Ann Haskins

In 1997, Los Angeles hosted the U.S. premiere of Matthew Bourne's breakthrough Swan Lake featuring male swans in feathered knickers, helping to launch what became an international sensation. Since then Bourne's rebooting of ballet classics has produced audacious and popular theatrical events -- a Nutcracker set in an Oliver Twist......

We're not sure what's more impressive -- that two preeminent dance companies arrive here the same week, or that both are enjoying resurgences led by female artistic directors who once were their company's star dancers. What are the odds? Since its founding by Arthur Mitchell, the first African-American dancer with......

The dancers of Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre are used to getting dirty. Over the years, the city's preeminent site-specific dance company has explored the concrete banks of the Los Angeles River, historic jails, underground streetcar garages and, most recently, scaffoldlike constructs in vacant lots. Audiences revel in this troupe's inventive......

Having conquered the major challenges of the classical ballet repertoire, Russian ballerina Diana Vishneva segued into a highly successful 2008 showcase with new works created for her by four of the most sought-after contemporary choreographers. The success of that project launched this sequel, Diana Vishneva: On the Edge. In this......

Comprised of Cambodian children orphaned by the Khmer Rouge's genocide, the Sacred Dancers of Angkor arrive for a week of events celebrating Cambodia's classical, folk and sacred dance traditions, as well as the powerful concept of survival. In the 1970s, the Khmer Rouge murdered millions, even as it targeted classical......