Ann Haskins

While jaded critics may groan at the prospect of yet another production of The Nutcracker, balletomanes welcome the chance to compare various professional versions (this year including Los Angeles Ballet and American Ballet Theatre) and to survey local companies’ upcoming crop of preprofessionals or the charm of a ballet school’s budding dancers....

Named after the French translation of chiaroscuro — the Renaissance Italian art term for the shifting effect of light falling unevenly on an object — L.A.-based Clairobscur Dance Company has garnered its share of attention and awards. That's largely thanks to artistic director Laurie Sefton's intricate choreography, which explores multiple......

Jacob Jonas emerged over the past two years as an important player on the L.A. dance scene, but he took something of a scenic route before emerging as a local force. His L.A. dance roots go back to when, as a teen, he joined a street-dance group performing at Venice......

Each spring, Deborah Brockus rides herd on roughly 20 of L.A.'s best dance companies as producer of the Los Angeles Dance Festival. L.A. has a number of dance fests, but since its debut in 2012 as a joint endeavor with Brockus' neighbor Diavolo — Architecture in Motion, LADF has emerged......

With productions of the Nutcracker ballet sprouting up throughout December and all over the Southland, there’s a Nutcracker for everyone led by two professional stand outs and some innovative takes on the traditional story. Starting with the professional companies, here’s this year’s roundup of Nutcrackers waiting to entertain. Los Angeles Ballet’s......