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Norbert De La Cruz III

Visiting Assistant Professor

Contact Information

Pictured is Norbert De La Cruz III.

Education

  • M.F.A., Dance, Hollins University
  • B.F.A, The Juilliard School

Courses Taught

  • Modern I
  • Contemporary Partnering
  • Composition III
  • Improvisation

Background

Born in Bayombong Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines, and raised in Los Angeles, California, Norbert De La Cruz III is a choreographer and artist scholar and movement director with a foundation in both classical and contemporary modern dance. He currently serves as resident choreographer for Saint Louis Dance Theatre. 

His work reflects a deep commitment to collaboration, innovation and lifelong learning, often exploring emotional themes of representation, post-migratory identity, queerness and desire, imperfection, loneliness and ceaseless liminality. As an educator, his pedagogy invites students to rediscover their movement identity, examining technique and innovation as pathways for expressive artistry. As an artist scholar, he continues to investigate how dance and daily life inform one another, seeking ways the body can serve as both vessel and voice. 

De La Cruz strives to make the invisible visible, casting his creations as an extension of his communities while amplifying their presence within the dance world. 

Curriculum Vitae


Professional Memberships or Affiliations

  • SAG-AFTRA 
  • AGMA 

Choreographic Highlights

Film/TV

  •  In the Heights Musical Movie, ensemble dancer, 2020

Performance - Soloist Dancer

  • Joe Goode Performance Group, 2020
  • Complexions Contemporary Ballet, 2013
  • Aspen Sante Fe Ballet, 2013
  • Lustig Dance Theatre, 2012
  • Balleto Teatro Di Torino, 2011
  • Sydney Skybetter and Associates, 2011
  • Aszure Barton and Artists, 2010
  • Metropolitan Opera House, Aida, 2009

Selected Choreography

  • The North Star, Saint Louis Dance Theatre, 2025
  • Scherzo Fantastique, Repertory Dance Theatre, 2025
  • Love Language, Pegasus Contemporary Ballet, 2025
  • Present Tense, Conflux Dance Theater, 2024
  • The Mermaid Drags You Under, Olympic Ballet Theatre, 2023
  • Sincerely Yours, Owen Cox Dance, 2023
  • Semblance, Golden State Ballet, 2023 
  • Critical Mass, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, 2023
  • Arrive, Bruce Woods Dance, 2023
  • Bird's Eye View, Richmond Ballet, 2023
  • Cloud 9, Saint Louis Dance Theater, 2021
  • Fluency, The Juilliard School New Dances, 2021
  • Reintegrate, Point Park University Contemporary Choreographers Concert, 2021
  • Glitch, Guggenheim Works & Process, 2021
  • Generation 1.5, Hollin University Thesis Performance, 2019
  • Talsik, Ballet X, 2015
  • Fourth Wall, Tulsa Ballet II, 2014
  • Square None, Aspen Sante Fe Ballet, 2012 

Research Interests

  • Post-Migratory Identity 
  • Asian American Studies in Contemporary Dance 
  • Critical Issues in Dance

Awards and Honors

  • Princess Grace Foundation, nominee, choreography, Aspen Sante Fe Ballet 
  • Top 25 to Watch, choreography, Dance Magazine, January 2016
  • New York City Ballet, Choreographic Institute, 2017 and 2018 recipient, NYCB, Peter Martins
  • Asian Arts Alliance, Jadin Wong Honorable Mention
  • McCallum Theatre Division II finalist, choreography, Maple Youth Conservatory
  • National Choreographic Initiative, choreography, Irvine Barclay Theatre
  • Winning Works Choreography Competition, choreography, Joffrey Academy of Dance
  • New Directions Choreography Lab, choreography, Alvin Ailey School
  • International Choreographic Competition, choreography, Hubbard Street 2
  • New Essential Works Program, choreography grant, Jerome Robbins Foundation 

Publication

  • Generation 1.5: Choreographing Myself into Existence, Hollins University Thesis 

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