BalletX has earned that X. X for low-key irony, DIY means, and risking ridicule by taking the long (and, some would say, perversely wrong) way around. X for Gen X. Founded in Philadelphia two decades ago, where a major neoclassical company already presided, the soft-shoe ballet troupe took up its sidekick status with relish. Matthew Neenan—cofounder with Christine Cox and, for many years, principal choreographer—made charming semi-story ballets about dorkily specific phenomena from history and daily life. The effect was to unleash similarly tight, funny, sneakily poignant ballets from the freelancers. But a different kind of disaffection reigns today; BalletX is shifting. Where to I’m not yet sure, but this upcoming program looks strong from any angle, with recent works by Neenan, New York City Ballet’s Justin Peck, and the former Paul Taylor dancer Takehiro Ueyama, who takes on a serious slice of Japanese history—seriously. —Apollinaire Scherr