Houston Contemporary Dance Company will be commissioning a New Work from choreographer Norbert De La Cruz III. Read more about him below and see the World Premiere October 14th, 2023 at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.
Born in Bayombong Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines and raised in Los Angeles, CA Norbert De La Cruz III is recognized for his versatility in performance and choreography. He is a collaborative artist with roots in classical and contemporary dance. After moving to New York in 2006, he received a BFA in Dance from the Juilliard School followed by an MFA in Dance from Hollins University. He is a New York and Los Angeles based freelance dance artist.
Norbert's movement practice has brought nationwide attention to dance companies and educational programs. His physicality is shaped by his training experiences from the Gabriella Foundation, LA County High School for the Arts, Marat Daukayev School of Ballet, The Juilliard School, and through his performance career as a professional dancer. He started training in classical dance at age 11 (Cecchetti and Vaganova) with ballet masters Vera Ninkovic and Marat Daukayev.
Professionally, Norbert has performed as a soloist with the Metropolitan Opera's production of Aida, Aszure Barton & Artists in Germany & Austria (Blue Soup & Busk), Balletto Teatro di Torino (Italy), Joe Goode Performance Group, Sydney Skybetter & Associates, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, and Complexions Contemporary Ballet. As a pre-professional, he was honored the Music Center's 17th annual Spotlight Award, the Emerging Young Artist Award, Youth America Grand Prix 2nd place in non-classical, and represented the Juilliard School at Kodak Theatre’s first annual Dizzy Feet Foundation Gala in Hollywood, CA. Norbert recently been casted in Warner Brothers Pictures film adaptation of Tony-winning musical In The Heights.
Additionally, Norbert has performed works by choreographers José Limón, David Parker, Adam Hougland, Johannes Wieland, Ohad Naharin, Aszure Barton, Jerome Robbins, Larry Keigwin, Jiri Pikorny, Hernando Fernando Magedan, Spenser Theberge, Jeremy McQueen, Camille A. Browne, Dwight Rhoden, Desmond Richardson, Lightfoot & Leon, Crystal Pite, Alonzo King, Zachary Tang, Gregory Dawson, and Jirí Kylián.
Norbert's choreographic career was further mentored by Aspen Santa Fe Ballet (ASFB) Directors, Tom Mossbrucker and Jean-Philippe Malaty. His early career was recognized through the support of the Jerome Robbins Foundation’s NEW Essential Works Grant (2012), commissioning his first large-scale ballet, “Square None” (2012) with ASFB. He was then a finalist of Hubbard Street’s National Choreographic Competition (2013), a Princess Grace Foundation-USA Award under the choreography fellowship (2012), Alvin Ailey New Directions Choreography Lab (2013), finalist for the Joffrey Academy of Dance’s 2014 Winning Works and a recipient for the 2015 National Choreographic Initiative in Irvine, CA. He was selected for the 2017 and 2018 Spring Sessions at the New York Choreographic Institute, an affiliate of New York City Ballet, where he created his “Lunar” and "Traces" ballet alongside Juilliard composer and esteemed collaborator, Nathan Prillaman. Additional honorable mentions include the Asian Arts Alliance Jadin Wong Award, McCallum Theatre Choreography Festival Award, and was featured in Dance Magazines Top 25 to watch.
He has since been commissioned to create and premiere new works for companies such as Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Bruce Wood Dance, Hubbard Street 2, Richmond Ballet, Nashville Ballet, Joffrey Academy of Dance, James Sewell Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, Big Muddy Dance Company, Eisenhower Dance, Grand Rapids Ballet, Ballet Florida, Peridance, Golden State Ballet, Attack Theatre, Ballet X, Olympic Ballet Theatre, Periapsis Music & Dance, and for Dallas's 2022 TITAS Command Gala at the Winspear Opera House.
De La Cruz has instructed and created works for such schools as The Juilliard School, SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance, Ailey School Fordham University, Point Park University, Princeton University, University of Richmond, Hollins University, Marymount Manhattan College, Barnard Columbia University, Cal State University of Long Beach, Hartford University, Grier Private School, Golden State Ballet, and taught at the International Ballet School intensives at Gdynia, Poland for two summers. He was a former faculty member and New Dances: Edition 2021 guest choreographer at the Juilliard School under the direction of Alicia Graf Mack and Mario Alberto Zambrano.
While navigating a freelance career as a choreographer, performer, and educator, Norbert operates a bi-coastal freelance dance career between NYC and LA. He is in constant search of inspiration; seeking for more valuable collaborations and human connections.