T+L Reports: Fancy Footwork

George Balanchine (1904-1983) would probably have greeted the news of a yearlong centennial celebration of his balletswith one of his favorite dismissals: "Too fancy!" But as the legendary Mr. B isn't around to protest,commemorative festivals are planned here and abroad. Among the most significant are the 50 all-Balanchine programs at New York City Ballet (the company he co-founded in 1948), which include a triple bill of his landmark works Apollo, Serenade, and Prodigal Son, to be presented on his birthday, January 22. www.nycballet.com. • If Balanchine defined ballet as we know it, postmodernist choreographer Stephen Petronio keeps us guessing. His company's 20th anniversary kicks off with a U.S. grand tour that begins at St. Louis's Edison Theater on January 23 and ends the week of March 23 at the Joyce Theater in New York City. Its centerpiece is the premiere of his latest work, The Island of Misfit Toys, a series of gothic nursery rhymes with set designs by photographer Cindy Sherman (best known for her surreal self-portraits), music by Lou Reed, and costumes by Tara Subkoff, founder of the conceptual fashion label Imitation of Christ. With characteristic alchemy, Petronio's Island conjures a whole, wild world unto itself. www.stephenpetroniocompany.com.
—Robert Greskovic