As BalletX celebrates its 20th anniversary, the return of Broke Apart offers a powerful reflection on the company’s earliest days.
When the ballet premiered in 2006, BalletX was still defining itself. It was a dream of co-founders Christine Cox and Matthew Neenan, and a small, determined troupe of artists to build something new together. The dancers themselves played a central role in shaping the work and the company’s emerging identity.
“That group of dancers really helped me form my own vocabulary,” Neenan reflects. “We were all still so young, but in these leadership positions—dancing, directing, choreographing, doing it all. The work came out of that time.”
For Christine Cox, BalletX’s Artistic & Executive Director, the ballet emerged during a moment of transition. She had just retired from Pennsylvania Ballet (now Philadelphia Ballet), and was navigating uncertainty while helping to launch a new organization from the ground up.
“I was juggling five jobs, and one of them was BalletX. There was a lot of uncertainty,” she recalls. “But being in the studio with Matt and that group of dancers—it felt like home. It reminded me why we were doing this.”
Christine Cox in Broke Apart (2006). Photo by Ted Lieverman.
That period marked a pivotal shift from BalletX existing as a series of creative projects to becoming a fully realized company. Retired BalletX and Pennsylvania Ballet dancer James Ihde, now BalletX’s Director of Major Gifts, remembers witnessing that evolution firsthand and remaining connected to it today.
“It was one of the first pieces where Christine and Matt were really shifting their focus toward BalletX as a company, not just a project,” he says. “You could feel that intention. There was this shared sense that something permanent was taking shape.”
The original cast of seven dancers shared a deep familiarity, which shaped the work’s emotional tone and collaborative spirit. Christine remembers the studio as fearless and fluid. “Everyone was at 150%. We were pushing ballet forward and exploring what it could be.”
For Matthew Neenan, BalletX co-founder and choreographer of Broke Apart, the ballet captures a distinct moment in his artistic development.
“I look back at those and I’m like, Oh, that’s not really me anymore. Or like, I wouldn’t make those decisions now choreographically. But you have to remind yourself, well, that was you then, and that’s still important, and it still has your essence. And there are things about that work that are very important to me now, like the humanity of it, the realness of it.”
Skyler Lubin and Richard Villaverde performing an excerpt of Broke Apart in 2016. Photo by Alexander Iziliaev.
He approaches the revival as both reflection and renewal.
At the center of Broke Apart is a duet originally performed by Christine and Tara Keating, now BalletX’s Associate Artistic Director. Their partnership embodied the trust and shared history that defined the company’s early years.
“Over time, you develop such a deep rapport that you don’t need to look at each other—you just feel each other. And that’s part of the beauty of live performance. The audience senses that,” Christine says.
“Dancing alongside Christine always felt so natural to us both,” Tara reflects. “As close friends, we had an unspoken understanding both in the studio and on stage. We were able to synchronize our movements in a way that felt seamless and powerful at the same time.”
Tara Keating and Christine Cox performing Broke Apart (2006). Photo by Ted Lieverman.
Revisiting the ballet now carries a different kind of weight.
“It’s been so special revisiting Broke Apart,” Tara says. “There’s something incredibly meaningful about returning to an earlier work in the company’s repertoire, especially one by Matthew Neenan. There’s a unique challenge for the dancers in performing a work that has existed before you. You’re aware of its legacy—of the dancers who originally embodied it—and at the same time, you’re tasked with making it your own. That balance between honoring the original intention and bringing your own voice to the movement is both demanding and deeply rewarding.”
Music remains a powerful throughline. Built around female vocalists that Neenan was listening to at the time, the score gives the ballet its intimate emotional texture. For Christine, hearing it again still resonates. “It doesn’t feel old. It just feels good.”
The ballet’s original success helped affirm BalletX’s future.
Christine says, “When you start a company and create a program as strong as that one in 2006, every program after that you’re striving to make similarly challenging, adventurous art. The whole process was fulfilling, from the process in the studio to performing it on stage, and the audience truly connected with it. When dancers and choreographers click, when you’re riding the wave of new work that challenges traditional sensibilities and it also connects with the audience, that’s everything you could want—and what we wanted BalletX to be.”
For James, the return of the work underscores its lasting significance.
“There’s pride in it,” he says. “It represents a moment when everything was new and we were discovering what BalletX could be. To see it return now, with a new generation of dancers, really shows how far the company has come.”
Nearly two decades later, Broke Apart returns as part of BalletX’s living history: reshaped by time, carried forward by new voices, and grounded in the relationships that helped build the company from the start.
“You never know in the moment what’s going to last, or what life will look like in 20 years. But you do know when something is clicking. Broke Apart was clicking. And bringing it back reminds us of who we were and how far we’ve come.” – Christine Cox
Don’t miss your chance to see Broke Apart return to the stage at BalletX’s Spring Series 2026! Get your tickets to experience this all-Neenan program.
