When the invitation to “Thin Line” – a multimedia dance drama at Dance Theater Workshop – landed on my desk, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.The welcoming committee includes presidential niece and model Lauren Bush, heiress Amanda Hearst, ABT principals Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Beloserkovsky, and artist Anh Duong. It’s not immediately clear why these folks would all band together to hawk some tiny show at DTW. According to the show’s publicist, Christian McPherson, the producers and friends of “Thin Line” choreographer Derek Mitchell simply reached out to their high-profile friends and asked them to lend their names to the project. Which they did. “There is so much happening in the dance world, and a lot of it gets overlooked,” said the show’s rep.

If “Thin Line” is half as fun as this game of six-degrees-of-separation, it’ll be a smash.

Here’s how it all fits together. Mr. Mitchell, a dancer and choreographer has been developing “Thin Line” in workshops on and off for the last eight years. (He also stars in “The Donkey Show,” choreographed “The Karaoke Show,” and teaches dance.)

Mr. Mitchell worked as a stylist on the Gap commercials that featured Madonna and Missy Elliott. Also involved with that campaign was Joe Zee – the former fashion director for W magazine and current editor-in-chief of Vitals, the new men’s lifestyle magazine to be published by Fairchild this September. Mr. Zee was the man who put Lauren Bush on the cover of W.

Ms. Bush is represented by the Elite agency, which also represents celebrities including Amanda Hearst and the ABT dancers. All of whom have been written about by the likes of fellow welcoming committee members R. Couri Hay, columnist for Hampton’s magazine.Wednesday’s premiere will be a glittering who’s-who and, more importantly, a new circle of patrons for emerging dance.

Interested in what’s on stage, as opposed to who’s in the audience? “Thin Line” tells the story of struggling artist types trying to make it in New York. The couples in the group deal with troubles like family angst and coming out – all of which is represented through a variety of dance genres. The music, by Danielle Linder, is an original score that helps the dancers communicate their characters and gives it the feel of a musical, rather than a mime-driven dance story. Watch out, “Movin’ Out.”

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Jack Lenor Larsen doesn’t exactly “perform” at the Joyce Theater. But his work is seen there every night. Mr. Larsen – considered the dean of 20th century textile design – created the original carpets that cover the floors of the Joyce.A show dedicated to the man, “Jack Lenor Larsen: Creator and Collector,” at the Museum of Arts and Design until August 29, includes plenty of examples of Mr. Larsen’s work in fabrics and textiles, as well his own collection of art and crafts from around the world.

What’s brilliant is that the artist’s creations and his gathered objets d’art are arranged in such a way as to emphasize the connections between all the arts. Supple glass bowls by Dale Chihuly echo in a se ries of shimmering, transparent fabrics. (My favorite is “Seascape Sheer,” of which Mr. Larsen wrote that his goal was to: “evoke the deserted beaches I believe all urban professionals long for at 5:00.”) A beaded skirt from a Native American tribe shares a visual connection to a light brown nubby fabric with linear forms that look handwoven.

Even the catalog makes the point in a subtle way. Mr. Larsen commissioned noted dance photographer Herbert Migdoll to shoot one of his fabrics rippling in the wind.”I used a dance photographer to catch that because he’s used to capturing movement,” he told me.

Though Mr. Larsen has created textiles for every conceivable use, my conversation with him focused on his work for theaters. Here in New York, the Ziegfield Theater is decorated with his fabrics, and the Minskoff Theater’s curtain is of a Larsen design.

One of the most striking fabrics in the exhibit -“Magnum,” which is composed of two-inch woven squares with smaller squares of gold mylar at the center – was used for Symphony Hall in Phoenix, Ariz.

And there’s a story behind the fabric made for the 50-by-80 foot curtain at Wolf Trap National Park’s Filene Center in Vienna,Va. “The curtain was woven in Swaziland,” said Mr. Larsen. “And the king came to the opening because the curtain was the largest export of his country.”

After Wolf Trap burned in 1982, the curtain had to be woven again, and Mr. Larsen has a positive outlook on that: “It was better the second time.”

Mr. Larsen, born in Seattle, studied architecture and furniture design before focusing on fabric. He founded his firm in 1952, quickly

earned a name for himself with his hand-woven fabrics, and later advanced the art of weaving by use of technology. He is one of two Americans to have been given an exhibition at the Palais du Louvre.

While he is an artist himself, Mr. Larsen is also a patron of the arts in all forms – especially in his daily life. Mr. Larsen resides at Long-House Reserve, a contemporary home (located on 16 acres in East Hampton) built as a case study in living in an environment saturated with art. Tours of the house and garden – which is loaded with sculpture – are available on selected dates. And, of course, there are parties.

On July 24, Mr. Larsen is hosting a gala to benefit LongHouse that will focus on new and emerging artistic talent. (For tickets see longhouse.org or call 631-329-3568.) Dance fans should take note: the evening will include a performance by two dancers from the modern dance group Jennifer Muller/The Works – which just enjoyed a season at … the Joyce. It all comes back to dance, now doesn’t it?

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Shen Wei Dance Arts is back.The troupe’s new work,”Connect Transfer,” premieres at Lincoln Center Festival tomorrow night. And given the wholly absorbing, totally original work it presented at last year’s festival, “Connect Transfer” (with music byVolans, Xenakis, and Legeti) will be one to watch. Led by Chinese-born choreographer Shen Wei, the troupe combines a wealth of artistic influences – modern dance, theater, Chinese opera, painting, and sculpture – into a stunningly beautiful whole.