Performances by Caroline Calouche & Co. may appear light and magical, with dancers literally suspended in the air. But under Caroline Calouche’s artistic and executive direction, this talented dance company stands on its own merits long before any aerial apparatus is added.

In 2006, Calouche began her explorations of blending contemporary dance with aerial dance in harness and fabric. Her company has a solid reputation for providing innovative, entertaining and edgy work that utilizes the aerial work to push dance to another level. It offers a variety of performances — aerial and contemporary — during the year and do a great deal with education and outreach. (You can enjoy the performances, as well as take an aerial or dance class yourself.)

If you are curious to learn more, check out its open house Dec. 12 through 17. See free class demonstrations and students showing their skills on Dec. 18. Visit the aerial and dance classes webpage for full details. Its NoDa studio location is inside of the CAST (a Knight arts grantee) space on 2424 N. Davidson St., Suite 113 in Charlotte.

It’s very cool to watch these creative dancers execute gravity-defying sequences using aerial apparatus, such as silks, an aerial sling and even a bungee, allowing the dancers to bring a fourth dimension to your traditional dance performance. Seeing the nuts and bolts of this innovative and difficult work that goes into its rigorous dance routines is fascinating.

This past weekend, Caroline Calouche & Co. performed its unique version of the beloved holiday classic, “Clara’s Trip: A Nutcracker Story” by Eric Jensen. Combining its creative choreography and story telling through movement, this show was captivating and entertaining for all ages.

Clara’s Trip was a “power2give” success story. Power2give is an Arts & Science Council (a Knight arts grantee) online fundraising website where individual supporters can donate. This funding included a matching Knight Foundation gift, which helped sponsor this creative interpretation of a holiday favorite.

Looking ahead for upcoming Caroline Calouche & Co. performances: “Spring Forward” will be Saturday, March 24, 2012. “Spring Forward” is a repertory concert featuring “Catch Me,” “The Tie that Binds,” “Contained, Le Moment du Partir” and the world premiere of “Free to Live.” “Free to Live” is an innovative piece that paints the picture of the many different views of freedom. Based on the stories collected from one on one interviews, Caroline Calouche and the dancers will explore how different people define the idea of freedom.

Caroline Calouche & Co. dance is about modern movements, strong choreography and classical dance roots. It’s an amazing experience to watch its contemporary compositions with an added gravity-defying dimension.

Caroline Calouche & Co.’s NoDa location is inside of the CAST space 2424 N. Davidson St., Suite 113, Charlotte Check out its facebook page for updates and videos.