[Read about the events that our other critics have chosen for the week ahead.]

KYLE MARSHALL at BAM Fisher (Dec. 4-6, 7:30 p.m.; through Dec. 7). Making his BAM debut as part of the Next Wave Festival, Marshall, who danced with Trisha Brown and Doug Elkins, presents two works that each explore an important part of his identity — one spiritual and one physical. In “A.D.,” he probes his faith, questions Christian iconography (why are angels always portrayed as white?) and asks how Christianity affects the country more broadly. In “Colored,” a 2017 work, he and two other dancers portray the way black bodies are both idealized and demonized, and how they are perceived in dance, especially by predominantly white audiences.

718-636-4100, bam.org

MOVEMENT RESEARCH FESTIVAL FALL 2019 at Danspace Project (Dec. 5-7, 8 p.m.). This year’s festival, called “ComeUnion,” explores how a person’s physical perceptions and experiences can pave the way for personal and social healing while responding to social justice issues. Workshops, screenings and discussions begin on Wednesday and continue through Dec. 8, but the three curated programs of performances, each featuring a different lineup, begin on Thursday with Camilo Godoy, Jerron Herman and Stevie May, followed on Friday with KK de La Vida, Dustin Maxwell and Grace Osborne. Saturday’s program consists of works by Christopher Unpezverde Núñez and Merián Soto.

866-811-4111, danspaceproject.org

NEW YORK CITY BALLET at the David H. Koch Theater (Nov. 29, 8 p.m.; Nov. 30, 2 and 8 p.m.; Dec. 1, 1 and 5 p.m.; Dec. 5, 7 p.m.; through Jan. 5). ’Twas the day after Thanksgiving and all through the land, ballet companies began trotting out productions of “The Nutcracker,” a holiday dance tradition most grand. And in New York, the grandest among them is City Ballet’s, formally known as “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker,” which has been performed since 1954. That title rightly emphasizes this version’s secret weapon: Act II’s glorious choreography, particularly the breathtaking final pas de deux between the Sugarplum Fairy and her cavalier. Act I has its own virtuosic feat in the form of a supersize Christmas tree, which captures all the magic and wonder of this familiar tale.

212-496-0600, nycballet.com