New York Notebook

Treading for the Ages

Elisa Monte’s hypnotic duet Treading, made for Martha Graham’s company in 1979, is a staple of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s repertory. It can be seen on Monte’s own company from Feb. 25 to March 7, fittingly at Ailey Citigroup Theater. Two programs feature a premiere by Monte, whose sinuous, powerful modern style reveals her links to both Graham and Ailey, as well as new works by associate artistic director Tiffany Rea Fisher and company member Joe Celej. Elisa Monte Dance is in its 29th year, a testament to the enduring appeal of Monte’s technically rigorous, poetic choreography, as well as her eight superb dancers. See www.elisamontedance.org. —Susan Yung

I-Won’t-Grow-Up Troupe Turns 20

For 20 years, Jody Oberfelder Dance Projects has brought downtown audiences a very sporty type of dance (or a dancey type of sports). Oberfelder’s love of childlike play can give her work a seemingly naïve quality, but she can also be quirky and complex. Her anniversary program, “Heads or Tales,” comes to the Abrons Arts Center in the Lower East Side this month. Former company members will join current artists onstage and on film to dance the story of the troupe’s journey. March 11–13. See www.jodyoberfelder.com. —Rebecca Ain

Past/Present, Stars/Étoiles

Staatsballett Berlin’s unspeakably lovely Polina Semionova returns to Youth American Grand Prix, along with other stars like Matthias Heymann of Paris Opéra Ballet and Sarah Lane of American Ballet Theatre. Despite its theme of “Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow,” this year YAGP honors a Russian star of yesterday: Vladimir Vasiliev. Though he never attained the fame of Nureyev or Baryshnikov (he didn’t defect), he embodied Bolshoi heroics with his spectacular jumps and endless turns. At City Center, March 25–27. See www.yagp.org or www.nycitycenter.org. —Wendy Perron

Pictured: Alicia Pegues. Photo by Roy Volkmann, Courtesy Elisa Monte.