VISION
Charlotte Ballet is a Charlotte-based, world-class repertory dance ensemble. It performs classic, contemporary and cutting-edge dance with virtuosity, energy, and artistic excellence for local, statewide and national audiences. Charlotte Ballet’s collective talents provide the opportunity and give us the responsibility to challenge, stimulate, educate, entertain, and thereby enrich our audiences.
Alejandro Cerrudo
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Alejandro Cerrudo was born in Madrid, Spain. His professional career includes work with Victor Ullate Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater 2 and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC). Cerrudo became HSDC’s first-ever resident choreographer in 2008 and held that position until 2018.
Cerrudo’s body of work has been performed by over 20 professional dance companies around the world. Honors include an award from the Boomerang Fund for Artists (2011) and the Prince Prize for Commissioning Original Work from the Prince Charitable Trusts (2012) for his acclaimed, first evening-length work, One Thousand Pieces. In 2014 he was awarded the USA Donnelley Fellowship by United States Artists. Also, Cerrudo was one of four choreographers invited by New York City Ballet’s Wendy Whelan to create and perform original duets for Restless Creatures. In 2017 Cerrudo was invited by Daniil Simkin to choreograph a site-specific performance for the Guggenheim Rotunda, a Works & Process Rotunda Project commission, featuring Daniil Simkin and original costumes by Dior. Cerrudo’s Sleeping Beauty, created with Ballet Theater Basel in 2016, was nominated as “Production of the Year” in Switzerland in the “Tanz, Jahrbuch 2016” by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
In 2020 Cerrudo was appointed Pacific Northwest Ballet’s resident choreographer, with that, he became the first artist in the company’s history to have the honor of holding that title. Independently, he directed and choreographed his show, “It Starts Now,” which premiered in 2020 at The Joyce Theater in New York. In 2022, Cerrudo was appointed artistic director of Charlotte Ballet.
ARTISTIC STAFF
Alicia Delgadillo
REHEARSAL DIRECTOR
Alicia Delgadillo began her career with Hubbard Street 2 and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, was a founding member of PARA.MAR Dance Theatre in 2020, and later joined Gibney Company as an Artistic Associate from 2021-2023. Delgadillo has collaborated with a wide array of choreographers and institutions, including Crystal Pite, Ohad Naharin, Alejandro Cerrudo, The Art Institute of Chicago, and The Second City.
She graduated with Honors from the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program where she was able to foster her passion for arts outreach through JUNTOS Collective, a non-profit dance outreach organization. She has taught through residencies with NYU Tisch School of Dance and Bard College, and also served as Artistic Coordinator for Hubbard Street Summer Intensive, Company Manager for PARA.MAR Dance Theatre, and has produced various artistic projects.
Ana Lopez
REHEARSAL DIRECTOR
Ana Lopez began her formal training at Conservatorio de Danza Diputacion de A Coruña. Upon graduating Isaac Diaz Pardo High School, she continued her training at Centro Internacional de Danza Carmen Roche. Lopez danced with Joven Ballet Carmen Roche, with Compañia Nacional de Danza 2 in works by Nacho Duato and Tony Fabre, and Ballet Theater Munich under the directorship of Philip Taylor.
From 2008 to 2019 she danced with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago where she performed works by choreographers such as Jiri Kylian, Mats Ek, Ohad Naharin, Crystal Pite, William Forsythe, Jorma Elo, Alejandro Cerrudo, and many others. She was named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” in 2012, and in 2017, she was invited to perform in Daniil Simkin’s “Falls the Shadow”, a site-sepcific work choreographed for the Guggenheim Rotunda and commisioned by Work & Process. She has been acting as Assistant to the Choreographer and Stager for Alejandro Cerrudo for over a decade, setting his works in companies all over the world. In 2022, she helped stage several works at Charlotte Ballet and is excited to work with the dancers and the rest of the organization further.
Neelanthi Vadivel
DIRECTOR OF ARTISTIC OPERATIONS
Trained in Canada as a classical and contemporary dancer, Neelanthi performed internationally for over a decade with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens (1995-1998) and Les Ballets jazz de Montreal (1998-2006), most notably featured in the works of choreographers Crystal Pite, Ohad Naharin, Edgar Zendejas and Rodrigo Pederneiras.
