Saratoga Springs Youth Ballet performed "The Nutcracker" on Saturday at the Performing Arts Center at the University at Albany. (Susan Blackburn Photography)

There are so many wonderful holiday traditions, but for lovers of dance, there is only one – “The Nutcracker.”
 
And Saratoga Springs Youth Ballet’s rendition of the Tchaikovsky classic is a charmer. As seen on Saturday afternoon at the Performing Arts Center at the University at Albany, this version doesn’t cut corners, as some nonprofessional companies do. Better still, it’s inclusive. Every child, even a large cadre of preschoolers, had a role. As snow flurries through the Land of Snow and then as the angels tiptoeing with the Sugarplum Fairy, they brought on the smiles.
 
They and the other student dancers left the audience with warm feeling, one that makes one realize that there is magic in the holidays and one can only truly appreciate it through the enthusiasm of a child.
 
The young company is directed by Joan Kilgore Anderson and Cristiane Santos who choreographed and staged this sweet version that fully embraced all the time-honored traditions of the ballet – the dolls that spring to life, the growing tree, the snowy stage and the fantastical journey through the Land of the Sweets.
 
While the dancers – including some of the adults – are of varying abilities and talents, Anderson and Santos did an admirable job of unifying the cast in clean and kaleidoscopic variations. However, there are certain dancers that stood out and deserved special recognition.
 
Hannah Barber as Clara was delightful. Strong and steady, she drew the eye, initially, with her talents. But she won the audience over with her gregarious smile as the girl who dreamed of a living Nutcracker who whisks her off to an adventure.
 
Emeline Hong was a revelation in the Coffee divertissement. Elegant and poised, this young dancer looked to have a future beyond her high school years. She, like other dancers, moved about throughout the cast to fill out the corps de ballet – a tall and exhausting order for all of them.
 
It was also wonderful to see Andre Robles, known for his work with the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company, who guested as Drosselmeyer, the mystical toymaker. Tall and stately, he was a soloist supreme whom no one could ignore. He carried the first act party with class.
 
The central to it all was Sarah MacGregor as the Sugarplum Fairy and Aram Hengen as her Cavalier. She was pretty and pleasant in both delicate pointe work in the grand pas de deux with Hengen, an attentive escort. While he didn’t have the requisite ballon that ensured wowing those in the seat, Hengen didn’t miss a step and held MacGregor aloft with calm.
 
While Saratoga Springs Youth Ballet’s “Nutcracker” was delightful, some in the audience were not. They fell in two camps -- those who can’t seem to put their phones away and those who feel responsible for shaming the fanatics. Twice, a man shouted “put down your phone.” The second time, someone responded by yelling “shut-up.” While I understand the shrieker’s frustration, as phones are distracting and inappropriate at the ballet, so too is yelling. Perhaps the best way to handle the issue is to have designated ushers tapping shoulders.
 
I’m not sure the answer, but I implore those in the seats, out of respect for the children on the stage, put away your phone and be quiet.

Nacre Dance Group celebrated the holidays with Charles Weidman's rendering of Bach's "Christmas Oratorio" on Sunday at Universal Preservation Hall. 

“The Nutcracker” ballet dominates the holiday dance season. But there is another dance creation that deserves to be revered each December too – Charles Weidman’s “Christmas Oratorio.”
 
Created in 1961, the work is inspired by Bach’s cantata of the same name in which angels extol and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ in both tender and joyous scenes. And in the hands of Nacre Dance Group, an ensemble from Saratoga Springs, this rarely seen gem inspired a holiday mood.
 
The dance likely doesn’t hold a place in the pantheon of great works of holiday art, likely because of its religious nature. Yet Nacre, which is also performing its version of “The Nutcracker” next weekend at The Egg, “Christmas Oratorio” has become a staple. And this year, Nacre’s Artistic Director Beth Fecteau staged the late Weidman’s work at Universal Preservation Hall.
 
The stage was slightly too small for the number of dancers — in red and blue – to maneuver smoothly. Yet it didn't matter much as the dance as, seen on Sunday afternoon, was one that stirred emotion both for its brilliant marriage between music and dance and the depiction of wide-eyed adoration.
 
Fecteau’s clean staging was in three parts, the nativity, the life of Jesus including his death and the final glorious celebration.  
 
The dance began with two sets of angels, one group calling out to herald and another embracing the impending birth. The sense was light and jubilant with the dancers bouncing with small footwork, gently tapping wrists as if releasing a fairy dust, and appearing to fly as they perched themselves in arabesque.
 
What followed was Joseph and a pregnant Mary’s futile search for a room and then the adoration of the shepherds who followed the star. The narrative was crystalline, and touching, even for nonbelievers.
 
The second half fast-forwarded to Jesus’s arrest and crucifixion; and then came one of the dance’s most beautiful moments – a stirring duet between Katie Mebert as the lamenting human figure and Erin Calhoun as the encouraging angel, Echo Air. As Mebert's head and body was bent in distress, Calhoun’s luminescence, pointing the way, offered hope.
 
The finale was generous with the entire ensemble of 16 swept up in the resplendence inherent in the triumphant singing. It carried the audience along to the last tableau – all the angels standing still, raising their arms to splendor.
 
Of course, this dance could scare off those who are not Jesus devotees. But it shouldn’t. “Christmas Oratorio” was a jubilee that stimulated a smile – just like “The Nutcracker.”

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company performed on Saturday night at The Egg in Albany.

There are few companies more willing to go out on a limb than Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company. Thus, in all of my decades critiquing dance, I find it difficult to define this amazing ensemble. The ineffable Jones, whose work once again surprised on Saturday night at The Egg, remains indescribable.
 
Jones’ skill is honed by skirting on the edge of spirituality, delving into the essence of humanity – its glories and horrors – in a way that is not obvious. Jones bids you to come to him, to sit, to listen, to see, dodging conventional lanes that other dance artists consider compulsory.
 
It’s part of what makes “Love Re-Defined” from 1996 so charming. This is a folksy work that touches on the need in all of us to be loved – not in the romantic way – but in the deep visceral sense. What’s interesting is Jones selected songs written and performed by Daniel Johnston. They are not beautiful – at times off-key to an accompanying accordion — nor are they particularly danceable (generally, important for a choreographer to consider a score.) They are simple, repetitive and oddly sweet.
 
And in Jones hands and in the bodies of the outstanding nine members of his company, the work becomes an ode to love.
 
The dance is set in white with a black silhouette of a plant blossoming its first delicate tendrils. What strikes one first are the dancers themselves – Huiwang Zhang especially. He is supple, agile, strong – able to move every muscle in a way that the audience not only sees, but gasps at. Then one realizes all of Jones’ dancers are like that. They are an extraordinary group that elevate Jones’ art, message and mystic.
 
The work has two sections that are particularly moving – one in which the singer tells us the story of King Kong and how “they shot him dead.” Jones’ king wore a white hoodie, and one couldn’t help drawing a parallel to Trayvon Martin – shot dead for being who he was.
 
The finale is beautiful with the singer repeating the Biblical passage that defines love: “Love is patient and kind. Love isn’t jealous or boastful. It is not arrogant or rude…” As one dancer scuttles about alone and away from the crowd, another spreads open an arm to her. She comes and is embraced as the lights dim.
 
The company also performed “Story/” from 2013, a jumble of athleticism and grace involved in sport. With the floor lined like a court or field, Jones’ outstanding dancers romped, tumbled, posed and wrestled to Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden.” With an occasional ball being tossed between them, the dancers once again showed off their skills as super athletes.
 
The audience happily sat back and enjoyed.