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New York City Ballet's production of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. Photo by Erin Baiano.
Inventive 'Nutcrackers,' a swinging spectacle and other must-see movers and shakers
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While The Nutcracker is ubiquitous this month, there's a wide variety of interpretations of the Christmas ballet to enjoy. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's annual run at New York City Center is another cherished holiday tradition. Other festive footwork includes MOMIX's eye-popping take on Alice in Wonderful and a swinging show from Caleb Teicher.
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David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, 20 Lincoln Center Plaza at 63rd Street and Columbus Avenue in Lincoln Square
Runs November 28-January 4, 2026.
As always, there are a multitude of Nutcrackers to see this season. But George Balanchine's version for New York City Ballet, which premiered in 1954, is what turned this ballet into a seasonal staple across the United States. The five-and-a-half-week run stars multiple amazing dancers in the always thrilling leading roles, but it's the two alternating casts of kids as angels, candy canes and mice that give this ballet its unique charm and heart. This is the most adored and longest-running mounting of The Nutcracker, the gateway to a lifelong love of dance.
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New York Live Arts, 219 West 19th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in Chelsea
Runs December 3-13.
Tere O'Connor, a provocative and influential force in contemporary dance for four decades, fuses the past and present with this program pairing a reconstruction of his 1984 solo Construct-A-Guy with the world premiere of his ensemble work The Lace. Originally performed by a feisty young O'Connor, Construct-A-Guy will be recreated by Tim Bendernagel. Danced by a cast of seven and featuring a soundscape by O'Connor, The Lace exemplifies the structural complexity and collagist sensibility he's known for, with lighting by his longtime collaborator Michael O'Connor (no relation).
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New York City Center, 131 West 55th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Midtown West
Runs December 3-January 4, 2026. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's five-week City Center season is as much a NYC holiday tradition as The Nutcracker and just as thrilling. This year's run is particularly exciting as a new artistic director, former company principal dancer Alicia Graf Mack, is at the helm. She's added five premieres to the repertory alongside venerable works such as Ailey's Revelations, Cry and Memoria, and Ronald K. Brown's Grace. Special programming includes a joint tribute to Alvin Ailey and Judith Jamison (the troupe's former artistic director who passed away last year), and family matinees on Saturdays with post-show Q&As.
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The Theater at City Tech, 275 Jay Street between Tillary Street and Tech Place in Downtown Brooklyn
Runs December 6-14.
Diversity and inclusion overflow in this festive seasonal production, conceived and choreographed by Brooklyn Ballet artistic director Lynn Parkerson in collaboration with nearly a dozen other dance-makers. The music is the usual Tchaikovsky, but the movement reflects our city's melting pot by incorporating many global styles, including traditional Chinese dance, Ukrainian Hopak, hip-hop and Native American customs.
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The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street in Chelsea
Runs December 9-14. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.
Swing dancing is alive and well in the hands of dancer-choreographer Caleb Teicher and company, including Evita Arce, LaTasha Barnes and Nathan Bugh. The latest incarnation of their long-evolving celebration of swing features Teicher's own lithe, spontaneous dancing alongside expert performances of the Lindy Hop, jive and other styles. For the climax, spectators are invited to join a dance jam session on stage. The estimable Eyal Vilner Big Band plays exuberant renditions of holiday tunes throughout.
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The Juilliard School's Peter Jay Sharp Theater, 155 West 65th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue in Lincoln Square
Runs December 10-14.
Catch tomorrow's dance luminaries today at this annual showcase starring the talented students in Juilliard's lauded dance program. Each class collaborates with a renowned choreographer on a world premiere. This year's lineup features new pieces by Gianna Reisen, whose choreography is frequently seen at New York City Ballet, as well as two Juilliard alumni: Takehiro Uyama and My'Kal Stromile. The fourth-year class will work with Jessica Wright from Studio Wayne McGregor, the kickoff of a partnership with the Rambert School in London. As always, live accompaniment is provided by Juilliard students, who play music by Paganini, Ravel and Philip Glass.
