About Heidi

Heidi Cruz-Austin (she/her) is an Associate Professor of Dance and Director of the Muhlenberg College dance program. She is a former company member of The Philadelphia Ballet, formerly known as The Pennsylvania Ballet. In her tenure with the company, she performed numerous featured roles for various choreographers, including Val Caniparoli, Ben Stevenson, Alvin Ailey, Margo Sappington, Christopher d’Amboise, and Matthew Neenan. She has also had featured roles in many George Balanchine ballets in the company’s repertory. Cruz-Austin was a founding member of the Philadelphia-based contemporary ballet company, Ballet X, and has performed as a guest artist throughout the United States and Europe. Heidi received her MFA in Dance from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA. 

As a choreographer, she has been commissioned to create works for Muhlenberg College, Franklin and Marshall College, Bryn Mawr College, and Earl Mosley Institute of the Arts. She was a recipient of the 2008 and 2023 Choreography Fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. She is currently a co-director of the Trenton-based contemporary ballet company DanceSpora. In addition to local performances, DanceSpora has been invited to perform at many prestigious festivals and events, including Jacob’s Pillow Festival in Massachusetts, NYC10 Festival, Koresh “Come Together” Festival in Philadelphia, The Outlet Dance Festival at the Grounds For Sculpture, and the Independence Seaport Museum’s Tides of Freedom: African Presence on the Delaware River exhibit opening.