He rose from poverty to become one of the Netherlands’ most revered dance makers, creating more than 150 avant-garde works in a career spanning eight decades.Hans van Manen in Amsterdam in 2024. “Ever since I was 7, all I wanted to do was dance,” he once said.

The national company has a new leader, Jurgita Dronina, and a desire to raise its profile to a troupe that can rank among Europe’s best.Jurgita Dronina, left, the new leader of the Lithuanian national company, with the dancer Nora Straukaite.

Across the arts, these 10 performers took a leap of faith this year and stuck the landing in a big way.

Aunt Gladys. Tyler, the Creator. That sex scene in “The Naked Gun.” These are the things Culture staffers couldn’t stop thinking about this year.

New works by Jamar Roberts and Matthew Neenan had their premieres at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.