Full works and professional choreographic demo reel are available upon request. Please email Norbert at Norbert.DeLaCruz@Gmail.com to obtain links and footage. ​

SEMBLANCE

Semblance was originally choreographed for Golden State Ballet (2023) for their From New York With Love Production. 

Semblance (2023)
Premiered June 6, 2023, Irvine Barclay Theatre (California)
Music by Oliver Davis
Costumes by Renee Shaeffer
Lighting by Martha Carter
Photo by Samantha Zauscher

Length: 19 minutes
Cast size: 13-15 dancers

Semblance - (noun) the outward appearance or apparent form of something, especially when the reality is different. 

Semblance is set to an enchanting, emotional, and lively score by English composer Oliver Davis.  Semblance plays with the distortion of real time, intimacy and secrecy, and a physical journey of the dynamic musical soundscape.  This ballet is an embodied experience inspired and motivated by the music.  

CLOUD 9

Originally choreographed for Big Muddy Dance Company (2022) for their IGNITE program. 

CLOUD 9 (2022)
Music by Various Artists
Costumes by Shevaré Perry
Lighting by Zak Metalsky
Rehearsal Director: Leonides Arpon
Photo by Kelly Pratt
​
Length: 23 minutes
Cast size: 15 dancers

Happiness - a subjective emotion with an objective state. Virtues. 
Cloud 9 - cumulonimbus, the greatest cloud in the world, floating on the tallest cloud on Earth
I am interested in a dance that explores embodied themes of ‘happiness.’ The construction of this piece is a contemplative attempt to rescue ourselves from disappearance. I am inspired by our body’s relentless attempt to rescue itself.  Cloud 9 is the support I needed in a timultous time of grieving and change.

BIRD'S-EYE VIEW

Originally choreographed for Richmond Ballet (2023) for the Studio Three: New Works Festival. 

Bird's-Eye View (2023)
Length: 15 minutes
Music by: Lara Somogyi, RIOPY, Ashram
Costumes by: Emily Morgan
Lighting: Nathan W. Scheuer
Photo by: Sarah Ferguson 
Cast size: 9 Dancers

REINTEGRATE

Originally choreographed for Point Park University (2021) for the Contemporary Choreographers Concert.  Reintegrate has been restaged for LaGuardia High School for the Arts for the 2022 Senior Graduation Concert. 

Reintegrate (2021)
Length: 19 minutes
Music by Oliver Davis & Matthew D. Morgan
Cast: 18-21 dancers
Photo by Mark Simpson

"My personal favourite of the evening was Reintegrate by Norbert De La Cruz III, a slightly enlarged version of the piece originally made for Point Park University in 2021, and at 18 minutes one of the show’s longer works. To music by Oliver Davis and Matthew D. Morgan, the choreography for 21 dancers and seven benches that are reformed several times, the choreography is complex but beautifully fluid and intensely musical. The work emphasises community, coming together and support. Different groups emerge, form and reform with ease. The unison work demands togetherness and got it. There are also some neat changes of mood, from thoughtful and quiet, especially in the duets in the central section, to playful and upbeat." -David Mead 
​[Seeing Dance 2022]
https://www.seeingdance.com/laguardia-graduation-dance-concert-220702/

SQUARE NONE

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet's production of Square None (2012) was made possible by the Jerome Robbins Foundation's New Essential Works (NEW) Program with additional support by Dr. Dan Luedke, in honor of his wife, Dr. Susan Luedke. (Rosalie O' Conner 2012)

Square None (2012)
Length: 18 minutes
Music by Various Artists
Cast: 7-9 dancers
Photo by Rosalie O' Conner

"It felt like a thrill, like a discovery of something new." - Stewart Oksehorn (The Aspen Times)

"Yielded moments of grace that suggested that De La Cruz is as much a poet as he is a craftsman." - Calvin Wilson (St. Louis Today)

UNTIL THE MERMAID DRAGS YOU UNDER​

(PREMIERED FEBRUARY 2022) MADE POSSIBLE BY OLYMPIC BALLET THEATER'S "DEBUTS" CONCERT.

