user: Q: Lunch Scheduled for Past, Present, Future Presidents

WASHINGTON -- President Bush is hosting a lunch next month with President-elect Barack Obama and all former presidents.

The luncheon is set for Jan. 7. Former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush will attend, along with Obama.

Bush has made a smooth transition to the next administration a top priority as his presidency winds down.

White House press secretary Dana Perino announced the lunch Wednesday.Obama takes office on Jan. 20.

Recently, White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten held a similar event with all the former chiefs of staff to offer advice and camaraderie to Obama's incoming chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.
What are the most important parts of this text?

A: A White House luncheon is scheduled in January, with Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush and Barack Obama in attendance.


Q: Ballet dancers who seem to do it all

Calling yourself a jazz ballet company could be a sign of indecision about your identity. In the case of BJM/Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, however, artistic director Louis Robitaille seems to be saying his dancers can do it all. That was certainly the message they delivered in the three pieces they performed Saturday at the Cutler Majestic Theatre, under the auspices of World Music/CRASHarts.

“Closer” is a 17-minute duet set to Philip Glass’s “Mad Rush” by Benjamin Millepied, a former New York City Ballet principal and the Paris Opera Ballet’s new director. The premiere, in 2006, was danced by BJM’s Céline Cassone and NYCB principal Sébastien Marcovici, with piano; here the music is recorded, and Cassone is joined by Alexander Hille.

“Mad Rush” is written in segments, and Millepied’s choreography follows suit. The first A section finds Cassone clinging to Hille and being swung in a variety of lifts. The B sections are stormier and more agitated, and the lifts become more extravagant. As the A music returns, Cassone and Hille separate momentarily, and when they reconnect, after circling each other, she grows more independent, and they dance as equals. For the final D section they go to the ground, entwining their limbs in a suggestive way, then lying side by side seeming to fall asleep.

Just as the harmonic changes in Glass’s music are subtle, so are the emotional nuances in Millepied’s setting. Cassone and Hille seem transported and in a trance, and they do not finish far from where they began.

BJM gave Andonis Foniadakis’s “Kosmos” its world premiere just a week ago in Colorado. Set to a pounding, lyrical score by Julien Tarride, it could as easily be titled “Zombies in Outer Space,” since the 11 dancers do things no human body should be able to. There is no overt narrative, but motifs are repeated as the black streetwear gradually starts to come off. At the end, lights are projected onto the rear curtain and the performers’ bodies, and they become dancing stars.

The closer, Rodrigo Pederneiras’s “Rouge” was also new, enjoying its world premiere. Another high-energy work, it pays tribute to Native peoples in North and South America. (Pederneiras choreographs for Brazil’s Grupo Corpo.) The score by Paul Baillargeon and the Grand Brothers includes crashing waves, whooshing winds, honking geese, and throat singing. As in “Kosmos,” sexual violence abounds. Pederneiras is less flamboyant than Foniadakis, and his tribal rituals are more self-conscious than those of Foniadakis’s urban jungle. But “Kosmos” and “Rouge” complement each other, and though each runs a healthy 35 minutes, neither wears out its welcome.
What are the most important parts of this text?

A: Calling yourself a jazz ballet company could be a sign of indecision about your identity. In the case of BJM / Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, however, artistic director Louis Robitaille seems to be saying his dancers can do it all. That’s certainly the message they delivered in the three pieces they performed Saturday at the Cutler Majestic Theatre, under the auspices of World Music/CRASHarts. “Closer” is a 17-minute duet set to Philip Glass’s “Mad Rush” by Benjamin Millepied, a former New York City Ballet principal and the Paris Opera Ballet’s new director. The premiere, in 2006, was danced by BJM’s Céline Cassone and NYCB principal Sébastien Marcovici, with on-stage piano; here the music is taped, and Cassone is partnered by Alexander Hille.


Q: Gen X, Baby Boomers see credit cards as a lifeline

Generation X, weighed down by debt, is unfortunately growing accustomed to the burden.

Gen Xers—and their older, Baby Boomer peers—see credit cards as a lifeline, according to a new study from Allianz Life.

Of the 1,000 Gen Xers age 35 to 48, and 1,000 Boomers ages 49-67 surveyed, 48% say that credit cards now function as a financial survival tool. (Tweet This)

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That reliance on debt is particularly troublesome for younger Americans, who often put off saving for retirement and other needs because of it.

"It's really significant and I think it's coming to a head with Generation X,'' says Katie Libbe, vice president of consumer insights for Allianz Life, who noted that members of that age group tend to have greater total debt than Boomers. They are burdened, she says, by a "Bermuda Triangle'' of financial stressors, including student loan debt, a tepid job market, and homes that may be worth less than what they initially paid.

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Among Gen Xers, only 46% pay part of their credit card balance each month, vs. 32% of Baby Boomers. The rest of both groups either pay the entire amount, or don't use cards at all.

And with 23% of Gen Xers saying they don't feel they can start saving for retirement until their credit cards are paid off, many in that age group may come up short when they want to stop working in their senior years.

Still, Gen Xers aren't nonchalant about their financial situation, with 41% of those surveyed saying they are uncomfortable with the debt they're carrying versus 25% of Boomers who have similar worries.

But many Gen Xers seem to believe that they can't do much about it, Libbe says.

"There's this sense that ... 'I can't save for retirement because I'm barely getting by,''' she says. But not putting aside some money means that Gen Xers are missing out on interest that accumulated over decades could result in nice-sized nest egg.

The survey highlights the potential drawbacks of having easy access to credit cards, with 76% of Gen Xers and 68% of Baby Boomers saying they received their first credit card by the age of 24.

Read MorePicking the best credit card for you
What are the most important parts of this text?

A:

assistant: A new survey suggests more Generation Xers are comfortable using their credit card as a lifeline as they are saddled with debt. USAToday reports.