December brings with it a plethora of Nutcracker productions, but that’s not the only show on offer. Whether you’re looking for a memorable trip to the Land of the Sweets or would prefer something Sugarplum-free, here are 10 shows on our radar.
Got That Swing
Brian Lawton in SW!NG OUT. Photo by Robert Silver, courtesy Richard Kornberg & Associates.
NEW YORK CITY Lindy Hop returns to The Joyce Theater with a seasonal twist. A Very SW!NG OUT Holiday revives the popular show, created by Caleb Teicher, Evita Arce, LaTasha Barnes, Nathan Bugh, and Eyal Vilner, with the addition of holiday-favorite songs and, of course, a post-show onstage jam session so audiences can join in on the social dancing themselves. Dec. 3–15. joyce.org.
All Eyes on Ailey
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater rehearsing Hope Boykin’s Finding Free. Photo by Danica Paulos, courtesy AAADT.
NEW YORK CITY A quartet of premieres crowns Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s home season at New York City Center this year. Interim artistic director Matthew Rushing’s Sacred Songs draws inspiration from music that was originally part of Ailey’s seminal Revelations but later hit the cutting-room floor. Former company members Hope Boykin and Jamar Roberts each contribute a new dance, Boykin’s Finding Free arriving with a commissioned score by Matthew Whitaker and Roberts’ Al-Andalus Blues offering an abstraction of the golden age of Al-Andalus. And veteran dancemaker Lar Lubovitch creates his first work for the company, Many Angels, set to Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 and inspired by the question “How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?” A 25th-anniversary revival of Ronald K. Brown’s Grace, a new production of Elisa Monte’s Treading, live music nights, repertory classics, and more fill out the five-week season. Dec. 4–Jan. 5. ailey.org.
Behind the Curtain
Bence Mezei and Ilan Bachrach in Nature Theater of Oklahoma’s No President. Photo by Heinrich Brinkmöller-Becker, courtesy Helene Davis PR.
NEW YORK CITY A group of security guards who are all former actors are hired to protect a precious theater curtain and the mystery it conceals, only for a rival company—made up of ex-ballet dancers—to arrive on the scene to steal the gig from under them. Oh, and the musical accompaniment is The Nutcracker. That’s the delightfully absurd premise of No President, which New York City–based performance-art group Nature Theater of Oklahoma brings to NYU Skirball Dec. 5–7 for its U.S. premiere. nyuskirball.org.
Urban Bush Women’s Haint Blu. Photo by Woosler Delisfort, courtesy 92NY.
NEW YORK CITY Urban Bush Women continues its 40th-anniversary celebrations with Solo Meditations, a program comprising solos and duets from across the company’s repertory, some with live music, at 92NY. Dec. 6–7. 92ny.org.
Meet the March Sisters
Anna Lee Rohovec and Jacob Robleto in Little Women Ballet’s Spring Immersive Experience. Photo by Edie Tyebkhan, courtesy Little Women Ballet.
LOS ANGELES Throughout the year, Little Women Ballet has been presenting immersive experiences inspired by the Louisa May Alcott coming-of-age classic seasonally at Heritage Square Museum. This month, Emma Andres’ project culminates in an evening-length ballet, premiering at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre Dec. 7. littlewomenballet.com.
A Little Old, a Little New
Notable Nutcrackers proliferate on both sides of the Atlantic.
English National Ballet
English National Ballet’s Ivana Bueno. Photo by Jason Bell, courtesy ENB.
SOUTHAMPTON AND LONDON Artistic director Aaron S. Watkin and choreographer Arielle Smith team up for English National Ballet’s new production, which debuts in Southampton at the Mayflower Theatre Nov. 28–30 before a blockbuster run at the London Coliseum, Dec. 12–Jan. 12. ballet.org.uk.
Ballet West
Ballet West. Photo by Beau Pearson, courtesy Ballet West.
OGDEN AND SALT LAKE CITY, UT Willam Christensen’s production of The Nutcracker, America’s first, turns 80 this year. Ballet West tours the classic to Ogden, Nov. 29–30, before settling in for its traditional run at Salt Lake City’s Capitol Theatre Dec. 6–28. balletwest.org.
Acosta Dance
Acosta Danza in Havana. Photo by Eduardo Lara, courtesy Buchanan PR.
LONDON Acosta Danza’s UK tour of Carlos Acosta’s brand-new Nutcracker in Havana, featuring an arrangement of the Tchaikovsky score by Cuban composer Pepe Gavilondo and projection and set design by Nina Dunn, alights in London at the Southbank Centre Dec. 10–15, before continuing in the new year. nutcrackerinhavana.com.
Cleveland Ballet
Cleveland Ballet. Photo by Mark Horning & Co. Photography, courtesy Cleveland Ballet.
CLEVELAND Artistic director Timour Bourtasenkov puts a bow on his first calendar year at the helm of Cleveland Ballet with a new classical production of the repertory staple. Dec. 13–22. cleveballet.org.
Saint Louis Dance Theatre
Saint Louis Dance Theatre’s Dave X McCall, Keenan Fletcher, and Nyna Moore. Photo by Pratt & Kreidich, courtesy STLDT.
ST. LOUIS Jazz St. Louis and Saint Louis Dance Theatre come together for the Ellington Strayhorn Nutcracker, with artistic director Kirven Douthit-Boyd telling the story of a composer finding unexpected romance as he travels to the city’s Gaslight District to see a legendary musician for whom he hopes to write a song. Dec. 20–21. saintlouisdancetheatre.org.
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