MOST of us abandon our New Year’s resolutions. But if you vowed to see more live art in 2015, you can start keeping that one right away. A decade ago, January was a performance doldrums. No more.

As thousands of curators pack the New York Hilton Midtown for the annual Association of Performing Arts Presenters conference, hundreds of artists and companies crowd downtown stages. Many performers survive by touring, so they’re hoping that their work will tempt those visiting presenters. But the astonishing range of work makes these weeks a treat for civilians, too.