RECOMMENDED

As certain as there is eggnog and mistletoe, there is an annual production of Tchaikovsky’s best-known work. The Joffrey adorns the holiday confection with felicitous glitz and spectacle; bejeweled costumes, a children’s chorus, rapid-fire virtuosic solos (in the Land of Sweets scene) ornament the stage of the golden Auditorium Theatre—a plush visual gift wrap for one of the most famous pieces of classical music and dance ever set to stage. Featuring Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino’s elegant choreography, the Joffrey “Nutcracker” holds strong as a seasonal family treat and the gateway ballet for those who tend to run at the first sight of tutus and men in white tights; strap a giant rat king head on one of your principle dancers and all those fussy French moves seem a lot less stuffy. Sure, you’ve seen it a half-dozen times, but that doesn’t stop you from watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” every Christmas, or insisting your friends who haven’t do so immediately. Take the family, take someone who’s never seen a ballet, sit back and feel like a kid again. (Sharon Hoyer)

At the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Pkway, (312)902-1500. December 18-28. $25-$100.

RECOMMENDED

If you haven’t yet seen this Chicago institution, the upcoming Winter Series at the Harris Theater is sure to be an appealing introduction to the most popular modern dance company in the city. The program includes two premieres: “One On One” by Hubbard Street’s artistic director Jim Vincent and “Walking Mad,” a highly publicized new work by Johann Inger set to Ravel’s “Bolero”—familiar, yet bold choice of material and one certainly well suited to the company’s crowd-pleasing, dramatic athleticism. Also on the program is the elegant, balletic “Strokes Through the Tail” by Marguerite Donlon and “The Set” by Lucas Crandall. (Sharon Hoyer)

At the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph, (312)334-7777. Wednesday, Dec 3-Sunday, Dec 7. $25-$86.

RECOMMENDED

The pristine, unabashed beauty of Lar Lubovitch’s choreography is on display in a series of affordable performances this weekend at the Harris Theater. The company is celebrating its fortieth anniversary with an accessible program of favorites—appropriate for a choreographer known for a certain populist camaraderie in his ensemble staging. A one-hour lunchtime performance on Friday costs less than your meal and features two works: “Concerto Six Twenty-Two” and a grand ensemble piece set to Dvorak serenades. Two performances will be held Saturday—a family matinee appropriate for ages six and up and an evening show that includes “Dvorak Serenades,” “Jangle”—a new piece set to Hungarian dances—and the award-winning “Men’s Stories.” (Sharon Hoyer)

At the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph. (312)334-7777. November 21 and 22. $5-$75.

RECOMMENDED

The weekend festival of everything tap, sponsored by M.A.D.D. Rhythms, celebrates its fourth year with classes, panel discussions, lectures and performances from the best hoofers in Chicago. Instructors include Robert L. Reed, Reggio McLaughlin, Ernest “Brownie” Brown, Jumaane Taylor and the M.A.D.D. Rhythms crew. If you want to learn a paradiddle but never laced on a pair of tap shoes in your life, this is the weekend to try; dancers of all levels are welcome and the amassed talent is sure to be inspiring. (Sharon Hoyer)

At South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 S. South Shore Dr. (773)256-0149. Nov 14-16. $30 per class, $10 per performance, $300 all-weekend pass.

RECOMMENDED

In describing the mission of Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Artistic Director Kevin Iega Jeff states, “once you are able to reflect on who you are in creation—no matter who you are—once you understand the value of yourself, you can then bring that value to the world.” The evening of repertory presented by Deeply Rooted this week at the Harris is just such a personal reflection—an overview of a celebrated world-class company that maintains strong investment in the local community.

The program “Hidden Treasures” starts with a suite that migrates through history and space, beginning with “Olowa,” a duet inspired by African ancestry, traveling through the middle passage in “The Dance We Dance” and into the civil-rights movement with two pieces—“Change is Gonna Come” by Krystal Hall Glass and an adagio by Jeff, along with associate director Gary Abbott, that celebrates the shared vision of civil-rights activists of all colors. The suite is followed by “Church of Nations,” a piece “inspired by a statement George Bush Senior made prior to going into the war in Iraq,” Jeff explains. “Bush said he had consulted his spiritual advisers and those advisers said it was alright for us to go to war. ‘Church of Nations’ poses the question: can we justify death and destruction in the name of God? Is it a religious issue or a political issue?” The first half of the program ends with “Surrender,” a hopeful vision of a world that has transcended poverty, violence and hate.

Act II returns to the local level with performances from two of the Deeply Rooted community ensembles—Mature Hot Women and an ensemble of professional-level, non-career dancers. Also featured is a personal reflection by Jeff on the death of his sister, who suffered a nervous breakdown and passed away in 1997.

“We as a society have a problem talking about mental illness without it having a sort of stigma,” Jeff says in describing “Naemah’s Room.” “I use her life as an anchor, but I also use other people I see in similar conditions to tell the story. ‘Naemah’s Room’ examines mental illness; it examines the abuse women suffer and even the abuse men suffer, in societal expectations and pressure to behave in a less-than-nurturing way.”

