Michelle Dorrance is never content to let things lie. She is mounting her own version of The Nutcracker minus Tchaikovsky plus Duke Ellington and Billie Strayhorn--a jazzy version of the beloved classic. Ok, so maybe there isn't a tree growing to the heavens but there is this heavenly dancer, Josette Wigan Freund— co-creator with Dorrance and Hannah Heller, who plays the Sugar Rum Fairy- and others tapping their way to celestial bliss. I've seen Dorrance at the Joyce before--she takes over the place with her fascinating rhythms.

Image by Matthew Murphy, courtesy Richard Kornberg and Assoc.