Born in the Philippines and raised in Los Angeles, California, Norbert De La Cruz III is recognized for his versatility in performance and choreography. His movement practice is shaped by his training experiences from the Gabriella Foundation, LA County High School for the Arts, Marat Daukayev School of Ballet, and through his performance career as a professional dancer.
He started training in classical dance at age 11 (Cecchetti and Vaganova) with ballet masters Vera Ninkovic and Marat Daukayev. After moving to New York, he received a B.F.A. in Dance from The Juilliard School followed by an M.F.A. in Dance from Hollins University.
Professionally, Norbert has performed as a soloist with the Metropolitan Opera's production of Aida, Aszure Barton & Artists in Germany & Austria (Blue Soup & Busk), Balletto Teatro di Torino (Italy), Joe Goode Performance Group, Sydney Skybetter & Associates, Santa Clarita Ballet, Lustig Dance Theatre, Boca Tuya, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet and Complexions Contemporary Ballet.
As a preprofessional, he was awarded 2nd place at Youth America Grand Prix's non-classical division, and represented the Juilliard School at the first annual Dizzy Feet Foundation Gala. Norbert has also been casted in Warner Brothers Pictures film adaptation of "In The Heights."
His early career was recognized through the support of the Jerome Robbins Foundation’s NEW Essential Works Grant (2012), commissioning his first large-scale ballet, “Square None” (2012) with ASFB. He was also selected for the 2017 and 2018 Spring Sessions at the New York Choreographic Institute, an affiliate of New York City Ballet, where he created his “Lunar” and "Traces" ballet alongside Juilliard composer, Nathan Prillaman. He has been listed as one of Dance Magazine's Top 25 to watch.
He has since been commissioned to create and premier new works for companies such as Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Hubbard Street 2, Joffrey Academy of Dance, James Sewell Ballet, Tulsa Ballet II, Barak Ballet, Grand Rapids Ballet, Ballet Florida, Peridance, Golden State Ballet, Attack Theatre, Ballet X, Olympic Ballet Theatre, Periapsis Music & Dance, and Eisenhower Dance Detroit.
De La Cruz has instructed and created works for such schools as The Juilliard School, SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance, Ailey Fordham University, Princeton University, University of Richmond, Hollins University, Marymount Manhattan College, Columbia University, California State University of Long Beach and Hartford University. He has taught at the International Ballet School intensives at Gdynia, Poland for two summers. He is a current faculty member and guest choreographer at the Juilliard School under the direction of Alicia Graf Mack and Mario Alberto Zambrano.
While navigating a freelance career as a choreographer, performer and educator, Norbert operates a bi-coastal freelance dance career between NYC and LA. He is in constant search of inspiration; seeking for more valuable collaborations and human connections.