Until The Mermaid Drags You Under
Length: 35 minutes
Music by Various Artists
Cast: 10-12 dancers
Photo by Kimberly Person

Norbert De La Cruz III is a choreographer new to me but not to his craft. His Until the Mermaid Drags You Under is an extended dance statement. I liked this work — that of sea/ocean images, of mermaids, one merman, sea maiden, sailors and the conflict between these — of sirens luring them to their demise and peril. A work of depth, it reminded me of a painting hung in my maternal grandparents’ house ... [of] women-folk standing on an ocean pier, peering out over the waves, waiting and perhaps wondering if and when their men (sailors, fishermen) will return. Sobering, like the tribute at our very own Fishermen’s Terminal to fishermen lost at sea." - Dean Speer (Critical Dance Forum)

KUYA

This production of "Kuya," was made possible through the Joffrey Academy of Dance - 4th Annual Choreographers of Color Awards, Winning Works 2014. 

Kuya (2014)
Length: 10 minutes
Music by Kevin Keller
Cast: 10-15 dancers

FOLD BY FOLD

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet's production of Fold by Fold (2013) was made possible through the generosity of Kelli and Allen Questrom with additional support from the Wolf Trap Foundation and The Princess Grace Foundation-USA.

Fold By Fold (2013)
Length: 19 minutes
Original Music by Michael Gilbertson
Cast: 7-9 Dancers
Photo by Rosalie O' Conner

"His innate ability to direct the eye was demonstrated in his strategic staging and use of synchronized versus isolated pairings."- Maya Olivier (MD Theatre Guide)

TALSIK

"Talsikan" was made possible in 2014 by the Anne M. and Philip H. Glatfelter Family Foundation, BalletX's Winter Series, and BalletX Giving Tuesday Supporters. "Talsikan" was then revamped/reinvented to "Talsik"  in the Winter of 2016 for the SUNY Purchase Fall Dance Concert.

Talsik (2014)
Length: 19 minutes
Original Music by Benjamin Juodvalkis
Cast: 10-20 dancers

Taking the nexus of what is perceived as contemporary ballet, De La Cruz manages to transform a relatively popular aesthetic into a more youthful, relevant event.  So what should you expect?  Expect to be wowed. - Gregory King (Broad Street Review)

FOURTH WALL

This production of "Fourth Wall," was made possible as part of the Tulsa Ballet II's Mini Series; presenting it's own season of production: "On Your Radar."

Fourth Wall (2014)
Length: 14 minutes
Music by Various Artists
Cast: 8 dancers

"Just spectacular to witness. It was unlike any of the ballets I have witnessed thus far in our 8 years as season ticket holders... I was very excited to see this contemporary, fun and intelligent ballet spring to life in front of us. When the curtain lifted and you saw chairs stacked up on one another, I instantly knew this was going to be something interesting.- Johnny Bryan Ward

FLUENCY

FLUENCY WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE JUILLIARD SCHOOL NEW DANCES PRODUCTION / EDITION 2021.

Fluency (2021)
Length: 21 minutes
Original Music by Nathan Prillaman
Cast: 20-23  dancers
Photo by Erin Baiano

CONCEAL THE UNSEEN

The Juilliard School for Dance
Senior Production 2010

Conceal The Unseen (2010)
Length: 14 minutes
Music by Psapp, Alva Noto
Cast: 7-9 dancers

LEGACY ISLAND

LEGACY ISLAND WAS COMMISSIONED BY EISENHOWER DANCE DETROIT.

Legacy Island (2022)
Length: 20 minutes
Music by Sun Electric, Dario Marianelli, Thomas Azier, additional voiceovers
Cast: 8-10 dancers
Photo by Allison Armfield

​TWO PLACES AT ONCE

TWO PLACES AT ONCE WAS COMMISSIONED BY TITAS 2022 BY CHARLES SANTOS FOR THE 2022 TITAS COMMAND UNBOUND GALA. THE CREATION WAS A SPECIAL COLLABORATION BETWEEN BRUCE WOOD DANCE AND DALLAS BLACK DANCE THEATRE.

Two Places at Once (2022)
Length: 7 minutes
Music: Johan Johannssonn, The Rachels
Cast: 2 dancers 
Photo by Sharon Bradford