NOVUS
Bold new works. Immersive experiences. Reimagined classics.
Based in Santa Barbara, California, Novus Contemporary Ballet brings classical technique into conversation with contemporary movement, theatrical experimentation, and the world we live in now.
We create performances that are rigorous, imaginative, and unexpected — building new ballets, transforming familiar stories, and creating space for the next generation of dance artists.
BALLET, RE-IMAGINED.
Novus Contemporary Ballet creates work at the intersection of ballet, contemporary dance, theater, and experimentation.
Founded in 2017 by Meredith Cabaniss and Wilson Vu and now led by Artistic Director Meredith Ventura, Novus is rooted in the belief that ballet can be technically rigorous without being artistically rigid.
Our dancers are more than interpreters — they are collaborators. Our performances draw from literature, mythology, visual culture, music, and contemporary life to create theatrical worlds that challenge expectations of what ballet looks like, who creates it, and what stories it can tell.
Today, Novus is building a contemporary ballet company for the Central Coast: one committed to ambitious new work, emerging artists, accessible performance, and meaningful artistic exchange.
2026–2027
SEASON
A SEASON OF TRANSFORMATION
Myth. Desire. Ritual. Dreams. Metamorphosis.
Novus Contemporary Ballet's 2026–27 season moves between the gothic and the fantastical, the intimate and the spectacular. Across four programs, Novus artists investigate what ballet can become when classical foundations meet contemporary choreography, immersive performance, and theatrical experimentation.
SORCIÈRE / CARMILLA
October 30–31, 2026 | Center Stage Theater
The season begins in darkness.
A haunting double bill exploring femininity, desire, ritual, and the supernatural pairs Chloé Roberts' Sorcière with the world premiere of Meredith Ventura and Lia Lane's Carmilla, a new one-act ballet inspired by Sheridan Le Fanu's groundbreaking gothic novella.
THE NUTCRACKER SUITE
December 3–13, 2026
Step inside the story.
Novus transforms a beloved holiday tradition into an intimate, immersive experience where the boundary between audience and performer begins to disappear. The Nutcracker Suite reimagines the familiar ballet as a dreamlike world unfolding around its spectators.
THE LAB
April 2–4, 2027
New voices. New movement. New possibilities.
The Lab turns the creative process over to Novus artists with a program of original choreography by company dancers. Experimental, eclectic, and artist-driven, the program offers audiences a glimpse into the ideas shaping the future of the company.
CIRCE
May 21–23 & May 28–30, 2027
The season culminates with Circe, a new two-act ballet by Artistic Director Meredith Ventura.
Drawing together the myth of Circe from The Odyssey and the hallucinatory “Nighttown” of James Joyce's Ulysses, Circe enters a world where bodies transform, identities fracture, and reality gives way to dream, desire, and nightmare.