Year in Review

Try quirky, arch, ironic and high energy – that seems to be the direction modern dance is going. To best understand how vastly it has abandoned formal structure and operatic emotion, look at Martha Graham's Primitive Mysteries (1932) and BJM Danse's Les Chambres des Jacques (2006) for contrast. Ballet training has also crept in everywhere, giving a high gloss to forms so distinctive as modern, tango and even flamenco.

And modern has made inroads into ballet, sometimes to the extent of choreographers ditching pointe shoes, and sometimes not. But plenty of room remains for the classical style, as pristine as ever, as you'll see from these picks of the best 10 performances of the year.

1. Texas Ballet Theater: "Mozart at the Majestic," March 30 at the Majestic Theatre
The pristine came to the forefront in Swan Lake, drenched in terror and longing, and brilliantly portrayed. But it was Ben Stevenson's new Mozart Requiem that featured 11 men in T-shirts and dog tags that made the agony of war reverberate with haunting effect.

Mike Stone / Special to DMN

SMU Meadows Dance Ensemble performs Martha Graham's Primitive Mysteries

2. Paul Taylor Dance Company: Feb. 10 at the Eisemann Center
With 52 years under its belt the company only gets better and better. Paul Taylor does not shy from the giddy to the chilling, as displayed in the delightful Troilus and Cressida (Reduced) and the harrowing anti-war protest, Banquet of Vultures.

3. Southern Methodist University Meadows Dance Ensemble: Fall Dance Concert, Nov. 7 at Bob Hope Theatre
Were it not for the dance division, there is little chance we would ever be rewarded by Martha Graham's riveting masterpiece, Primitive Mysteries. Controlled ferocity, sparse movement and clarity of space told the story of the Virgin Mary with a straightforward simplicity, and an ecstatic mood.

4. Battleworks: March 29 at the University of Texas at Dallas
Storm troopers have nothing on this fierce and driven company, judging by the jackhammer intensity of The Hunt and controlled, odd movement of Strange Humors. Falling backward flat on the floor and slamming feet were par for the course.

Sonya N. Hebert / DMN

Doug Varone Dance Company

5. Luna Negra Dance Theater: Sept. 22 at the Latino Cultural Center
Celebrating Latin culture comes with the danger of clichés, but this Chicago-based company avoided even the slightest hint. Its fresh and imaginative touch included a streamlined, black and white version of tango, and a hilarious coming of age in Quinceanera (Sweet Fifteen).

6. Doug Varone Dance Company: Nov. 2 at McFarlin Auditorium (TITAS)
From the impetuous Castles to the haunting Boats Leaving and the dreamy Lux, the company surged forward in cascading waves, with endless variations of tumbles, skitters, falls and rebounds. Complexity never looked so deceptively easy.

7. Forever Tango: Sept. 7 at the Majestic Theatre
Although the ballet influence has seeped into tango to give it more elegance, the harsh blares of music provides the necessary ballast of grit and aggression. A terrific orchestra inspired daring and tension, with a little comic relief tossed in for good measure.

8. Lacy & Shade: March 10 at the WaterTower Theater
Out of the Loop Festival brought the enticing duos Lacy & Shade and Keller & Birkes to prove that the best way to tell a story is to spike it with ambivalence. In Bright Yellow Blossom, for example, Mary Williford-Shade takes the guise of Queen Elizabeth, high white collar and all, pulls her skin, parades, droops, and lies down like an upended bug, laughing manically. So much for the demands of queenship.

Nan Coulter / Special to DMN

BJM Danse's Les Chambres des Jacques

9. BJM Danse: Feb. 2 at McFarlin Auditorium (TITAS)
This engaging group from Montreal goes for a rough and tumble style with madcap glee, switching course from drunken giddiness to sober restraint. Of particular delight was the wacky Les Chambres des Jacques, with its fairground ambience and cartoonist antics.

10. Stella Maris Jamaican Dance Company: March 16 at Naomi Bruton Main Stage
Texas Black Academy of Arts and Letters' annual "Rhythm and Soul of the People" threw caution out the window with three outlandish works. Local company Happy Nia Dance stirred things up with a sizzling Old School Soul Limbo, while Stella Maris Jamaican Dance Company weighed in with a go-for-broke Ridin', and the comic masterpiece Liza.

"I make rules so I can break them." Paul Taylor, on creating new dance

"Years ago, I came out like gangbusters. Then you discover that it’s the expression that counts." Maria Benitez, dancer and artistic director of Maria Benitez Teatro Flamenco

"I had a great time working with actors. You don't have to tell them to be dramatic." Catherine Turocy, Dallas-based baroque choreographer, on working with the cast of Pride and Prejudice at Dallas Theater Center

"Gorgeous! I just looked into the mirror and could hardly believe my eyes....People are always mistaking me for Brad Pitt." Ben Stevenson, Texas Ballet Theater artistic director, on his mood one fall day