The evening closes with the upbeat “Heaven,” a high-energy, accessible work drawn from social dances around the world. “Heaven being a place we create through joy of being together,” Jeff says. “It’s an audience favorite, I think, because they can see themselves dancing in the piece.” (Sharon Hoyer)

At the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 East Randolph, (312)334-7777. Thursday, November 6.

The DuSable Museum of African American History presents an evening-length sampling of African performance at the Harris Theater, some traditional—as with Ghanaian company Tatjj Drama ‘N’ Dance Ensemble—some contemporary and inspired by the diaspora—as with music, poetry and dance group Giwayen Mata. The program is advertised as an arm of the museum’s permanent collection—a new live component to flesh out the ongoing “Africa Speaks,” an exhibition that tours African culture region by region.

Also performing are Chicago-based theatrical dance-fusion company the Andrea Kelly Dance Ensemble, a group dedicated to urban youth outreach, and multidisciplinary arts collective POETREE (yes, it’s an acronym, albeit an ungainly one). POETREE is a collaboration between musicians, emcees and poets that strives to create urban music with a positive message. The Odyssey promises to be an upbeat, family-oriented presentation of both African and African American performance art. (Sharon Hoyer)

At the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 East Randolph, (312)334-7777, October 31.

RECOMMENDED

It has certainly been said that the avant-garde is dead, and the label has certainly been too often misused, but there are still those out there creating work that defies expectation and creates new rules.  Perhaps Trisha Brown is one of those people.  Since the 1960s, the beginning of this dancemaker’s career, she has embraced progress and led her company to the forefront of contemporary dance. The most exciting thing about the company’s upcoming engagement at The Dance Center of Columbia College is the opportunity to see examples of Ms. Brown’s rich and diverse dance history in one program.  “Four Decades of Dance”  will include works reaching back to 1971 for a study in gestural repetition called “Accumulation” to 2003’s aptly titled “PRESENT TENSE,” described as featuring “breathtaking lifts and raucous partnering that is distinctly Trisha Brown.”  But that’s not all folks.  How about a collaboration with artist Robert Rauschenberg accompanied by a local marching band playing outside the theater walls?  This show is going to be a wild ride.  Jump in and hang on. (William Scott)

At the Dance Center of Columbia College, 1306 S Michigan, (312)369-8300, October 23-25.

RECOMMENDED

Raise your hand. Who out there knows anything about Persian dance? I’m sure a few hands went up but not many. The Dance Center at Columbia College thinks it is time for that to change. One of the few bearers of Persian dance outside of Iran where women’s dancing is banned in public, Banafsheh Sayyad and the work of her company NAMAH, aims to express the power of ancient mysticism through a combination of hypnotic trance and directed movement. Sayyad’s dance language traverses culture, weaving together the ethereal qualities of Persian dance with the physically charged and intuitive power of her own contemporary style. NAMAH’s program of solos and ensemble work will be accompanied live by ZARBANG, a four-member Iranian percussion and woodwind ensemble. In a time when a presidential candidate’s middle name gives people a reason not to vote for him,  we could all benefit from getting outside our bubble and sharing an experience that proves different can be beautiful. (William Scott)

At The Dance Center of Columbia College, 1306 S. Michigan, (312)369-6600, October 16-18.

RECOMMENDED

The ambitious Hubbard Street season—featuring a first-ever year-round schedule in Chicago—gets going this week with two strong pieces from the company’s existing repertory and one premiere work. Hubbard Street member Alejandro Cerrudo’s “Extremely Close” is a tender, understated piece for eight dancers, set to the music of Philip Glass and performed amidst a layer of white fluff scattered across the stage—as though the affectionate duets are danced above the clouds. In contrast is the ever-popular “Minus 16” by Ohad Naharin, a thrilling, humorous, fourth-wall-shattering piece scored with cha-cha, mambo, techno and traditional Israeli music. Naharin’s narrative, exceedingly witty choreography makes “Minus 16” one of the most entertaining and accessible modern dance numbers out there. Also on the program is a premiere of new work by Japanese choreographer Toru Shimazaki, who has choreographed for the company in the past. (Sharon Hoyer)

At the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph, (312)850-9744. October 9-12.

RECOMMENDED

Few companies can rival the altitude of extensions, quantity of consecutive flawless spins and all-around razor-sharp technical chops put on display by the Kirov Ballet. Every jaw-dropping combination is executed with such ease (and frequency) that the company has been criticized for lumping together flashy steps at the expense of artistic merit and emotional depth. But this is quintessential Russian School and technical one-upmanship is part of the unwritten curriculum.

This weekend the Kirov Ballet brings “Giselle” to the Auditorium Theater. Legendary choreographer Marius Petipa created definitive revivals of Adolphe Adam’s tale of betrayal and forgiveness for the Kirov pre-Revolution—back when the company was known as the Imperial Russian Ballet. “Giselle” is a signature ballet in the repertory and will be performed with the full orchestra—a grand kick-off to the Auditorium’s fall season. (Sharon Hoyer)

At the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Parkway, (312)902-1500. October 2-5.