Best dance company

For many New Englanders, the holiday season isn't complete without seeing a performance of Boston Ballet's The Nutcracker. From November 28 through December 30, Boston's premier dance company will present its sumptuous Christmastime fairytale. Night after night, Clara, Fritz, the Mouse King, and the Sugar Plum Fairy twinkle and twirl around the lavish Wang stage. But The Nutcracker isn't all that Boston Ballet offers. Many of their other productions have garnered rave reviews, and this season's Stars and Stripes celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of the world's finest choreographers, George Balanchine. The Boston Ballet, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, continues to rise to new heights, and continues to be our readers' pick for best Boston dance company.

The Dance Collective, a new winner in our readers' poll, celebrates 30 years of presenting modern-dance performances and educational programs this year, making it Boston's oldest contemporary-dance company. Back in 1973, most dance companies formed around a single personality and a single style. The Dance Collective, however, was founded by a whole group of women, thereby informing the Collective's trademark innovative, fresh, feisty, and collaborative contemporary dance. The Collective also offers movement-education programs for all ages, as well as an Annual Summer Outreach program that provides Boston's urban teenagers the opportunity to experience life as a professional dancer.

Boston Ballet, at the Wang Theatre, 270 Tremont Street, Boston, (617) 695-6955; Dance Collective, 143 Cummins Highway, Roslindale; (781) 861-0735.