Choreographer Norbert De La Cruz
Choreographer brings male duet piece to TITAS’ Command Performance
RICH LOPEZ | Staff writer
rich@dallasvoice.com
Choreographer Norbert De La Cruz III didn’t realize his commissioned piece would be a dream come true for him. On Saturday, April 23, he will present Two Places at Once at TITAS/DANCE UNBOUND’s Command Performance Gala. The piece is among more than a dozen works being performed, but this will be his premiere performance in many ways.
“This random dream was offered to me,” De La Cruz said by phone from his New York base. “I’ve also never made my queer dance appearance onstage, and this could be a great way to do that.”
The special quality of the piece is its cast of two male dancers in a duet. While the piece explores the relationship between two men, De La Cruz says it has multiple meanings.
“[TITAS Executive Director] Charles Santos came to ask me to create a work for TITAS, but we never confirmed that it would be a queer-forward piece,” De La Cruz said. “It can be read this way certainly, but I also want to give the audience the freedom to interpret what this means to them.”
In some ways, De La Cruz wants to destabilize both the model of a dance duet on stage and the impressions of masculinity such a duet sometimes offers — or doesn’t offer.
“I wanted this weight sharing to be equal between the dancers, with lush and supportive lifts,” he said.
“Whether it’s romantic, brotherly or a negotiation, there’s this vulnerability men don’t express in public, and this normalizes the male touch.”
Two Places at Once features Bruce Wood Dance’s Cole Vernon and Xavier Mack of Dallas Black Dance Theater, two dancers who have never worked together before. De La Cruz credited them both with falling into the choreography with prolific movement and basically understanding the assignment.
“These two companies brought forth great dancers to represent their own identities where we’ve created this dialogue of coexistence,” De La Cruz said.
On Saturday, TITAS/DANCE UNBOUND will celebrate 40 years of presenting national and international acts to Dallas. The event will return to an in-person format after a two-year pandemic hiatus.
The event will also honor Santos as the 2022 winner of the Tom Adams Award of Appreciation for Dedication to TITAS and the Arts, recognizing his 20 years of service to the Dallas art community. This is the first year the honor will be bestowed upon a TITAS staff member.
“Charles Santos is a visionary leader who has brought the very best in dance to Dallas over the last 20 years,” said TITAS board member and gala Co-Chair Zoé de Ropp Hart in a press release. “Just as importantly, he has been, and continues to be, the catalyst that brings performing arts organizations together to collaborate for the benefit of the city.
“His impact on the cultural landscape of Dallas has been profound,” she added. “I am honored to call him a colleague and friend.”
Command Performance will feature works curated by Santos, with performances by Tiler Peck and Dallas-native Roman Mejia of New York City Ballet, Catherine Hurlin and Corey Steams of American Ballet Theatre, Adji Cissoko and Shuaib Elhassan of Alonzo King LINES Ballet, MOMIX, Kyle Abraham, Pilobolus, Parsons Dance and the commissioned piece by De La Cruz, a traditional feature of the event.
“TITAS always commissions at least one new work for the Command Performance Gala each year,” Santos said in an email. “I love the movement vocabulary of Norbert De La Cruz so much. It’s fluid, liquid gold.
“I have been wanting to create a project with Cole Vernon for years but was waiting for the right project.
Then I saw Xavier Mack dance at a gala and I knew these two amazing men needed to have a piece created for them. And it was done,” Santos continued. “Norbert doesn’t just walk into a studio and teach choreography. He involves the dancers in the process as artists, as humans. They are active participants in the creative process; I love this.”
Santos anticipates the gala audience will be in for a treat with this unique premiere by De La Cruz.
“I feel there are too few duets for men, and this group of artists were the perfect opportunity to create a great, beautiful, gorgeous male duet. The audience is going to love it Saturday night at the premiere, and I know the new work is going to have a life after the premiere. I’m so proud and honored to have been able to make this project a reality,” Santos said.
TITAS/DANCE UNBOUND’s Command Performance Gala, 7 p.m. Saturday at the Winspear Opera House. Packages and tickets available at ATTPAC.org.