Mthuthuzeli November, born in Cape Town, South Africa, began dancing at the age of 15 and graduated in 2014. He made his choreographic debut with the Cape Dance Company in 2014. It was there that he also created the works Visceral and SUN – The Rite of Passage. He performed with the Cape Dance Company and in a South African production of West Side Story before joining Ballet Black in September 2015.
Since then, Mthuthuzeli has created several award-nominated or award-winning works for stage and film with Ballet Black, including the Laurence Olivier Award-winning INGOMA in 2019/2020. He received the Emerging Artist Award from the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (KKNK) in South Africa.
Mthuthuzeli choreographed and performed for British artist Stormzy at the Glastonbury Festival in 2019. He was also commissioned by Cape Town Opera and Cape Town City Ballet to choreograph a film production of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater. The Grange Festival invited him to create a piece for the production of Precipice (2020).
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. Most recently, he won Best Choreography at the Black British Theatre Awards 2023 for his piece Nina: By Whatever Means, created for Ballet Black.
Mthuthuzeli November continues to create and stage works worldwide collaborating with the Paris Opera Ballet (France), Washington Ballet (USA), the Royal Ballet (UK), Northern Ballet (UK), TanzLuzern (Switzerland), Cape Town City Ballet (South Africa), Ballett Zürich (Switzerland), Ballet am Rhein (Germany), Staats Ballett Karlsruhe (Germany), Dutch National Ballet (Netherlands), Joburg Ballet (South Africa), and Gibney Company (USA).
In 2025, Mthuthuzeli was appointed Charlotte Ballet’s Resident Choreographer, where he has created three world premieres: From Africa with Love (2023), Vibes and Variations (2024), and As I Am (2025).
