dance: a la carte.

ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER: Under the direction of dance goddess Judith Jamison, the Ailey has acquired a jaw-dropping array of superb dancers in an electrifying repertoire. Works by choreographers Ronald K. Brown and Dwight Rhoden are featured this season from November 29 to December 31 at New York's City Center.

PAUL TAYLOR: One of the few living maestros of modern dance, Taylor will present his company in an as-yet-untitled premiere. Don't miss this delectable troupe of dancers at the Annenberg Center in Philadelphia, November 16-18.

STRANGE ATTRACTORS: One of the most successful of all postmodern choreographers, Stephen Petronio celebrates his 15th anniversary with a banquet of lush movement in the premiere of his latest full-length work. The collaborative work, with decor by British sculptor Anish Kapoor and an original score by Michael Nyman, runs October 17-22 at the Joyce Theater in Manhattan's Chelsea district.

AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE: These dancers will heat up an encore of gay choreographer Robert Hill's Baroque Game with a cast of incredible male pyrotechnicians, and choreographer Christian Holder will premiere his newest work, Weren't We Fools? a dramatic ballet set to the songs of Cole Porter. They will play the City Center, New York, October 24-November 5.

JOFFREY BALLET OF CHICAGO: This esteemed company will cook up a program comprising works by choreographer Gerald Arpino, including the world premiere of Footnotes for RJ, a tribute to the late ballet giant Robert Joffrey, who succumbed to AIDS complications in 1988. See them at the Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, October 26-29.

THE BOTTOM PROJECT: Lesbian choreographer and scrumptious performer Julie Tolentino explores the meanings of bottoms up, hitting bottom, and bottom versus top. She whips it up at the Kitchen Center for Video, Music, and Dance in New York, October 5-7.