Critic’s pick: Top 5 DFW-area dance events of 2014

It was a year of intense change in the North Texas dance scene.

But for all of the headline-worthy shifts — the return of live music at Texas Ballet Theater, the inaugural Dallas DanceFest and the retirements of TBT principal dancer Lucas Priolo and Dallas Black Dance Theatre founder Ann Williams — 2014 will always be marked by one of the biggest tragedies in the local arts scene: the death of choreographer Bruce Wood, a Fort Worth native.

His Bruce Wood Dance Project is being kept alive in Dallas and has 2015 dates scheduled to preserve his works. But the impact of his loss cannot be overstated. He was a singular artist whose brilliance will not be replaced.

In looking back at my favorite dance performances of the year in Dallas-Fort Worth, somber themes marked many of the standouts. Here they are, in order, starting with the best of the best.

1Texas Ballet Theater, ‘Gloria’

Feb. 28, Bass Hall, Fort Worth

Balanchine’s Serenade and Ben Stevenson’s L were on the program, but it was Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s haunting commentary on war, Gloria, that remains emblazoned in the memory as the most beautiful dance performance of the year. Even in a year that saw TBT return to live orchestral accompaniment (for Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty), this performance’s exquisite dancing, striking lifts and unusual positions are still unforgettable.

2Bruce Wood Dance Project, ‘Touch’

June 12, City Performance Hall, Dallas

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house at this concert, mostly because it served as the memorial service for Bruce Wood, who died unexpectedly in May. The performance featured his hallmark works Home and The Only Way Through Is Through, plus his more recent Love, B, which he had choreographed for the retiring Ann Williams of Dallas Black Dance Theatre. His unfinished piece, Touch, reminded of his consistent genius. Godspeed, Mr. Wood.

3Shen Wei Dance Arts

June 19, Winspear Opera House, Dallas

TITAS had an exceptional year of presenting contemporary dance in Dallas, and the avant-garde company from Chinese-American choreographer Shen Wei still stands out for long, slow-moving — almost motionless — movement and cinematic visuals — without the cinema.

4Dark Circles Contemporary Dance, Fall Series

Sept. 4, Sanders Theatre at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center

Joshua L. Peugh’s outfit is notable because his movement style is different from any other choreographer in town, and that’s a good thing. His Beautiful Knuckleheads was a hoot, while Chadi El-Khoury’s Words in Motion and Mike Esperanza’s Nucleus made us want to see more from those artists.

5Dance Theatre of Harlem

Jan. 26, Bass Hall, Fort Worth

The famed dance company came roaring back after its professional company had been disbanded during the recession, and its stop in Fort Worth — which featured Robert Garland’s Gloria and Return, and Ulysses Dove’s glorious Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven — made us wish Bass Hall would program more touring dance companies.

The rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10, in no particular order:

▪ Dallas DanceFest at City Performance Hall, Dallas

▪ NICE by Danielle Georgiou Dance Group at Wyly Theatre, Dallas

▪ Ballet Concerto Summer Dance Concert at Trinity Park Pavilion, Fort Worth

▪ The Sleeping Beauty by Texas Ballet Theater at Bass Hall, Fort Worth

▪ Kibbutz Dance Company, presented by TITAS, at City Performance Hall, Dallas

This story was originally published December 26, 2014 at 5:39 PM with the headline "Critic’s pick: Top 5 DFW-area dance events of 2014."