ONCE UPON A DREAM Hard as it is to believe, Swan Lake and The Nutcracker weren’t always Tchaikovsky’s most popular ballets. That accolade once belonged to The Sleeping Beauty, a pre-Disney fairy tale full of nimble sprites, the wicked Carabosse, and Prince Désiré (better known as Charming). The Russian National Ballet wakes the classic production from its slumber (above) on January 29 at Albuquerque’s Popejoy Hall. When Princess Aurora, portrayed by a member of the internationally acclaimed troupe, dances true love’s triumph in the final act, it’ll be the audience’s turn to be spell- bound. (505) 925-5858; popejoypresents.com
DECEMBER 31
FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN
New Mexico’s New Year’s Eve pyrotechnics aren’t confined to the sky. Several of the state’s ski areas—including Taos Ski Valley (575-776- 2291; skitaos.org) and Angel Fire (575-377- 6401; angelfireresort.com)—invite revelers to ring in 2015 by the light of torchlight parades, as well as the usual holiday fireworks displays. A torchlight parade, for the uninitiated, involves a procession of skiers winding their way down dark slopes by flare light, carving glowing red trails on the mountainside. Fireworks, too, acquire a little extra magic from their reflection on the incoming year’s first powder. When the show’s over, slip on your novelty glasses and party hat and head to resort festivities or to town: In Red River (575-754-2366; redrivernewmex.com), local hot spots like the Motherlode Saloon count down to midnight following the ski area parade. (575) 754-6280; on Facebook
JANUARY 1
POLAR DARE
Polar bear fact: Thanks to self-sealing nostrils and a layer of blubber four inches thick, Ursus maritimus can swim continuously for over 50 miles through icy Arctic seas. Human fact: You cannot do it. But feel free to put yourself to the test at noon on New Year’s Day at Storrie Lake State Park, when a pack of highly adventurous Homo sapiens newmexicanus will gather for the 20th annual Las Vegas Polar Bear Plunge. Admission is free; attendees are welcome to stay dry while cheering on (and giggling at) shivering participants, or dive in themselves to discover how much freezing water they can, ahem, bear. (505) 425-7278; mynm.us/storrie
JANUARY 1, 6, 23
FRANKINCENSE AND MIRTH
According to the Catholic calendar, the magi’s journey from the east got them to town about two weeks late for the main event, establishing a precedent that’s honored to this day. Folks who missed this season’s pueblo Christmas dances, or who just wish to experience more Native New Mexican culture, get additional opportunities on New Year’s Day and Three Kings’ Day. Most pueblos celebrate the former by appointing new tribal officers and holding dances, such as the afternoon Buffalo Dance at Taos Pueblo (575-758-1028; taospueblo.com). The latter holiday, which falls on January 6, is also widely celebrated; contact individual pueblos for details (indianpueblo.org). On January 23, San Ildefonso Pueblo honors its namesake saint with the year’s first individual feast day, which begins the evening of January 22 with bonfires and a vespers and continues the next day with a sunrise dance in the plaza, a mass, then Deer and Comanche Dances. (505) 455- 3549; sanipueblo.org
JANUARY 4–14, 17–18
POWDER, KEGS
You might think that forecasts of ample snow and the debut of Taos’s new Kachina Peak lift would be enough to get skiers stoked about New Mexico this season. You’d be right, and the state’s ski areas are still shoveling on more fun. Slopehounds can make the most of winter break at Red River, whose College Days, January 4–14, offer $37 lift tickets (down from $67) and $18 equipment rental (normally $25) for students (575-754-2223; redriverskiarea.com). On January 17, get free telemark instruction at Sipapu’s Telefest, which coincides with a Happy Hops Hunt (in which skiers search the mountain for beer cans stuffed with prizes) sponsored by Santa Fe Brewing Company (800-587-2240; sipapunm.com). That day also marks the start of the Chama Chile Ski Classic, an action-packed weekend whose lineup features all kinds of races, including a new fat-tire snow-bike race, as well as live music, beer tasting, and—sure, why not—yurt tours. (575) 265-0590; skichama.com
JANUARY 13–FEBRUARY 1
GLOBE THEATER
When all the world’s a stage, just getting the players in one place can be a feat. Gathering the kind of global talent that Tricklock Company has brought to Albuquerque for the past 15 years as part of Revolutions International Theatre Festival, an annual celebration of avant-garde theater, is downright ovation-worthy. This year’s festival runs for three weeks and features companies from the U.S., Mexico, and England, as well as farther-flung locales like Israel and the Ukraine. Audience members can buy tickets to individual performances or “passports” for four or eight shows, with discounts available to students. (505) 254-8393; tricklock.com
JANUARY 14
DAY OF THE JEKYLL
Two weeks into resolutions that are gnawing away at our self-control, it’s easy to relate to Robert Louis Stevenson’s famously dualistic doctor. The good news: There’s no need to be ambivalent about Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical. A Tony and Grammy nominee in its 1997 Broadway incarnation, the hit show plays a one-night engagement at New Mexico Tech’s Macey Center, in Socorro, on January 14. It’s part of the school’s ongoing Performing Arts Series. (575) 835-5688; nmtpas.org
JANUARY 18
SNOW TUNES
The City Different under a blanket of snow is a scene that deserves a suitably magical soundtrack. On January 18, the Santa Fe Symphony, under guest director Guillermo Figueroa, will take up the task with a seasonal concert entitled Winter Dreams. The performance, held at the Lensic Performing Arts Center, features Mahler’s first symphony, Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Cellos, and Handel’s perennially popular Water Music. (505) 983-1414; santafesymphony.org
JANUARY 23
ART STARTS
Chris Pappan classifies his bright, pop-inflected paintings as “Native American Lowbrow.” Christine Nofchissey McHorse’s sleek black micaceous clay work has been compared to the sculptures of Henry Moore. Each has an exhibition opening at the Institute of American Indian Arts’ Museum of Contemporary Native Arts this month, which gives you some idea of the range of artists the Santa Fe institution draws upon. A collective opening reception on January 23 offers a first look at Pappan’s and McHorse’s shows, along with Mechanistic Renderings from Star Wallowing Bull and War Department, a selection from the museum’s permanent col- lection. All four exhibitions will be on display through July 31. (505) 983-1777; iaia.edu
FOR MORE EVENTS, GO TO mynm.us/eventsnm