Charlotte Ballet will make its first-ever appearance at Playhouse Square on Saturday, November 7, launching DANCECleveland's 70th anniversary mainstage season with a program of four contemporary works that stretch from a 1991 Mozart-scored classic to new works conceived by Alejandro Cerrudo and Mthuthuzeli November. The 7:30 p.m. show at the Mimi Ohio Theatre pairs international names with homegrown talent, reflecting a company that has spent decades building toward this kind of national visibility.
A Program Built on Contrast
According to DANCECleveland, the evening includes Jiří Kylián's Petite Mort, Crystal Pite's Solo Echo and As I Am by resident choreographer Mthuthuzeli November. Petite Mort was created in 1991 and set to two of Mozart's best-known piano concertos, while Solo Echo was made for Nederlands Dans Theater in 2012. Charlotte Ballet will present two works created outside the company alongside two in-house creations, including an excerpt from Dos y Dos y Dos, Alejandro Cerrudo's first original work for the company, as Charlotte Ballet describes it.
Cerrudo has been Charlotte Ballet's artistic director since 2022. He danced with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Nederlands Dans Theater and appeared in Cleveland in 2015 in Wendy Whelan's Restless Creature, per the seed reporting by Zachary Lewis for Cleveland.com. Cerrudo said DANCECleveland is a destination with a clear appreciation and following for dance, and he said Charlotte Ballet has a very strong lineup with dancers up to the task, according to the same report.
Classical Roots, Contemporary Ambitions
Cerrudo also said knowing ballet's rules enables dancers to break them, and that classical ballet fundamentals help dancers become their best artists, per the Cleveland.com piece. Charlotte Ballet aims to perform a breadth of styles well, the report notes, and the company is described as developing from a regional company into a nationally respected one. That ambition tracks with the repertoire itself: Charlotte Ballet's catalog spans everything from the Nutcracker to bold contemporary work, according to wspa.com, and WDAV has characterized the company's 2025–26 schedule as emphasizing contemporary pieces.
Mthuthuzeli November, described in the seed reporting as fearless when he entered Charlotte Ballet's studio, is the company's South African resident choreographer. As I Am exemplifies November's African roots and his connection with Charlotte Ballet, per Lewis's account. Charlotte Ballet named November its Resident Choreographer effective immediately in September 2025, according to Charlotte Ballet's own announcement, and As I Am premiered during the company's Fall 2025 program at Knight Theater, running October 30 through November 1. November received the Benois de la Danse Award for Best Choreography in 2025, the company noted in that same announcement.
From Winston-Salem to the National Stage
Charlotte Ballet traces its roots to 1970, when it was founded in Winston-Salem as North Carolina Dance Theatre before being rebranded under its current name in 2014. The company now fields 29 professional dancers who call Charlotte home, presenting annual performance series there while touring nationally, per wspa.com. That touring reach has included a four-day residency in South Carolina's Upstate region, where the company offered performances, master classes and lectures to audiences ranging from schoolchildren to senior citizens, the outlet reported, and a WSPA promotion listed a related Charlotte Ballet show at the Brooks Center for the Performing Arts.
The company has also appeared at The Joyce Theater in New York, where a listing under Cerrudo's direction described Dos y Dos y Dos as a striking series of duets. The Violin Channel reported that Charlotte Ballet's finances expanded by 49.4% in fiscal year 2023.
DANCECleveland's 70th anniversary mainstage season continues beyond Saturday's performance, with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago scheduled to appear in January. Tickets for Charlotte Ballet's Cleveland debut range from $12 to $108 and are available through dancecleveland.org or by calling 216-241-6000.
