Milwaukee Ballet Announces 40th Anniversary Season

The Milwaukee Ballet announced its 40th anniversary season in style with a lovely early-evening soiree at the Iron Horse Hotel on March 12. It promises to be an exciting and innovative season, with something for every taste.

The Nutcracker  will (as usual) be the longest-running show of the season, taking over the Marcus Center for most of the month of December (the 11th through the 27th, to be precise). The Company will continue to present artistic director Michael Pink’s vision of this classic holiday favorite. In addition, Milwaukee Ballet will present two other family-friendly, traditional ballets: Cinderella in October of 2009 and Peter Pan in May of 2010.

The production of Peter Pan will feature the Mr. Pink’s choreography set to an original score by Philip Feeney composed for the Milwaukee Ballet. Cinderella will enthrall young audience members with lavish period costumes and a pumpkin carriage. Both Peter Pan and Cinderella will feature not only Company members but also performers from the Milwaukee Ballet School, expanding the scope of the School beyond the traditional Nutcracker roles.

However, as Mr. Pink noted in his remarks at the announcement party, the Milwaukee Ballet may be turning 40 this year, but it will not use that as an excuse to rest on its laurels or start to look exclusively to the past for its productions. The Company has developed a reputation, both in Milwaukee and across the country, for innovative and inventive productions, and that will not change. In addition to the three traditional ballets, the 2009-2010 season will offer two additional ballets as well as a collaboration with UWM’s Peck School.

Innovative Motion (February 11-14, 2010) brings back the winner of the 2009 Genesis international choreography competition, in addition to a world premiere work by Luc Vanier and a piece entitled “Clowns and Others” by Salvatore Aiello. All three will be abstract works showcasing the movement and physicality of dance. In late March, Pure Dance will bring a slate of works that draw not only from classical ballet but from all forms of movement, from Hispanic and Arabic culture to gypsy sensibility to contemporary dance. Jerry Opdenaker and Val Caniparoli will contribute pieces, and Milwaukee’s own Petr Zahradnicek will create another world premiere for the Milwaukee Ballet.

In collaboration with the Peck School, the Milwaukee Ballet School, and the Milwaukee Ballet II program, a one-night performance of Ma Maison  will be offered on March 9 as part of the Trey McIntyre project. This performance is not included in any of the Ballet’s regular season packages, but tickets can be purchased through the Ballet.

In addition to the season, Milwaukee Ballet also announced the launching of their new website. Found here, it features more in-depth information about every aspect of the Company and School. The Milwaukee Ballet also has a new friends group, Balletomane, which will provide support to both the Company and the School.

The Milwaukee Ballet’s next performance is the choreographic competition Genesis, March 26-29, 2009 at the Pabst Theater. Tickets and further schedule information can be found at Footlights online by clicking here.