Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s winter season counts as one of New York’s best holiday institutions. The only thing to decide on is the show—or shows, given the multiple programs and five-week run. In choosing, I’d look out for: live music; Revelations, the founder’s 1960 opus that handed the fledgling company its future and never gets old; other dances by Ailey delivered in their entirety (avoid the excerpt nights: too many bits and pieces); and repertory by Kyle Abraham, Ronald K. Brown, and Jamar Roberts. These acclaimed contemporary choreographers elevate common company themes—the triumph of the spirit over adversity, say—above cliché. Whichever night you go, outstanding dancers are guaranteed. Indeed, under Robert Battle’s leadership these last 12 years, the troupe has only gotten better—more nuanced, more collectively attuned. —Apollinaire Scherr