Year in Review: Dance Margaret Putnam recalls her 10 favorite dance performances of 2011.

We know that at some point rain will again fall, but whether good fortune shines on dance is another question. The dance drought continues with no relief in sight. After a slow decline, Metropolitan Classic Ballet closed up shop while Texas Dance Theater, barely four years old, cancelled its 2011-2012 season. Texas Ballet Theater, TITAS and Dallas Black Dance Theatre all cut down the number of performances.

These were the top 10 dance events of the year (to see the list as a slideshow presentation, click the slideshow icon to the right).

9. Black is the Color of That Kettle, Muscle Memory Dance Theatre at the Out of the Loop Fringe Festival at WaterTower Theatre, Addison (March 5)

No one goes to the Fringe Festival expecting the ordinary, and certainly not in dance. Odd encounters, gestures that fly at odds with each other, and a serious use of crumpled-up aluminum foil inspired all sorts of weird and yet tantalizing images that sparked the imagination.

◊ Margaret Putnam has been writing about dance since 1980, with works published by D Magazine, The Dallas Observer, The Dallas Times Herald, The Dallas Morning News, The New York Times, Playbill, Stagebill, Pointe Magazine and Dance Magazine.