We can't all travel the world in search of the best in classical and contemporary dance. We can't all spend months catching cutting-edge performances by the best emerging and established dance companies. Thankfully Dance Salad Festival Artistic Director Nancy Henderek can. And does. Under her steady direction, the festival brings more than a dozen world-class companies into town each year for a three-day run. It's literally a gathering of the best dancers and choreographers on the planet. A highlight this year was Liu Lu's Gateway, performed by the men of the Contemporary Dragon KungFu Company — think traditional and demure Chinese folk dance usually performed by women, but turned on its head and infused with testosterone and a few kung fu kicks. Another showstopper was the Norwegian National Ballet's Cygne. A contemporary work by Daniel Proietto, Cygne was inspired by The Dying Swan. Former Houstonian Samantha Lynch, who performed the solo, found a broken beauty in Proietto's angular, sculptural piece.