BalletX: Excerpts from The Little Prince

BalletX, Philadelphia’s premier contemporary ballet, whose dancers were named “among America’s best” by The New York Times, commissions choreographers from around the world to create dance that is “fresh, inclusive, and connects to what people want” (Philadelphia Citizen) while “positioning Philadelphia on the cutting edge of contemporary ballet” (The Dance Journal).

Founded in 2005 by Christine Cox and Matthew Neenan, BalletX is led by Cox, whose tenure as Artistic & Executive Director has produced over 100 world premiere ballets by nearly 60 choreographers, a record “few companies can match,” according to The New York Times. Under Cox’s leadership, BalletX has been hailed as an “epicenter of creation” (Dance Magazine) and “place of choreographic innovation” (The New Yorker), putting Philadelphia on the map as an international destination for contemporary ballet.

With the support of its donors, subscribers, and single ticket buyers, BalletX has grown to reach 150,000+ audiences nationwide through performance seasons at The Wilma Theater, free Pop Ups across Philadelphia, and extensive touring to such prestigious venues as Vail Dance Festival, The Joyce Theater, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, New York City Center, Laguna Dance Festival, Bermuda Festival, Belgrade Festival, and many more. BalletX has reached 2000+ Philadelphia public school students through its in-school dance education program, Dance eXchange, and countless patrons through its engagement initiative, The X-Process, featuring open rehearsals and talkbacks with renowned choreographers and guest artists.

BalletX put down even deeper roots in the spring of 2018 with the opening of its first-ever home – a beautiful, 5,000-square-foot studio and administrative headquarters named the Center for World Premiere Choreography. Situated at 1923 Washington Avenue, between Philadelphia’s Graduate Hospital and Point Breeze neighborhoods, the center was designed by local firm ISA, and recently earned an impressive AIA Merit Award for Interiors.

At BalletX’s Center, the company is finding new ways to expand the vocabulary of classical dance for more audiences than ever before. In 2018 the company launched evening and weekend community dance classes, in which people of all ages, experience levels, and backgrounds can learn ballet, contemporary, hip hop and more alongside company members and professional teaching artists. Just like its performances, BalletX classes aim to challenge the boundaries of classical ballet and other dance forms by encouraging formal experimentation while preserving the rigors of technique, all in a safe, nurturing, and inclusive space dedicated to fitness, well-being, and lifelong learning.

In 2020, the company launched its online streaming platform, BalletX Beyond, featuring world premiere dance films by choreographers from around the world and celebrating its 15th anniversary season.

BalletX’s distinctive contribution to the American dance community has been recognized and supported in recent years by generous grants from the William Penn Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, Shubert Foundation, the Jerome Robbins New Essential Works (NEW) Program, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Philadelphia Cultural Fund, National Endowment for the Arts, and PECO, among many others.