The Nutcracker

Photograph: Paul Kolnik

The daring art of Movement Research
Incredibly, there’s still an organization that neither panders to presenters nor audience members. This year, the Movement Research Fall Festival—curatorial advisors are Jennifer Monson and Zeena Parkins—focuses on the intricacies of improvisation and features performances and classes by Vera Mantero and Martin Spångberg (Dec 1–13, various venues).

Alexei Ratmansky: New Yorker at last!
After New York City Ballet let this supremely talented Russian choreographer slip through its fingers, American Ballet Theatre wisely snatched him up. As ABT’s newly appointed artist-in-residence, Ratmansky presents the premiere of On the Dnieper, which will be shown at the company’s Prokofiev celebration in the spring.

The Rockettes
Yes, these phenomenal dancers all possess endless legs—it’s part of the job requirement—but those shapely gams add up to more than a kick line, especially under the direction of Linda Haberman. Over the past two seasons, her transformation of the Rockettes has reframed precision technique into something more than poses: real dancing.

The only Nutcracker that matters
A lot of Sugar Plum Fairies get tossed around during December, but once you see George Balanchine’s 1954 classic, it’s hard to go back to anything else: This is the gift that keeps on giving, courtesy of New York City Ballet (beginning Nov 28, the company performs the production at the New York State Theater). The dancing takes your breath away, and so does the Christmas tree—it grows to 41 feet right before your eyes.

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