By Steve Sucato

For almost as long as this current iteration of the Cleveland Ballet has existed, dancer Erinn Crittenden has been a fixture. With her bright eyes, million-watt smile, and an affinity for playing charismatic characters, including the fiery street dancer Mercedes in Don Quixote, Collette in Dracula, Red Riding Hood in The Sleeping Beauty, and the comedic Grandmother in The Nutcracker and Tweedle Dee in Alice in Wonderland, Crittenden has endeared herself to Northeast Ohio audiences. 

A Southern California native, Crittenden grew up as an ice skater and competition jazz dancer before switching her focus to ballet. Her early training began at Studio Elite, Inland Pacific Ballet Academy, and The Maple Conservatory of Dance, with summer intensives at Atlanta Ballet, Ballet West, and Charlotte Ballet. She spent two years in Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s graduate program and two years with Charlotte Ballet as an apprentice before joining Cleveland Ballet in 2019. 

The 28-year-old will dance in her final mainstage production with Cleveland Ballet after seven seasons, this weekend in Artistic Director Timour Bourtasenkov’s new Cinderella (read my preview here). She will dance the role of a zany stepsister on Friday, May 15, Saturday, May 16, at 7 pm, and on Sunday, May 17, at 1 pm. I spoke with Crittenden recently about her career and what’s next.  

Why retire now?
I think every dancer knows when it is time to stop. A few years ago, I finished my degree in Psychology and planned to retire within the next five years. This past December, during The Nutcracker, the return of a recurring hip tendonitis issue convinced me that now was the time to retire. Also, looking around at all the young talent in the company who hadn’t yet had the opportunities I had in my career, told me it was time to pass the baton and walk away with gratitude.

Are you just retiring from company life, or completely from dance performance?
I haven’t put a lot of thought into that yet. I need some time off to heal my body and experience being a normal human. Right now, the plan is to finish the season with ChoreoLab (June 5th at Near West Theatre). I will likely still teach here at the Academy and in the area, but I will definitely be moving on to a new chapter in my life.

Aren’t you the driving force behind ChoreoLab? 
I am. A few years ago, Timour and Larry [Goodman, President & Chief Executive Officer) came to the dancers, asking for suggestions for something we could do at the end of the season. I overheard the dancers being curious about what it would look like doing a company choreography project. I had a free venue available to us, and the pieces fell into place from there. I run the ChoreoLab committee and am involved in most of its organization and planning each year. It has been called my legacy; I call it my baby. 

How did you end up at Cleveland Ballet?
A dancer friend who was in the company told me about it and advocated for me to come here. 

What did you think of Cleveland?
I fell in love wth the city from the second I moved here. The big draw for me was all the nature preserves and places to go hiking. You are 30 minutes from anything you want, whether that’s nightlife or the outdoors. 

What will you miss about company life?
Ballet is completely consuming. It takes your mind, body, and soul. Every single day, you have to give it your all. There aren’t many careers like it. I will miss the passion for it. I will also miss the camaraderie of being with my fellow dancers as we work together to put on productions. 

What won’t you miss?
Funny enough, I also won’t miss that it is an all-consuming career. You reach a point where your mind and your body tap out. You’re constantly exhausted, and you have to adjust your whole life around it. 

How are you approaching your role as a stepsister in Cinderella? 
This has always been a dream role of mine, ever since I understudied it as a kid. I have always had a knack for and love of character roles, and Timour has given us a lot of artistic freedom in portraying our characters. I think what’s really fun about the stepsister role is balancing it being a comedic role with that of being a villain of sorts.  I decided that my stepsister is the more socially awkward of the pair. She is a bit ditsy and just along for the ride when it comes to picking on Cinderella. One of the challenges of the role is that we are supposed to look as if we are really bad at dancing. But in doing so, I still have to use proper technique to dance it. It’s a really difficult but fun role to play.

What advice would you give to someone who wants a career in ballet?
Expect it to be hard. Give yourself plenty of grace through the process. Let yourself feel sad, angry, hopeful, scared, or proud. And let yourself be happy. The best advice I give my female students is that for every job opening in a ballet company, there are probably 600 girls vying for it. Try not to get discouraged; if you really love it, there is a place for you to dance somewhere. 

What’s next?
My immediate goal is to get into human resources. My ultimate goal is to become a certified counselor and work with dancers on the various issues that come up in their careers. I also want to start a family, am interested in riding horses, and have a crochet business I would like to take to craft fairs. 

Cleveland Ballet performs Cinderella, 10:30 AM & 7 PM, May 15, 1 PM & 7 PM, May 16, and 1 PM, May 17, 2026, at Playhouse Square’s Mimi Ohio Theatre, 1511 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, Ohio. Tickets $36-$156 with all taxes and fees included. To purchase tickets, visit cleveballet.org/cinderella or call (216) 241-6000.