Andrea Mohin/The New York Times Our guide to dance performances happening this weekend and in the week ahead.
ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER at New York City Center (Dec. 13, 8 p.m.; Dec. 14, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Dec. 15, 3 and 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 17-19, 7:30 p.m.; through Jan. 5). Ailey’s robust season lineup is enhanced this week with two company premieres. On Friday, the troupe, for the first time, performs “Busk,” created in 2009 by the meticulous, idiosyncratic choreographer Aszure Barton. It gets an encore on Saturday evening with two new works by Jamar Roberts and Darrell Grand Moultrie. On Tuesday, the company adds to its repertory “City of Rain,” a galvanic 2010 work by Camille A. Brown that reflects her physical fervor and acuity.
212-581-1212, nycitycenter.org
DORRANCE DANCE at the Joyce Theater (Dec. 17-18, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 19, 8 p.m.; through Jan. 5). This popular company divides its three-week residency into three distinct programs. The one thing they all have in common is “The Nutcracker Suite,” a new work set to Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s effervescent rendition of Tchaikovsky’s standard holiday soundtrack. We’re used to experiencing that familiar tale through the delicate vocabulary of ballet; here Dorrance tells it with gusto through tap, letting us feel and hear it in a fresh way. Joining that work on the first program (through Dec. 22) is “All Good Things Come to an End,” a sweet, incisive, vaudeville-inspired work set to the music of the jazz great Fats Waller.
212-242-0800, joyce.org […]