After touring as lead dancer for the Cirque du Soleil production, Dralion (2006-2009), Neelanthi led 3 world-renowned Cirque productions as Artistic Director, to over 40 countries (Saltimbanco 2009-2012, Michael Jackson Immortal 2013 and Totem 20014-2017). During this period, Neelanthi discovered the complexities involved in this particular artistic field. From the perspective of a lifelong dancer, her intuition and training both challenged and enriched her work with the circus, and the lessons were profound.
Since then, Neelanthi managed operations and programming for a cultural center in Honolulu and more recently as Program Director with Charlotte’s Tosco Music. Her posting with Charlotte Ballet is a much-appreciated return to her first love of dance. In this new position, she hopes to continue to leverage her extensive experience to foster personal growth and cultural enlightenment through the arts.
Anna Amini
ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATOR
Anna Amini’s love for dance started young and continued throughout her education and career. She took her first ballet class at age 6 at Canton Ballet in Ohio, where she danced with their pre-professional company for 10 years. She went on to pursue a degree in Writing, Literature, and Publishing with a minor in Dance from Emerson College in Boston. Her work as a dance writer began at Dance Magazine in NY, followed by writing dance reviews within the vibrant Chicago dance scene. She was invited to join an Ecuadorian Folk Dance group, dancing for international audiences while sharing in Ecuadorian culture. She worked in Communications at The Joffrey Ballet before starting a family and relocating to Charlotte, NC. Now she is happy to be working as Artistic Administrator at Charlotte Ballet while raising her young family.
Mthuthuzeli November
RESIDENT CHOREOGRAPHER
Mthuthuzeli November is a celebrated South African choreographer and dancer, known for his signature style that masterfully blends classical ballet with African dance. He began his dance journey at the age of 15 and graduated from the Cape Academy of Performing Arts in 2014. As a dancer, he was a two-time gold medal winner at the South African International Ballet Competition, taking home the award for Best Contemporary Work in both 2012 and 2014. He made his choreographic debut with the Cape Dance Company in 2014, where he also created the works Visceral and SUN – The Rite of Passage. After performing with the Cape Dance Company and in a South African production of West Side Story, he joined Ballet Black in September 2015.
His time with Ballet Black marked a period of significant growth and critical acclaim. He created several award-nominated and award-winning works for the company, including the 2020 Laurence Olivier Award-winning INGOMA. He also received the Emerging Artist Award from the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (KKNK) for his solo work.
As a sought-after freelance choreographer, November has collaborated with some of the world’s most prestigious ballet companies. He created short pieces for the English National Ballet Emerging Dancer competitions in 2018 and 2020 and was commissioned by The Grange Festival to create a piece for their 2020 production of Precipice. In 2019, he created and performed for British artist Stormzy at the Glastonbury Festival. He also choreographed a film production of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater for Cape Town Opera and Cape Town City Ballet and a work entitled Where Do We Go Now? for The Washington Ballet.
His more recent works have garnered further accolades. In 2022, he was nominated for Best Soloist in a Production at the Black British Theatre Awards and for Best Classical Choreography at the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards for his piece The Waiting Game. The following year, he won Best Choreography at the Black British Theatre Awards 2023 for his piece Nina: By Whatever Means, created for Ballet Black. In a notable collaboration, he and his brother, Siphesihle November, were commissioned by Fall For Dance North to create My Mother’s Son, which premiered in November 2023.
Mthuthuzeli November’s influence and output continue to grow on the international stage. In 2025, he received the prestigious Benois de la Danse Award for Best Choreography for his work Chapter 2, which he created for Cape Ballet Africa. The Paris Opera Ballet’s 2025 season saw his piece Rhapsodies enter the company’s repertoire, and he also created the work Fools for Northern Ballet.
In 2025, Mthuthuzeli was appointed Resident Choreographer for Charlotte Ballet, where he has already premiered three world premieres: From Africa with Love (2023), Vibes and Variations (2024), and the upcoming As I Am (premiering in October 2025). His ongoing collaborations also include Northern Ballet, TanzLuzern, Cape Town City Ballet, and Ballett Zürich.
For costume, equipment and production rental inquiries contact Aaron Muhl.