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Danspace Project, St. Mark's Church, 131 East 10th Street between Second and Third Avenues in the East Village
Runs December 11-13.
Two adventurous up-and-comers share this double bill of premieres. Malcolm-x Betts presents fly baby fly, a tribute to an older cousin who died of AIDS that's performed by the choreographer, Molly Lieber and GENG PTP. Dominica Greene's duet endlessend, performed by Greene and Garrett Allen, imagines various ways life may come to a close.
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Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95th Street on the Upper West Side
Runs December 12.
The Duke Ellington Center for the Arts and American Tap Dance Foundation (ATDF) join forces for this tribute to the Duke set to his Such Sweet Thunder, a 12-part suite inspired by the works of Shakespeare. Co-composed by Billy Strayhorn, this ambitious and enchanting composition is rarely heard in its entirety, so this is a real holiday treat. Co-directed by the Duke's granddaughter, Mercedes Ellington, and ATDF founding director Tony Waag, the evening promises an invigorating blend of jazz, tap and ballroom, with Eli Yamin leading the 15-piece Duke Ellington Center Big Band.
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92NY, 1395 Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street on the Upper East Side
Runs December 13-16.
David Parker's whimsical deconstruction of the Tchaikovsky ballet is not for purists. He takes a playful approach to this old chestnut filled with tap, disco and vaudeville performed to jazzy arrangements of the score by Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller. The Saturday matinee is followed by a family-friendly party in a winter wonderland setting. Can't make it in person? Nut/Cracked will stream for four days starting on December 14.
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The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street in Chelsea
Runs December 16-January 4, 2026.
For more than four decades, Moses Pendleton has devised fantastical dance productions featuring mesmerizing imagery for his daring ensemble. His sensibility is ideally aligned with Lewis Carroll's whimsical adventure Alice in Wonderland, which gets the eye-popping MOMIX treatment in this delectable production. All the beloved characters are there, including the undulating Caterpillar, the anxious White Rabbit, the kooky Queen of Hearts and Alice herself as she dances down a rabbit hole of surreal surprises.
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Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Avenue at 89th Street on the Upper East Side
Runs December 17. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.
As a complement to the Guggenheim's current exhibition Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers, the museum's venerable Works & Process series presents The Hikers, a live performance directed by the artist with choreography by Claudia Schreier about a pair of nervous travelers who meet and commiserate. Two exceptional Martha Graham Dance Company members, Lloyd Knight and Leslie Andrea Williams, star in this work, which is performed in the rotunda.
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New York Live Arts, 219 West 19th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in Chelsea
Runs December 17-20. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.
The second edition of this eco-conscious series features eight works addressing our environmental crisis. There are two world premieres: a solo by Antonia Franceschi danced by Royal Ballet luminary Edward Watson, and Bradley Shelver's ocean-inspired work for Joffrey Concert Group with a score by David K. Israel. The program also features pieces by Jacqulyn Buglisi, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Virginie Mécène, Gianna Reisen, Henning Rübsam and Christopher Wheeldon, whose celebrated duet After the Rain will be performed by principal dancers from New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre.
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Florence Gould Theater, 55 East 59th Street between Madison and Park Avenues in Midtown East
Runs December 19-21.
Keith Michael choreographed this hour-long version of the iconic holiday ballet, and it's filled with warmth and charm. While its short running time and eye-popping Art Nouveau design make it an ideal introduction to The Nutcracker for young children, there are plenty of surprises that will delight adults, too, including clockwork imps and an owl that flies above the audience. After the 3:30 p.m. performance on Saturday, there's the option of adding on a Land of the Sweets afterparty.
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La MaMa's Ellen Stewart Theatre, 66 East 4th Street between the Bowery and Second Avenue in the East Village
Runs December 19-21. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.
Marla Phelan fuses dance, astrophysics and video for this world premiere, developed in collaboration with Dr. Blakesley Burkhart, a professor in Rutgers' Physics and Astronomy Department. Inspired by the phenomenon of stellar birth, Birth + Carnage explores the parallels between cosmic and human creation. Tim Richardson directs.
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Susan Reiter covers dance for TDF Stages.
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