Looking back at 2008:

Best Performances  Cognizant of World Events

Maguy Marin’s Umwelt, Joyce Theater (excerpts here)

Jane Comfort’s An American Rendition, Duke Theater

Best William Forsythe Alumnus Showing

Richard Siegal, As If Stranger, Danspace Project and New 45 at Fall for Dance

Best Show You Probably Didn’t See

Batsheva (Ohad Naharin)’s Kamuyot, in performances for kids at Jewish Community Center (Read the New York Times review)

Best Show You May Have Seen 24 Years Ago But Should See Again

Martha Clarke’s Garden of Earthly Delights, Minetta Lane Theater

Most Satisfying Work In Spite (or Because) of Its Somewhat Complicated Concept

Jonah Bokaer’s Stacks, including Anne Carson, at Skirball Center (Read the New York Times review)

Best News for New York’s Balletomanes

The resurgence of New York City Ballet’s dancers (especially Tyler Angle, Sara Mearns, Robert Fairchild, Tiler Peck), Morphoses (Christopher Wheeldon)’s well-curated second season at City Center, the impressive Joyce season of Benjamin Millepied’s Danses Concertantes using mostly ABT dancers, ABT’s Marcelo Gomes and David Hallberg, ABT’s signing Alexei Ratmansky as choreographer in residence, major season by the Kirov Ballet at City Center.

Please Return to Our Shores Soon

Michael Clark Company, Rose Theater

Kirov Ballet

Proof That Painting Will Never Be Dead

Giorgio Morandi at the Met Museum

Evidence That New York is Indeed Attached to the Rest of the Country

Opening of the Sports Museum of America and the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame Annex

Best Reason to Doubt Faith

The New York Mets suspiciously regular fadeouts in September

Best Reason to Never Lose Faith

New York Giants, Superbowl Champs

Looking forward to in 2009:

Paul Taylor Dance Company’s Feb/Mar City Center season, including the new Beloved Renegade, and remountings of Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rehearsal), Last Look, Scudorama, and more

Ratmansky’s debut work for ABT

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s new work for Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet at the Joyce

Take Note:

DTW: Ivy Baldwin; Christopher Williams, Pam Tanowitz

Danspace Project: Yvonne Meier, Julian Barnett, Keely Garfield

Joyce: Evidence, Doug Varone, NDT II, Joe Goode, Lines, Stephen Petronio

Photo: The cast of Jane Comfort’s American Rendition. Photo by Arthur Elgort.