Previews: CHOREOLAB at Near West Theatre

Cleveland Ballet’s company dancers will stretch their choreographic wings once again in the third annual ChoreoLab, an evening of dance for and by the dancers. 

The stylistically diverse program, featuring 13 works by 10+ choreographers, performed by 31 dancers, will take place this Friday, June 5, at Near West Theatre in the Gordon Square Arts District.

ChoreoLab stands apart from Cleveland Ballet’s mainstage productions in that it is planned and organized by a committee of the company dancers. Heading the committee is seven-year company member Erinn Crittenden, who will be retiring from the company following Friday night’s productions. (Read about Erinn’s career and what’s next here). She describes the choreographers’ casting process as a bit like choosing teams for a playground ball game, with each dancemaker taking turns choosing dancers for their work.

“We try to accommodate everyone,” says Crittenden. “This time we have dancers who are performing in up to four works on the program.”

With the dancers off contract in the lead-up to the production, Crittenden says it’s ChoreoLab’s energy and the dancers’ voice in its creation that draw them to participate.

“As dancers, we are always told what to do,” says Crittenden. “Being at the head of the room and directing our coworkers is a valuable leadership learning experience.”   

For fans of Cleveland Ballet, ChoreoLab is an opportunity to see its dancers in a different light. Many of the works on the program feature contemporary movement styles rather than the classical ballet movement found in its story ballet offerings.

“It’s a fresh way of seeing the company’s dancers and their creativity,” says Crittenden.

Friday night’s ChoreoLab will kick off with Madison Campbell’s “Libertas Divina,” a work for a trio of women set to music by composer Florence Price. The work embodies the energetic femininity of the modern American woman. It will be followed by the first of two ballets by Bruno Palheta, “EntreLinhas.” The piece for eight of Cleveland Ballet’s trainee dancers is set to music by Daniel Blumberg and plays with ballet’s movement language of lines and positions.

Next, Akron native and company apprentice Heidi Hollopeter’s “Emerald Canopy” seeks to capture nature’s vibrancy and whimsy as five women dance to music by English indie rock band Glass Animals. Then, “Synapse” by Elizabeth “Lizzie” Rasmussen with contributions from company trainee Rileigh Phillips gives the audience a glimpse into what the choreographic process might feel like. The experimental work for four women is set to music by Bauhaus, Black Midi, and Nine Inch Nails, led by former Clevelander Trent Reznor.

American vocal R&B quartet Shai’s acapella tune “If I Ever Fall In Love” then provides the soundtrack to Tiera Peters’ “Fall.” The piece for a quartet of dancers features smooth, flowing movement centered on the themes of calm, love, and appreciation. 

The program continues with Cleveland Ballet trainees’ group choreographic effort, “The Weight We Carry.” Danced to the song “Eulogy” by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein (composers for the TV series Stranger Things), the contemporary dance work brings together different creative voices toward a unified vision that the trainees say is open to interpretation by the audience. 

The weight of emotion then gives way to air’s dual nature as both a presence and a threat in Alexander Guzmán’s “Geometry of Air.” Set to music by Richard Blackford, a cast of eleven invites the audience to consider how something intangible can hold immense power over the environment, the body, and the space between us.

Next, Crittenden shows her choreographic chops with “Take Me Home,” a work that pays homage to country folk dancing and line dancing. Set to Oscar and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Ryan Bingham’s “Southside of Heaven,” the 7 1/2-minute work for eight dancers is about a woman Crittenden calls “the lone ranger” who disrupts the mundane movement pattern a group of dancers is stuck in. “It’s about her being a catalyst for change and finding a place where she belongs,” says Crittenden.

Palheta’s second ballet on the program, “Cortejo,” taps into his Brazilian roots and is conceived as a tribute to the energies of nature. Danced to music by the celebrated Brazilian instrumental band SaGrama, its cast of five “will move through a collective journey of transformation, where gesture becomes celebration, memory, and a connection to the sacred.”

Then, the paradoxical communication dilemma, a “Double Bind,” provides inspiration for fifth-season company member Alia Federico’s “Razorblade Cupcake.” In it, a trio of dancers delves into the dilemma of receiving two or more conflicting messages, creating a “no-win” situation. 

Rounding out 2026’s ChoreoLab will be Levian Mondville’s “PEACE,” about how we leave an impression on everyone we meet; former Ballets Jazz Montréal and GroundWorks DanceTheater dancer Gemma Bender’s “Rooted,” the lone work on the program from an outside choreographer; and Katharine Cowan’s “FRAGILE: Handle with Care,” a ballet for ten dancers set to music by various artists including The Coconut Islanders and American film score composer Theodore Shapiro (The Devil Wears Prada, Tropic Thunder).

Cleveland Ballet presents ChoreoLab, 7 p.m., Friday, June 5, 2026. Near West Theatre, 6702 Detroit Ave., Cleveland. Tickets are $15, with all proceeds directly benefiting Cleveland Ballet dancers. For tickets, visit cleveballet.org/choreolab, email tickets@cleveballet.org, or call 216.320.9000 ext. 107.

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