Crowds packed the Chesapeake Arts Center Friday and Saturday to support dancers of all ages in the county Department of Recreation and Parks' Anne Arundel Dance Academy's recital, its culmination of study from January.

The academy had enrolled about 400 students of all ages who studying styles as varied as modern, tap, jazz and ballet, said Jacque Hurman, recreation supervisor. The three performances - one Friday and two Saturday - featured the spectrum of performers, rather than separating them according to age group.

"We wanted the little ones to see what the older ones can do," Hurman said in an interview before the...