Stepping way up with BalletX

Dance is a high-pressure art form under the best of circumstances, but having “choreographer” added to your list of duties just three weeks prior to opening night is especially taxing. That’s precisely what happened to dancer-choreographer Tobin Del Cuore when the previously announced Tania Isaac withdrew from BalletX’s latest series less than a month ago.

“I love going out on stage and not knowing what’s going to happen — because you never do,” says Del Cuore. “It’s live theater, which mimics life. Life is one big rehearsal and performance at the same time, so it’s just a great adventure where you have to be ready for anything.”

In order to meet the challenge, Del Cuore drew from a storehouse of ideas and settled on the piece’s title, “Beside Myself.” “I was really inspired by the idea of consciousness — that we as human beings have the unique ability to be aware of ourselves and that we actually exist,” he says. “We often don’t think about that; we just go about our daily lives, but I find myself stepping back and thinking objectively about where I fit into the broader picture.”