Artist Statement:
In order for dance to evolve, we must ask ourselves, how did we get here? And how do our histories reveal themselves on our bodies? My work as a choreographer is a hybrid and ever-changing response to these questions.
My work draws from and brings awareness to the movement of everyday life. I marvel at our innate ability to reach, walk, stand, and gesture and am inspired by the kinesthetic empathy that forms between people who share space. I want to conjure radical awareness about what it means to have a body. And to remind people that dance is a vital part of living, breathing, bleeding, sweating, mourning, and celebrating our time as temporary residents of this planet.
My dances are hybrid creatures, part classical, part improvisational, part personal. I was trained in Western ballet in Los Angeles and New York City. But these canonical movements map differently on my body, a body that has been underrepresented in canon. I make modifications, bend rules and break them, as I search for movement that feels authentic. The territory of this search is fertile choreographic ground. This is a gift that immigrant voices give to the paradigm. We necessarily revamp the rules and interrogate the forms, in order to bring together multiple histories on our bodies.
I strive to make the invisible visible – from the small gesture to marginalized voices. I want to be a representative of the dance world for my communities and to represent my communities in dance, casting my work as an extension of them. I want to be living proof that a little, brown, middle-class, queer, immigrant boy existed and tackled the complexities of navigating a place in Western dance.
- Norbert L. De La Cruz III
My work draws from and brings awareness to the movement of everyday life. I marvel at our innate ability to reach, walk, stand, and gesture and am inspired by the kinesthetic empathy that forms between people who share space. I want to conjure radical awareness about what it means to have a body. And to remind people that dance is a vital part of living, breathing, bleeding, sweating, mourning, and celebrating our time as temporary residents of this planet.
My dances are hybrid creatures, part classical, part improvisational, part personal. I was trained in Western ballet in Los Angeles and New York City. But these canonical movements map differently on my body, a body that has been underrepresented in canon. I make modifications, bend rules and break them, as I search for movement that feels authentic. The territory of this search is fertile choreographic ground. This is a gift that immigrant voices give to the paradigm. We necessarily revamp the rules and interrogate the forms, in order to bring together multiple histories on our bodies.
I strive to make the invisible visible – from the small gesture to marginalized voices. I want to be a representative of the dance world for my communities and to represent my communities in dance, casting my work as an extension of them. I want to be living proof that a little, brown, middle-class, queer, immigrant boy existed and tackled the complexities of navigating a place in Western dance.
- Norbert L. De La Cruz III
Upcoming:
2022
WINTER/SPRING
TEACHING SCHEDULE:
JANUARY 3-5th, 2022
LA Contemporary Dance Company
Winter Intensives
LA Contemporary Dance Company
Winter Intensives
JANUARY 28th, 2022
Mid-Pacific HS (Oahu, HI)
Guest Teacher
Mid-Pacific HS (Oahu, HI)
Guest Teacher
MARCH 19 - MAY 21st 2022
PERIDANCE
Adv/Int Contemporary Classs
3:30pm EST Saturdays
PERIDANCE
Adv/Int Contemporary Classs
3:30pm EST Saturdays
MARCH 19 - MAY 21st 2022
GIBNEY DANCE CENTER
Adv/Int Contemporary Classs
2:00-4:00pm EST Thursdays
GIBNEY DANCE CENTER
Adv/Int Contemporary Classs
2:00-4:00pm EST Thursdays
JAN - FEB
Commissioned creative process for
"Til The Mermaid Drags You Under"
Olympic Ballet Theatre
Edmonds, WA
Live Premiere date: February 14, 2022
Commissioned creative process for
"Til The Mermaid Drags You Under"
Olympic Ballet Theatre
Edmonds, WA
Live Premiere date: February 14, 2022
FEB 14 - 23rd, 2022
Eisenhower Dance Detroit
Commissioned creative process
Premiere date: TBA
Eisenhower Dance Detroit
Commissioned creative process
Premiere date: TBA
FEB 24 & 25, 2022
Move | NYC Masterclasses
Guest Teacher
Move | NYC Masterclasses
Guest Teacher
MARCH 14-JUNE 3, 2022
LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts
Senior Dance Concert
Guest Choreographer
LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts
Senior Dance Concert
Guest Choreographer
JULY 11-16, 2022
Eisenhower Dance Detroit
Summer Intensives
Guest Teacher
Eisenhower Dance Detroit
Summer Intensives
Guest Teacher
JULY 18-22, 2022
Mario Verdeja School for the Arts
Summer Intensives (Miami, FL)
Guest Teacher
Mario Verdeja School for the Arts
Summer Intensives (Miami, FL)
Guest Teacher
AUGUST 15-20th, 2022
MOVE | NYC
S.W.E.A.T. Summer Intensives
Guest Teacher
MOVE | NYC
S.W.E.A.T. Summer Intensives
Guest Teacher
September 16-18th, 2022
McKnight Fellowship
Solo Premier for Hassan Ingraham
Minneapolis, MN
McKnight Fellowship
Solo Premier for Hassan Ingraham
Minneapolis, MN
OCT 23 & 24th, 2022
GLITCH | World Premiere
Guggenheim Works & Process
in collaboration with
Adrian Danchig-Waring, Joseph Gordon,
Virginia Wagner & Kristin Sztyk
GLITCH | World Premiere
Guggenheim Works & Process
in collaboration with
Adrian Danchig-Waring, Joseph Gordon,
Virginia Wagner & Kristin Sztyk
Nov 11-Dec 3rd, 2022
Residency (Aspen, CO)
TBD
Residency (Aspen, CO)
TBD