Pleasing a crowd of dance enthusiasts with a single program is a surprisingly difficult task for any company or choreographer. The ballet purists shy away from most things not involving pointe shoes. The modern crowd usually enjoys work based on dance visionaries from the mid-20th century. And the contemporary audience yearns for newness and innovation above all else. But Nacho Duato and the Compania Nacional de Danza 2 have the elusive magic touch that somehow brings any audience to its feet.

Geffen Playhouse, April 10-May 27

“Distracted”
Mark Taper Forum
March 15-April 29
Sometimes it feels like we live in a hectic world where you can’t relax or focus no matter what you try.

“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
Center Theater Group
Feb. 6 through March 18
Few actresses receive 30 seconds of applause upon taking the stage. An even smaller number are applauded for opening a play by shouting “Jesus H.

Center Theatre Group
"13"
Dec. 22 through Feb. 18
Anyone who survived eighth grade remembers the cliques,
superficial gossip and social anxiety that made the last year of
middle school one of the most traumatic yet formative adolescent
years.

The Nutcracker
Universal Ballet
Thursday, Nov. 30
There is nothing quite like seeing “The Nutcracker”
to officially welcome the holiday season.
The children’s fairy tale is an eternally popular
family-friendly fixture of winter.

“Light in the Piazza” Ahmanson Theatre Oct. 31
through Dec. 10
They say that theater is the willful suspension of disbelief.
Rarely does a show come along that does not require the will.

There is something undeniably magnetic about watching bad
singers perform.
“American Idol,” for example, is a perennial hit
because audiences like to see the comical dreamers of the early
episodes croon their way to television infamy.

Despite the implications of its name, the Lyon Opera
Ballet’s performances are missing all of the standard ballet
accoutrements. There are no princesses in tutus and tiaras,
pirouettes in pointe shoes or a corps de ballet of swans.

As the Tibetan head of state and the leader of his
country’s Buddhist faith, the Dalai Lama is an inspiration to
millions and a global personality.