Aaron Fallon

Anniversaries aren't only cause for celebration. They're pivotal moments of self-evaluation. They inspire reflection on the milestones of the past, introspective consideration of the present, and a longing gaze towards the journey ahead. This year, as it celebrates its tenth anniversary, New Chamber Ballet engages in these exciting and difficult tasks with a winter season that includes recreations of some of it earliest works, renovations of more recent ones, and premieres of some brand new ones.

What determines an artistic institution's longevity? How does such an institution thrive after the social, political, and economic forces that engendered it have disappeared? Museums, orchestras, theater and dance companies face these questions as they struggle to succeed in the cultural Darwinism that determines their survival. Some succeed. Others don't. New York City Ballet is a notable success story.

At the Apollo Theater in Harlem, the arrival of the holiday season is marked by 'Holidays at the Apollo,' which this year includes 'Ellington at Christmas,' a two-act offering of Ellington's 'Nutcracker Suite' and portions of his 'Sacred Music Concerts.' We're re-gifted these Ellington holiday classics in an enjoyable, if not completely flawless performance by Ellington expert David Berger and his Jazz Orchestra, featuring students from the Dance Theater of Harlem School and the Arts High School Advanced Choir of Newark, as well as solos by baritone Norm Lewis, sopranos Lizz Wright and Priscilla Baskerville, and tap virtuoso Jason Samuels Smith.

As a certifiable treasure in China's dance culture, SILK ROAD is not to be missed. Regardless of its hiccups (or its highlights), China Gansu Dance Theater created an intriguingly stimulating show for its New York premiere, as it has for audiences around the world for over 30 years.