis Johnson said. "There will be a mix of classical, contemporary and slightly avant garde pieces, as well as the final piece, 'Over the Moon', which the NDFB commissioned especially for the gala.

"This has been choreographed by Jessica Lang to the tunes 'Fly Me to the Moon', 'Moon River' and 'Blue Moon', and will be danced by Kanji Segawa and Silvia Vrskova to live music by the Tom Ray Band, with vocals by Bermudian singer and actress Rebecca Faulkenberry."

Miss Lang has also choreographed and devised the costume concept for the opening work,'The Calling', an excerpt from 'Splendid Isolation II', which was commissioned by Ailey II in 2006. This will be performed by Japanese-born professional dancer Kanji Segawa, a former member of Alvin Ailey II who is currently a member of the Battleworks Dance Company, and whose extensive career includes having taught an NDFB Partner Re master class series.

Mr. Segawa will also dance 'Takademe', a contemporary solo work choreographed by Robert Battle, artistic director of Battleworks, and partner Silvia Vroskova in 'Over the Moon'.

Francesca Harper will dance the avant garde piece 'La femme d'amour', which she choreographed. Ms Harper has choreographed for many renowned dance companies, including Ailey II, and has her own company, The Francesca Harper Project. She has also taught at an NDFB Partner Re master class series.

Classical ballet will represented by the grand pas deux from 'Don Quixote', which will be danced by Yuiko Kajiya and Joseph Phillips, to choreography after Marius Petipa.

Ms Kajiya, a soloist at the American Ballet Theater, was born in Japan, and studied at the Shanghai Ballet School and the National Ballet of Canada School in Toronto. Her busy career includes starring in the 2007 documentary, 'Passion Across a Continent in Japan'; appearing on the Tokyo Talk Show, and presenting the American Ballet Theatre documentary, 'Dancers'. She has appeared in many galas in the US and Japan.

Hailed by the international press as "ballet's golden boy", Joseph Philips is a technically astute dancer with an impressive array of awards and medals. In fact, he holds more international prestigious gold medals for dance than any other American dancer. Currently a soloist with the American Ballet Theatre, he is noted not only for the clarity and purity of his dance lines, but also for the strength and virility he brings to every role.

Slovakia-born Ms Vrskova, who will partner Kanji Segawa in 'Over the Moon', trained at the Ailey School in New York. She has performed with Celine Dion, Cirque du Soleil, Gloria Estefan, The King and I, Ballet Hispanico and Elissa Monte Dance.

Rebecca Faulkenberry is no stranger to the local stage, having appeared in many local productions as she was growing up. She trained at Indiana University in the US and at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Her theatre credits include productions at Britain's Royal Court, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, being in the original casts of 'High School Musical 2' at Fox Theatre, 'High School Musical' at the Hammersmith Apollo, as well as at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds.

In addition to hosting 'A Five Star Evening', tomorrow Mr. Lythgoe will stop by to meet and talk with dancers auditioning for this year's DanceBermuda summer intensive, but will not be participating in the auditioning process.

• For information about DanceBermuda auditions and registration forms see website at www.dancebermuda.org