Dancers try out for spots with Beyonce

Houston – A nationwide talent search for dancers fleet-footed enough to back up Beyonce Knowles came to the pop diva’s hometown as hundreds turned out to audition for 40 open slots.

The would-be performers took turns Saturday moving through choreographed routines to such Beyonce hits as “Deja Vu,” while cameras recorded their footwork and choreographer Frank Gaston studied their style.

Houston was the third location in the cross-country search, following auditions in Atlanta and Los Angeles. After two more stops, in New York and Chicago, Gaston and Beyonce will review the tapes.

There will be 30 finalists from each city. The finalists get a trip to either New York or Los Angeles, where the numbers will be pared to the final 40.

The selected dancers will earn $1,500 to $3,000 a week and get extensive exposure at Beyonce’s performances, said Gaston, who choreographs Beyonce’s videos and has worked with En Vogue and Toni Braxton.

Kenny Rogers folds ’em

Sandy Springs, Ga. – Kenny Rogers has lost some fans in one neighborhood.

Rogers bought a $2.3 million home in Sandy Springs in October 2005, but his demolition of the two-story house and plans to build another house on the 7.5-acre property have angered some neighbors, a newspaper reports.

Now, instead of rebuilding, the country music superstar is selling the land for $3.95 million, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in Saturday editions.

Sandy Springs is about 15 miles north of Atlanta.

Cathy and Alan Gottlieb, whose house is behind Rogers’ property, said the months of demolition, tree-cutting and groundshaking granite blasting was irritating enough.

But worse, they say, the work has transformed the view from their back deck from dense woods to a dirt mound.

“We all understand people have to develop lots, but to strip the land like this is crazy,” Alan Gottlieb said. “He had a landscape plan that if he would’ve followed, would’ve been great. But he just decided to abandon it.”

Rogers was going to build his dream home on the property, but realized the house would be too big for his wife, Wanda, and his twin sons if something happened to him, he told the newspaper.

“I’m sorry for any inconvenience I might’ve caused them,” he said. “I tried desperately to be considerate to everyone out there, but you can’t live your life for other people.”

Rogers said he already planted $60,000 worth of trees on the property line and plans to plant grass.

‘Plutoed’ is word of year

Anaheim, Calif. – Pluto is finally getting some respect – not from astronomers, but from wordsmiths.

“Plutoed” was chosen 2006’s Word of the Year by the American Dialect Society at its annual meeting Friday.

To “pluto” is “to demote or devalue someone or something,” much like what happened to the former planet last year when the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union decided Pluto didn’t meet its definition of a planet.

“Our members believe the great emotional reaction of the public to the demotion of Pluto shows the importance of Pluto as a name,” said society president Cleveland Evans. “We may no longer believe in the Roman god Pluto, but we still have a sense of personal connection with the former planet.”

“Plutoed” won in a runoff against “climate canary,” defined as “an organism or species whose poor health or declining numbers hint at a larger environmental catastrophe on the horizon.”